Washer & Dryer Anyone?

[brycesteiner]

Do you have a Washer/Dryer in your Montana?

Did it come with it from the dealer or did you add one?

If you have one, do you regret having it?

What do you look for in a washer and dryer for the RV other than obvious - does it fit and do I have connections?

Just ideas running through my head right now.

thanks!

[Carl n Susan]

Yes, we have a washer/dryer that we had the dealer install. My wife likes it (me, I don't care as I am not allowed to touch it). In hindsight, the separate washer and dryer, rather than the combo, would have been better and especially as we have lots of room for it. We have the vented model (don't even think of getting a non-vented one) Splendide.

[dhuhn]

Yes we have the all in one unit vented. the wife loves it. It seem to me she is doing laundry almost every day when we live in it for weeks at a time, due to small loads.
most of the time we put a load in in the morning then go out and do something and when we get back the wash is done.
If we ever got another unit we would put one in. I do agree with Carl separate units would be better if you have the space.

[Cat320]

W/D are great additions to RVs, especially if you travel extensively. We've had three Splendides. Other than having to replace a dryer belt on one, all have worked flawlessly. The two separate machines are much more efficient than the combo. We would not have another RV without them.

[Mikendebbie]

We have splendide washer and dryer. DW loves it. We had it installed in year 3 of ownership.

[mhs4771]

We had the Vented Combo in Fifthwheels 1 & 2, number 3 had a great area for the two units and use the washer all the time, dryer only get used when rainy weather or were on Full Hook-ups that include Electric. Would not be without them.

[ScaryPapa]

We have stacked Splendide washer and dryer in the bedroom. They work great. They were dealer installed. The dryer is vented to the outside.

We put on our humidifier in the bedroom when using them. Always keep an eye on your grey tank. If we are doing several loads, I always open and leave open the grey tank until the washing is done.

[BB_TX]

We only had room for the combo unit. Dealer installed a Splendide vented combo. Wife used it regularly and loved it. She would put in a load of laundry, set it to wash and dry, we would go about whatever we had planned for the time, and come back later to a clean and dry load of laundry. Repeat when necessary. Was still working great after 14 years when we sold it.

[Gonefishing]

Yes we have washer n dryer. Installed by dealer when we purchased. We like it wife isn’t real keen on using washers or dryers at a camp site. Says never know what has been in them. It’s a nice convenience to have.

[brycesteiner]

Ok. That was surprising. I didn't think I would get all positive responses. We have the hookups so I'll do some more investigating. I'm assuming no gas dryer.
Do they use a lot of electricity? I would also think that a dryer probably couldn't run on solar panels or would a few batteries be able to work.
I know this is quite a few subjects because I really don't know much about solar either but would like to be off grid if possible.
Most of the time we would just use the clothes line.

[Mikendebbie]

Before we bought the washer and dryer - I bought one of these things that attach to the rear ladder for drying clothes. It was $79 when I bought it.

[BB_TX]

Our combo as I remember pulled around 12 amps of 120 vac. That would mean over 120 amps of 12 vdc running thru an inverter. 2000 watt generator may better answer when running the dryer.

No RV gas dryers I am aware of.

[DutchmenSport]

Ours came originally with no washer and dryer, but it did have hookups.

After about 2 years, we decided to get a washer and dryer. We got the Splendid stackable, vented model and we had our local dealership do the install. The machines were just too heavy and space was just too tight for me to install myself.

Mine would be placed on 2 shelves, one above the other. Although the machines were designed to sit one on top of the other mine would be separate. The water heater sits below the washing machine. So, considering I had the closet shelf to break and fall, I knew the shelves would never support the weight of those machines. I removed the doors off the cabinet, dismantled the entire closet / cabinet, and reinforced supports from the floor up at each corner and built stronger supports all the way up, one tier at at a time in order to ensure the shelf would never collapse on the water heater. That in itself was a tedious task that took several days. But once finished, I had some very strong and sturdy shelves above the water heater.


