Expensive Mistake - Montana Owners Club

Bill-N-Donna · 10-24-2008, 11:29 AM

I purchased the Splendide washer/dryer combination this early summer and I neglected to secure it in a way as to not allow it to tip over. I have traveled through the mountains of WVA into PA; traveled over the mountains into VA without any problems. As fate would have it on our last camping trip we went to a campground only about 25 miles from our home. The road was somewhat curvy and it had one bad place in the road where the pavement suddenly dropped about 4-6 inches but I didn't think anything of it. However, between the curves and the sudden dip (of which I think was the culprit) I found the washer lying on its face when I arrived at the campground. This resulted in about $189.00 of parts. I replaced the front face plate and the circuit board behind the knobs. The circuit board had a crack in it. I ordered the parts and did the repairs all my self. I can however say that the repair was a success.

A word of caution! Secure your washer and/or dryer units so they won’t fall over.

billhoover · 10-24-2008, 02:00 PM

Good advice.

On our last trip, when we checked inside, noticed that the front of the Apollo was crooked. The right rear (when facing) leg it had jumped out of the gutter like apparatus in which it sits.

It was easy to put back...and I don't recall hitting a bump that bad.

bob · 10-24-2008, 02:08 PM

Bill how did you secure it, any pictures

bncinwv · 10-24-2008, 03:07 PM

Sorry to hear the impact on the wallet of the impact on the floor Bill. Did you bolt it down, your solution may definitely be worthwhile to others. They are fixing our dryer knob (similar to Bill's situation but different cause) under the extended warranty, and they will be re-visiting whether they bolted the stackables down in the 3400 closet or not. FYI, our damage was caused by the closet doors where I believe the knob was impacting when we were travelling. Check your installations, some dealers have the false idea that a couple of Velcro pads are all that is needed to keep the units in place. Bolting them through the floor is one viable solution.
Bingo

Bill-N-Donna · 10-24-2008, 04:50 PM

What I did was order 2 mounting kits that Splendide has. A bit pricy but it will secure each leg of the washer. I will figure a way to secure them underneath if possible so they won't be seen. Our bathroom is one large open room; the partition had been removed from around the closet and the toilet area before we bought the Monty. That was another reason to fasten it down.

Delaine and Lindy · 10-25-2008, 04:22 AM

We have in the past had the Splendide Combo and the Splendide Ariston stackable, and have used the mounting brackets on both. We also on the Splendide Stackable use a over flow pan which was really not needed. Bill sorrow about you damage to the Splendide. GBY....

bsmeaton · 10-25-2008, 07:18 AM

Bill,

When I installed our Splendide stackables, I used two install kits like you say. If you're going in a closet, the rear brackets are a little tough. I turned them sideways so I could slide the washer into them and had to measure precisely because ultimately your doing it in the blind back there. You know you're in if you can't tip the washer towards you.

The front brackets ended up being mounted as shown in the picture so you can get to the screws. The washer trim is removed here, but it doesn't really cover the bracket when its installed.

sreigle · 10-25-2008, 09:26 AM

Bill, where in the rig is your combo located? Our w/d are by the entry door, facing towards the rear. The dryer is on top and is secured to a rack that is in turn secured. But the washer is unsecured other than by hose and electric cord. There are double doors closed and latched just in front of the stack. We've had no movement in ours but yours may be located in a different area and therefore be more susceptible to movement? Thanks.

Bill-N-Donna · 10-25-2008, 01:04 PM

Here is a photo of where our unit sits. I may have to allow the brackets to show a little. It looks like its going to be too difficult to hide them all. Brad, are your brackets bolted or do they have screws in them? They don’t look bad at all the way you mounted them. I would like to have them hid but more so I would rather have it secure. I might try and bolt them to the floor rather than using screws on them. I should be able to get underneath to fasten the nuts on the bolts if I do. At least one bolt in each clip may be ok.

bsmeaton · 10-25-2008, 02:02 PM

Bill, mine are just screwed into the floor. I actually never thought of getting up underneath to bolt them, guess I could have knowing what is under there now (no tank in the way).

genecurp · 10-25-2008, 02:51 PM

Sorry you had the problem. Congrats on fixing it so well. Thanks for the advice and how to info about securing the washer.

Gene and Judi

rving2us · 10-27-2008, 04:18 AM

Thanks for the heads up. This site just about covers everything. I have learned so many tricks that I thought I knew over the past few months, you just never know what info you are going to run into. It's great.

richfaa · 10-27-2008, 05:08 AM

The dealer installed ours. Don't know how they secured it but we can see the front brackets. It has not moved at all in 29 Months of travel.

Emmel · 10-27-2008, 06:07 AM

Bill, I'm sorry to hear you had the problem but by the looks of your bath room, I guess I can understand how that happened. We still have the wall and door around the w/d and it is not mounted to the floor. I and a friend installed our w/d and it fits so tight in the space there is no place it could go. We have a model 3280 that looks similar to your setup and when the closet door is shut the w/d will not move. If my wall was removed I would have to mount the w/d like you are talking about!

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