Talk to me about washing machines

[Rangerman40]

So our new fifth wheel has a washer/dryer prep. I've looked online and all of the rv specific units seem to get mixed reviews, and take forever to do a load. In talking to my wife about it she's not even sure we need a dryer because she dries very little at home. Does anyone have any recommendations for a washer only? I like the idea of an apartment sized stack unit (if it will even fit), but less than thrilled about having to drill a hole in the side of a brand new fifth wheel for a vent. The combo ventless units look fairly useless to me. It's one of those things that doesn't really do either task well and is highly inefficient about doing it.

[richfaa]

have a vented Splendide 2100XC. The loads are smaller but the convenience is awesome. These are not your home W/D's so do not even try to compare them. They do small loads and long drying time but what is the hurry. We have had the Splendide for 11 years in two 5th wheels with not a single problem. It is not like you are beating the laundry with rocks down at the river bank. Insert laundry, detergent, spin a dial, push a button and go about your business till they are done. We do 2 or three small loads a week load is running now. Personal preference but makes life on the road easier.

[GoPackGo]

I fulltime and my philosophy is that I had a w/d in my stick house so why wouldn't I have them in my house on wheels ???? Did you go to the laundromat when you lived in a house ?

I have the Splendide stackables and really like them. Smaller then a full size unit but so what ?? What does it matter ? It's so easy to do laundry. The dirty clothes are about 1 foot away from the w/d and the closet for the clean clothes is right next to it. Just put in a load and go fishing or to Yosemite Valley, or the local aquarium, etc. Come back and throw the clothes in the dryer. Who cares how long they take to dry ? Head off to lunch or dinner. Repeat as necessary.

I really do not understand the argument that they are small or they take longer to dry. Doing laundry this way does not impact my lifestyle one iota. But it would be a much different story if I had to go to the local laundromat and wait around for the clothes to wash and dry. Life is too short to spend time in a laundromat.

[jnharley]

We can wash our sheet set, queen blanket, throw rugs, towels etc (separate loads of course) in our washer so it is not that small. The dryer is slower because it is 110v. We figure we have recouped the money we paid for our stackable units in the 5 years we have had them. I cannot imging how people can only wash clothes once or twice a month. I do not own that many clothes. I estimate that I spent at least $15 per week doing laundry at laundry mats before we had the stackables.

[Cummins12V98]

topjimmy wrote:
6 years of fulltiming for me and my wife an never felt a need for a washer and dryer in our closet,the campgrounds and resorts we go to have nice Laundry facilities for a reasonable price and we can do big Loads and be done with it..just my 2 bits

We used to feel the same. Now we have a W/D in our rig and would not be without!!!

[BarneyS]

Coach-man wrote:

Mandalay Parr wrote:
My vent is in the engine compartment. No hole outside.
I love my combo unit.

Engine compartment? What brand fifth wheel has an engine? snip...

Look at his screen name and his signature. He drives a Class A diesel motorhome. Most washer/dryers are in the rear of the unit which is right where the engine of most diesel motorhomes is located.
Barney

[Coach-man]

Mandalay Parr wrote:
My vent is in the engine compartment. No hole outside.
I love my combo unit.

Engine compartment? What brand fifth wheel has an engine? Most if not all washer dryers are small, multiple loads are required to get the laundry done, sheets are a problem, then try and dry everything! It takes a lot of quarters to buy a washer dryer combo, you can do a lot of washes before you break even! Campground washer dryers will handle a weeks worth of laundry easily. And think of all the extra space you have in your rig without a washer dryer!

[alboy]

Putting in the dryer vent is easy peasy,did it myself.I taped the outside cutting line to prevent any chipping ,installed a chrome vent cover,looks factory done,although probably Better!

[Texas_Roadrunn1]

We had the Splendide side by side washer and dryer. The dryer was 120V so it took awhile to dry a load and the loads were small, but even with those challenges I would not have been without it. We did have to replace a belt in the dryer and the most expensive part was getting the dryer out so that the belt could be replaced. We now have a stackable Whirlpool set, and while we've really only gotten to use our new fiver for a couple of weeks, I really like the larger size and the 220V dryer. I can understand your hesitation in cutting that hole, but it just might be worth it!

[Aridon]

We did the combo splendide for a year or so. We found it to clog up with lint as there was no lint filter and the unit would sipmly try and flush it out. Only problem being the flush pipe was a 90 degree upward turn out of the unit. Very poor design and I'd have to pull it out and clean that area every few months. Very annoying.

Then we went stack-able and we'd never go back to a single unit. We Fulltimed though so weekend warriors can probably manage just fine without one but FT I didn't want to bother taking all our laundry over to the CG place or laundry mat to do it. No thank you.

[Racine96]

We have. A Splendide convo. Our only complaint is that is shakes the FW at times during the cycles

[topjimmy]

6 years of fulltiming for me and my wife an never felt a need for a washer and dryer in our closet,the campgrounds and resorts we go to have nice Laundry facilities for a reasonable price and we can do big Loads and be done with it..just my 2 bits

[backlater]

We have the Spledide stackable and they works fine, the only complaint we have is the dryer is very loud (motor or belt), I don't know if this is common, or ours has an issue. Ours is located in the living area where most units are in the bedroom so we can not close the door to lessen the noise. We usually just take a walk or go exploring when the dryer is running.

[TxGearhead]

We have a Pinnacle combo, vented. Takes a few times to know how to prevent wrinkles, but we like it. DW refuses to use public washers. I could care less.
If you have persistent wrinkles get 4-5 of those knobby rubber laundry balls from Target etc.

[RVcrazy]

We have a combo Spledide we have used twice. I convinced hubby it was essential, and I was wrong ( for us). Ours is vented. I found that I prefer wasing 7-8 loads 2 x per month and being all done in 2 hours. Most RV parks don't allow clotheslines or clothes hanging outdoors.