I need some quick advice. Hopefully I can get a good answer before our next trip which is scheduled for a month from today. I'm thinking about installing a washer and dryer in our Dutch Star A class. It would be nice to pack less clothing and just re-wear stuff after it is washed. If you have one installed can you tell me your experience with it? Is there a specific RV appropriate washer and dryer set up that I would have to look into? I saw a smaller washer and dryer at that HH Gregg website but I don't know if there is a specific hook up I need to get. Thanks for the help. I just don't want to purchase the set just to realize that it isn't going to work! Thanks.
Our motorhome come with a Splendide 2000 and we use it all the time as we travel. Everything is in one box and works off 120 VAC. You will need a hot and cold water line, drain pipe into Gray tank, plus a vent to outside if you pick the vented model. This one cost less to use. The vent-less model will use a good bit of water to dry the load. Over the years of hard working the machine has needed repair a couple time. I have fixed all problems found to date. One was bad wire lug on heater fuse link and blew the fuse link. One was bad lug on input at 120 VAC line. Last repair was to replace the two shock tubes at bottom due to old age and use. Machine will jump up and down if the shocks are bad. New model stocks fixed that problem. Price to replace all parts cost less than $200 with shipping in this price. Wife runs that little machine all the time (if is running now) and would stop RV travel if it were not on board. We never used machines in RV parks if can get out of it. Had to do this one time due to parts on order. 15 years of service so far on machine.
Doing laundry in the parks can get pricey with some places charging $2.50 a load to wash and about that much to dry. The average, from what I can tell in the last two years of traveling is $1.50-$1.75 a load. Also, several parks have what I think are unreasonable closing hours (i.e. laundry room closes at 6:00 p.m. -- how are you going to be out all day sightseeing and then try to do laundry in the evening?). Then you have the problem of a park with 100 sites and 2 washers/2 dryers. People are literally standing in line to do laundry. Lastly, I had a problem this summer with one park's well water that left my whitey-brighties somewhat less than white. I would LOVE to have one of the washer/dryer units but just can't justify giving up the space it would take.
We have one of the Splendide combo washer - dryers too. Works OK, small loads, fab softener the liquid kind needed to prevent wrinkles. But very very handy. Really small loads though. I like it. Wife does not. She is a iron person though and likes pressed clothes so this machine does bake the wrinkles in.
Our previous motorhome did not have a washer and dryer. We would pack alot of clothes, and if needed use the CG W/D facilities. When shopping for our current motorhome, the wife was pretty well set that she "would rather have the more storage space than a W/D". Being the loving and caring husband that I am, the model we purchased has the Splendide stackable units, dryer vents to the outside. It seems it actually saves storage space because we don't need to pack as many clothes or store the dirty clothes until washing. It saves time beause it is so much easier to do a load each day or so, and not have to tote baskets, hangers, and laundry products, halfway through the campground each week. So far, (about 100 loads) it has worked perfectly. I even got to hear that seldom heard melody " You were right, dear" ahh music to the ears.
