Possible TT Modifications??

[BackerBunch]

Hi all, I’m new to the forum here but been lurking for 2-3 weeks now. You guys are a wealth of info but I still have some questions. I apologize in advance for the long post.

DH and I haven’t bought a TT yet. We were deciding between a MH and a TT until my 14 yr old Mountaineer developed an AC problem. I told DH we weren’t going to start putting serious $$ into such an old vehicle so we traded it in for a 2012 Expedition EL with a HD tow package. I really didn’t want the extended version but DH said we would get better stability so we have to settle for the 8700 lb towing ability.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on TT’s and had narrowed our pick to maybe a handful until DH threw a monkey wrench into the equation. He informed me he didn’t want to use CG laundromats. He wants a TT with a WD. I know they don’t come equipped with WD’s nor do they even come equipped already plumbed for them so is it even possible to get one installed? I think I might have narrowed down our search for a TT to a Surveyor Sport SP275RBS. I was wondering since there is a wardrobe and a closet in the bathroom maybe removing one of them would make room for the WD (Splendide 7100XC)? (If no one knows the answer I’ll track one down and go measure.) Would placing it near a “water source” make plumbing it in easier?

Also, is it possible to remove the dinette booth? I know there is storage on one side but not sure if there is anything under the other seat(s). The reason I ask is because we will need a place to put a couple of wire dog crates. The table is freestanding. We have a couple of (light) kitchen chairs so if there is room for the table after placing the crates we’ll have a little dinette suit but if not, we’ve got a couple of tv trays we can eat off of so that’s no big deal but being able to place the crates is important to us.

I hope you guys don’t think we’re crazy. DH & I have never owned a TT before. FWIW, we won’t be buying one until next year (still have to finish getting the house in move-in condition, sell what we can and pack up/store the rest) and then we will need to take a few weekend trips to until we’re used to it before making our move from NC to WA state so any info and/or suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[westhedgeapple]

I had the same dislike of Laundromats and when We bought a new travel trailer in 2006 that was number one on the wish list. Here are the cold hard reality facts and we did not get one. (1) you have to have a 50 amp electrical service. In the model we wanted it was not even a special order option. (2) You have to go to at least a 35 ft. rig to fit one in. The overall size of this is closer to 40 ft. Many campgrounds have limited sites in this size and the ones that advertise "Big Rig Sites" also have excellent Laundromats. (3)You have to go to a really big tow vehicle to handle the bigger TT. (4)The water to wash clothes has to come from somewhere and go somewhere. 90% of the TT's have 30 or 40 gallon freshwater tanks and the same size gray water as well. That will not last long if you don't have a full hookup site or like to boondock. (5) Attempting to retrofit a W/D to an existing TT that was Not pre-plumbed from the factory is a nightmare you do not want to attempt unless you have an indoor concrete floor workplace and a great amount of experience with TT construction. I have made many TT updates, BAL electric jacks, 2nd 30 gallon gray water tank, under trailer spare tire rack, rear class 3 receiver hitch but I would not try this one. As other posts have said, you really meet some interesting people in the Laundromats.

[hddecker]

lizzie wrote:
Seems like a lot of trouble, expense, and loss of storage space just to avoid the CG laundry. Has DH heard something bad about them? We don't use them much as we prefer to drop off laundry in near-by communities and have it washed and folded while we are having fun, but we don't have a problem with them. Just curious. lizzie

I agree, we started using laundry services last year. We were on the road for 55 days on one trip. We find the service as soon as we get to a stop and ask about timing, they usually offer next day service, so we drop the laundry off 2 days before we will be leaving.

I would sooner do that than hearing a washer and dryer running while I'm trying to read or watch the news.

[BackerBunch]

Thanks everybody for your replies/comments. Anaro, I didn't think about flooding and/or fires. Thank you for bringing that up.

[Opie431]

We look over the laundromats in the towns we visit and pick out the best one.
To get room for the washer-dryer you might have to go for a larger size.

