Change oil before or after trip?

[Kestral]

Ok so I need some opinions I have aprox 3,000 miles on my Mobil 1 in my 2012 Pathfinder V6. I am going on a long trip prob put on 1,000 to 1,200 miles towing my 5,000 lb Jayco camper so working the truck hard. Do you think I should dump the oil before the trip or change it when I get back? I like to have fresh oil before I tow but 3,000 miles on Mobil 1 is not many miles.

[skinny2]

Well my sampling shows 10,000 miles to be very conservative on Mobil 1 with about 500 miles of towing mixed in. But....

If you're within the power-train warranty, I would recommend you change the oil. The maintenance schedule calls for service at 3,750 miles for severe service which includes towing. Nissan is not particularly known as an overly charitable company when it comes to warranty claims and I wouldn't give them any excuses. The last thing you want to do is blow something in Middle-of-Nowhere with a 5k trailer hooked up and 3,751 miles since the last oil change. Yes I'm being dramatic, but for $35 or whatever I think I'd swap it out and move on.

[smj999smj]

If it were me, I would change it afterwards. 3k miles is nothing on synthetic oil and another 1200 miles will put you at 4200. It's not going to hurt to do it before you go, but I doubt it will give you much benefit by doing so.