Before:



After:



Photos of building the supports:









The end result was a strong, stable, shelf, that if I needed to access the water heater, I could still do that. So, a lot of reconstruction whet into this project. The dealership had an easy install. I even identified exactly where the dryer vent hole needed to be cut. I left nothing to chance.

Now, was it worth it to have the washer and dryer installed?

Let me ask you this? Do you have a washing machine and a dryer in your stick-n-brick home. If you do, just imagine NOT having one. For all the reasons you have a washing machine and dryer in your stick-n-brick home is the same reasons you have one in your camper.

The only exception is, if you are strictly a week-end camper, or at best a 2 week a year camper family, then having a washer and dryer may not be necessary, as you can always do your laundry at home when you return after just 2 or 3 days. However, if your length of stay is longer, then a washer / dryer is priceless! It frees up your time and you are not spending hours sitting in a laundry mat.... even if it's a campground supplied laundry. Plus, you know the history of your washing machine and what was washed in it last.

A side benefit we found: We lost the cabinet when we put the machines in. But we gained so much more space by doing that. No more laundry baskets as the washing machine IS the laundry basket. No piles of laundry sitting around waiting to return home for a washing machine. No laundry baskets taking up space. If you get caught in the rain, you can immediately throw your clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them up in your shower, or somewhere else that's in the way. Same is true if you go swimming and want your bathing suit dried (and warm) between visits to the pool. Not to mention, the time that would have been lost (and the cost) of spending hours in a laundry mat when you'd really, rather be playing at the campground.

[432bartman]

We have the stackable Splendide's and love them. Now that we have a washer and dryer, I could never be without them again.

[mlh]

We have a washer dryer nonvented combo. Don’t make that mistake. It sounds good but I’m almost too old for a load to dry.
Lynwood

[Ram Montana High Country]

We prefer the closet space. Never had an issue with going to Laundry Mat or using CG facilities. It's usually a time saver to do it all at once. IMHO. Last time at Tom Sawyer CG, they were free.

[Todd & Mary]

I installed an LG combo unit. It was much easier than I anticipated. It is a non-vented combo. And I was on the fence about that, but it has performed very well for us. It spins very fast so removes more water than others. It does take quite a while to wash and dry, but if you wash and hang your laundry it is reasonably quick to cycle. My wife wouldn't be without it.

[brycesteiner]

The only exception is, if you are strictly a week-end camper, or at best a 2 week a year camper family, then having a washer and dryer may not be necessary, as you can always do your laundry at home when you return after just 2 or 3 days.

Our plan for now is once a month for a week at a time in our to be permanently parked Montana. I can see that it may be just as easy to take it home with us, but maybe we don't want to do that and just leave clothes there.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by brycesteiner

Our plan for now is once a month for a week at a time in our to be permanently parked Montana. I can see that it may be just as easy to take it home with us, but maybe we don't want to do that and just leave clothes there.

Our trips were typically from 1 week (and wash once) to 2 1/2 weeks (and wash 2-3 times). Most clothes were typically taken home, but bed linens and towels and wash cloths were washed and left in the trailer.

Most park laundry facilities, if they had them, were clean enough. And we did use them a few times if she had a particularly large amount to wash, usually when we were getting ready to travel. But we did see some my wife would have forced me to drive her to a cleaner facility if we had not had our own.

[Mikendebbie]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Our trips were typically from 1 week (and wash once) to 2 1/2 weeks (and wash 2-3 times). Most clothes were typically taken home, but bed linens and towels and wash cloths were washed and left in the trailer.

Most park laundry facilities, if they had them, were clean enough. And we did use them a few times if she had a particularly large amount to wash, usually when we were getting ready to travel. But we did see some my wife would have forced me to drive her to a cleaner facility if we had not had our own.

On board washer/dryer falls into the Happy Wife Happy Life category. She has done plenty of time in laundromats in 47 years.