[westend]

I'd suggest that having the laundry picked up once a week for four months and having it delivered back to your camp site is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper and less troublesome than installing a washer and dryer.

[anaro]

Listening to you talk, I hear that you will be spending an extended period of time in your tt and probably not returning home. This will be a temporary full-timing for you. This means much more weight added to the tt and much more space needed. Make no mistake that the average campers add 1000-1500 lbs of stuff to their tt. Fulltimers may add more. Adding the weight of the additional w/d and losing the storage space is a mistake in my mind. You will be very limited on where you can put things to begin with. Think about your clothes, dishes, pots, pans, toiletries, coats, hats, umbrellas, dog food and toys, leashes, doggie bags, flashlights, chairs, tools, firewood, leveling blocks, grill, and the list goes on. The final day you will be spending at least a couple hours cleaning up, packing up and storing everything anyways. Go put your clothes in, time it, come back to the rv and do your chores. Then go pick up your clothes. Also, I would not leave a w/d running in an rv if you are not there. Too much risk of flood and even an overheated fire. Too much damage can be done too quickly to an rv by that to risk it. Also you will use way more water than your tanks,are set up for so you will have to be on full hook up so you can do the laundry. You can also spend your last day doing whatever, come back and throw the laundry in at the laundry mat while you have supper and pack the next day depending on your departure time and how quickly you can ready for travel. I suggest you go rent a tt for a weekend and get a better feel for your usage and how campgrounds are.

On the other hand I think the dinette mod is fine. We removed our collapsible/removable table from the u dinette in our old tt. We fit a large dog crate in there with no mod and no issue. Best of luck to you and enjoy your travels.

[BackerBunch]

Lou, there's no reason we need to install the W/D as soon as we buy the TT. Plus, we need to take some mini trips to learn as much as we can so maybe my husband will be like yours. Maybe he'll change his mind too once he gets to check out the CG laundry mats.

ETA: And thank you, Lou. No matter how much you think you can prepare yourself for losing a love one it still hurts.

[loulou57]

Sandia Man wrote:
Congrats on being an RVer in the near future. There are a few TTs that have an option for a W/D combo, but they are much larger and way beyond what your Expy can tow safely.

Have heard of laundry mat phobia but the reasoning escapes me. We normally pack enough clothes for a week of travel and have at times done a load or two at campground or public laundry mats with never an issue. The ones in our neighborhood are extremely nice with free wifi and have food and many large flatscreen TVs to pass the time.

Sounds like you have done some good research and have a rig picked out that won't overwhelm your Expy EL, whether you can get a washer dryer to be part of the equation is beyond my scope of expertise. I hope you can figure out how to accomplish this mod, enjoy your new TT.

Sorry for the loss of your mum and also your hubby issues with work. My questions were for you to think about if you really needed a washer and dryer in TT. My hubby first said no campground laundry. I was surprised when he came in after a walk and said that the laundry facilities were acceptable. We don't seem to have as much laundry as we have at home.

[BackerBunch]

Thanks, keymastr. I’ll add in the extra weight into the equation. I’d rather overestimate than underestimate. I know we aren’t going to know exactly what we are going to be taking until we start using the TT but right now we’re packing up stuff in Rubbermaid containers so we can weigh them to get an idea. At least stay on top of things to the best of our ability right now.

ArticFox, thanks for that info. I’ll let DH know.

Lizzie, When we finally pull out of here, we’re going to be spending approx. a week at each CG we stop at. DH said he doesn’t want to waste the last day at the CG at the laundry mat. Personally, I don’t have a problem with it. I figure our last full day there would be doing laundry and making “leftover” soup for supper that night.

