Washer/dryer

[MAwolcott]

The wife and I are cautiously looking for our full time rig. One option that we keep going back and forth on is the washer and dryer. For those of you that have one; is it worth it? Is it that much more convenient than taking the load to the laundromat? How many issues are there with having one in the rig?

[NYCgrrl]

Having a washer and or dryer at home or on the road involves additional costs past the appliance. And then there is the I am or am not a germaphobe argument. And the perceived convenience thunk on both sides of the discussion. If you think this works best in your world, buy one. If you think it doesn't, don't.
It's just that simple.

[GoPackGo]

I think a having a washer and dryer is kind of like the diesel debate. Will you ever recoup the cost ? Not sure but I do know the convenience of having a washer/dryer in my bedroom is GOLDEN.

The dirty clothes bag is 1 FULL STEP away from the w/d. The chest of drawers and closet for the clean clothes is maybe 2 steps away. I can start a load after dinner in about 1 minute flat. I sometimes start a load as I head out the door for the day. No waiting for a machine at the office. No hanging around to put the wet clothes into a dryer AND THEN hanging around some more while they dry.

Did I have a W/D in my sticks and bricks house (YES) or did I go to the laundramat ???? My fiver is now my home and I don't intend to regress now.

Life is too short.

Tim

[silvercorvette]

stickdog wrote:

silvercorvette wrote:
The washer will never pay for itself, but camp ground machines are expensive to use.

The one thing DW required to start fulltiming was a W/D. We got a new but slightly blemished Splendidi 2100 installed from the dealer for $900. to seal the deal. I'm not familiar with laundromat pricing but assuming $6.00 dollars a week for laundry would have been over $1700. over the last 5 1/2 years we've been on the road.

I had no idea it was that expensive, the last time I used a campground washer was in the early 1980s. I do recall that I had to put a lot of quarters into a very small machine.

When I made that comment I had no idea of the cost savings but for me having a machine in camper is worth it on the connivence factor alone. Your example of cost savings made it even more desirable

[stickdog]

silvercorvette wrote:
The washer will never pay for itself, but camp ground machines are expensive to use.

The one thing DW required to start fulltiming was a W/D. We got a new but slightly blemished Splendidi 2100 installed from the dealer for $900. to seal the deal. I'm not familiar with laundromat pricing but assuming $6.00 dollars a week for laundry would have been over $1700. over the last 5 1/2 years we've been on the road.

[silvercorvette]

It depends on how much you value you time and the connivence of a washer.

Before I got my latest RV I spent a lot of time parked in a driveway clearing out my mothers house. I spent so much time clearing out the house I did not have much time to spend sitting in a Laundromat wasting time waiting for my stuff to get washed. At the end of the trip I did not want to sit in a laundrymat so the last day I searched for my cleanest dirty underware.

The washer will never pay for itself, but camp ground machines are expensive to use.
What is it worth to you to not have to carry a basket of clothes to the campground (possibly walk in the rain and mud) then have to wait till the person using the machine is done.
What about being stuck there waiting to with the clothes from washer to dryer and if you are not there someone will removed your stuff. Then when you put the stuff in the dryer you have to either wait or walk back and forth to you RV again

I have a all in one washer dryer combo. The washer in near the bed but it is quiet. Before I go to sleep I load up my clothes in the washer and after the stuff is watched it automatically switches to dry so when I wake up in the morning I have clean dry clothes. The capacity is small but I do a load of was ever one or two days.

===============================================
I just finished reading the 2 pages of replies

#1 noise factor, my Splendide is 4 feet from my bed and I can sleep with it running without being bothered by noise.

#2 time factor, I spend no time washing my stuff other than loading and un-loading the machine. They going in before I go to sleep and I wake up with clean clothes.

#3 I have a 5th wheel but the situation is the same with a MH. There have been many times I pull in and leave the truck connected to the RV. So washing my stuff would either involve un-hooking my truck or a toad if I had a M/H and driving to the Laundromat, or not un-hooking and carrying a basket full of clothes. I have noticed a lot of Laundromats near the check in desk and many times all the machines are being used. So not only do you have to wait your turn for a machine to become available you have to waste your time sitting in a humid room watching your clothes tumble. I have also seen people dump out other peoples clothes on the floor because they were not there to remove them when the machine finished

#3 may get deleted but I will try to be tactful when I say this. There are some people that are attracted to underwear that belongs to the opposite sex so the is the risk of undergarments being stolen

[marytaz]

The washer I have hooks up to the sink. Since I won't be traveling in the trailer, I had though of possibly building a small covered shed to go outside the trailer. It would be under cover, so that's not an issue, but I don't know how I'd hook up water to it. I might just use my brother and SIL's washer/dryer. A pain in the winter though. Still thinking...

[mrbarkley]

We have been full timing for 5 years. Our pre owned 5th wheel did not have a W/D and my wife wasn't sure she wanted one. I talked her into a Whirlpool W/D that is stackable. After the first few months on the road she wouldn't give them up for anything. Friends have reported finding all sorts of items in campground laundries, grease from shop rags, all types of pet hair and leftovers from diapers! No thanks, not me, I know what goes into our W/D.

[TomB_]

We have been full timing for more than 3 months, & during this time DW has been contending with the CG's laundry facilities. She has come to the decision that it would be easier & cheaper to have a WD combo installed. Bottom line is simply, IF MOMMA AIN'T HAPPY, NOBODY HAPPY!!! :W

[ramgunner]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
If the washer is a high efficiency model the amount of water remaining in the clothes after thy have spun at a "GAZILLION" rpm is not enough to worry about being dispersed into your RV. No different than the W/D's that are a single unit.

Keep in mind that most of such units use a condensing dryer. They don't vent the air. There are two cylinders in them - the inner one with holes, and the outer one solid. They heat air in the inner cylinder where the clothes are, and steam passes through the holes. They run cold water over the outer surface of the outer cylinder and the steam from the inner cylinder condenses on the inner surface of that outer cylinder. It's then drained. They consume additional cold water as part of the drying process.

Venting a dryer inside really can introduce enough moisture to the inside of the RV to be an issue, especially in the winter when there's no A/C running to suck out the moisture.

[marytaz]

Cummins12V98, yes it is HE. Even venting to the outside, I use the pantyhose on the end of the hose so it catches all the lint and doesn't pollute the outdoors. 🙂

[Cummins12V98]

If the washer is a high efficiency model the amount of water remaining in the clothes after thy have spun at a "GAZILLION" rpm is not enough to worry about being dispersed into your RV. No different than the W/D's that are a single unit.

marytaz give it a try!

[marytaz]

Dianne, I'm not in Idaho yet. I'm currently in California until I retire. I'll be living in a tiny town about 75 miles NW of Boise, on the border of Idaho and Oregon.

[DianneOK]

Marytaz...where in Idaho are you? Just curious

[marytaz]

Good point, Dianne! Thanks!