Lou, you aren’t nosy. I was born and raised in the south. Your questions would have to be more hard core than that before I would consider them nosy. I guess you can call it temporarily full time. DH & I haven’t had a vacation since May ’08. We moved my mom in with us Jan ’06 after her double mastectomy. When we came home in May ’08 we realized she was no longer able to stay by herself. She passed away in June ’13 but we still couldn’t take a vacation even though DH had 5 weeks. When mom passed away we had contractors in here due to a mold problem we had despite the fact they told us it would only take about 4 weeks. (The insurance adjustor and contractor were here on May 6th.) Around the middle of July, DH & I looked around and realized we could finish what the contractors haven’t done so we fired them. It took us a few weeks but we got it done along with painting rooms we didn’t have on the list to do. Then in August I found out I needed cataract surgery. Had my left eye done in Sept and the right one done in Oct. THEN we found out after Thanksgiving the company my DH worked for for 33 yrs was selling the plant to another company. So, in Jan of this year DH became a new employee in the same building. DH has tried to give the new company a chance but the longer he works there, the more unhappy he is. He’s from Washington state and since my mom is no longer with us there’s really no reason for us to stay. After we finish with getting the house in move-in condition and selling what we can, we’re going to pack up and take our time getting to WA….maybe 3-4 months??

Once we have our day clothes on we usually don’t change again until we go to bed at night unless DH sweats a lot. He can change clothes 2-3 times a day sometimes. And we usually wear our shorts/pants for 2-3 days in a row.

[Sandia_Man]

Congrats on being an RVer in the near future. There are a few TTs that have an option for a W/D combo, but they are much larger and way beyond what your Expy can tow safely.

Have heard of laundry mat phobia but the reasoning escapes me. We normally pack enough clothes for a week of travel and have at times done a load or two at campground or public laundry mats with never an issue. The ones in our neighborhood are extremely nice with free wifi and have food and many large flatscreen TVs to pass the time.

Sounds like you have done some good research and have a rig picked out that won't overwhelm your Expy EL, whether you can get a washer dryer to be part of the equation is beyond my scope of expertise. I hope you can figure out how to accomplish this mod, enjoy your new TT.

[loulou57]

Just a couple of nosey questions...

Are you going full time or how long would be the longest trip away?

Your issues with either CG laundromat or one in nearest town?

How many times a day do you change clothes?

I ask because you will be surprised at the amount of clothing you will use camping. You will take far more than needed. If you are concerned about CG laundry facilities and cleanliness I don't think that there is an issue. We only camp in Canada and provincial parks. We have never been in a dirty one. They are cleaned and disinfected the same as showers/toilets.

Do you realize that you would have to use full hook ups. No wilderness parks, no boondocking.
Good luck and keep us informed.

[lizzie]

Seems like a lot of trouble, expense, and loss of storage space just to avoid the CG laundry. Has DH heard something bad about them? We don't use them much as we prefer to drop off laundry in near-by communities and have it washed and folded while we are having fun, but we don't have a problem with them. Just curious. lizzie

[ArticFox_676]

Going to the laundry at the campgrounds you can learn a wealth of information about the area and sites to see. Campers are friendly and share information.

[keymastr]

Just a couple problems with the math but you are on the right track. Your tongue weight should be about 12 or 13 percent of the total trailer weight, not the 500 pounds they listed as the dry tongue weight. At 6000 pounds your tongue weight should be 780 pounds. But you may be underestimating the weight of the stuff you will be loading in the trailer for an average trip. Just food and water for a week will easily be 500# plus camp chairs, bicycles, cookware, barbecues fishing gear etc. It all adds up and trailers tend to get heavier with age because we keep thinking of more stuff to bring along.

I do think this trailer will be a good match for the Expy. I have one too and they are pretty capable rigs but make no mistake about how close to the limits you are. I personally would not want to tow more with it but it should be safe and reliable at that weight.

As to the question of washers and driers there are a few trailers that have them but not nearly as many as in 5th wheels. Check out Open Range. I think they have a few but you will need a bigger truck to tow them most likely as I think only the larger trailers over 30' have them.

Here is a couple that have the plumbing installed in the bathroom closet however they are 12,000 pound trailers so a 1 ton or bigger would be adviseable. http://www.openrangerv.com/journeyer/floorplans.php