# Clothing washing machine



## odonnks (Jan 29, 2005)

Hello,  I will soon beegin living from my motorhome for up to 6 months/yr.  My unit has a location for a clothing washer and I was wondering if anyone has good or bad experiences with the units available for motorhomes.
Any responses are appreciated.

Thank you
Kevin


----------



## C Nash (Jan 29, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Kevin, most campgrounds have pay washer and dryers for campers to use. Something to consider is the extra weight they add to your rv. Most I have talked to like them but say you have to wash small loads and the dryer is not great. If you are not hooked to sewage they will fill the holding tank pretty quick.  Most I have priced run in the 8 to 9 hundred range so i figured we could do a lot of washing for this amount and the closet comes in handy for other things. I think the ones that vent outside work better.


----------



## Gary B (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Hi Kevin, I agree 100% with Chelse, here are a few pros & cons: we have one in our home as we didn't have room upstairs for a regular laundry set. Pros they use very little water or detergent, operate on 110 VAC are small & take a small space, price isn't too bad considering they are both a washer & dryer they do a good job washing and getting clothes clean. Cons they can only handle small wash loads and even smaller drying loads, they are noisy and take for ever to do the washing and drying is a all day affair, you can't really use softeners like downey in the dispenser cause after awhile it builds up and smells like a dead rat. Well maybe not that bad but they do get to smelling something awful. The only problem we have had is the door switch failed after the warrenty run out but I was able to repair it. Ours gets used almost everyday so relibilty is good, my better half says she'd never have one in the RV as it would drive her crazy with the viberation and noise :blush:  Good luck with your search.
  :laugh:    :bleh:    :approve:


----------



## sepisllib (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Interesting topic. 

We were kind of hoping that ours had the unit in it or at least had a space for one to be installed. However that was not the case.

So - we are going ahead without a washer and dryer and watching, reading and listening to others opinions and problems with them.

One person stated - they love their all-in-one but found out one valuable thing - that was this: When washer is done - open and fluff the wet clothes around inside the tub because during the spin cycle the clothes are sucked outward into the little holes and stay there. The clothes then do not dry as well and do not tumble and move around inside the airstream and thus it takes forever to dry.

One other friend of ours bought a new Travel Supreme and had the option of a larger sized stacked washer/dryer. He said that this system works much better.

In the mean time - we will have to use the laundromat or somewhere from time to time - not that we will have a lot of other important things to do with our time being retired...

Increases our togetherness.

Judy and I are so much looking forward to becoming full timers (mostly) soon

God Bless

Bill & Judy


----------



## odonnks (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Thanks for the responses.
I have heard some of the same cons from a friend.
It sounds like it'll be the pay laundry for me too.

Thanks again
Kevin


----------



## bajadudes (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Don't forget the "Travels with Charley" John Steinbeck solution to washing clothes on the road.  We did this for several years and it worked quite well.  Take a 5 gallon joint compound bucket or similar with a tight fitting lid and hang it in the closet with a bungee cord and place 2 more cords from the handle pivot points to the floor.  Now fill the bucket about half way with essential items like undergarments and socks, add water, soap, a pair of tennis shoes or similar agitating agent and let the road do the bouncing and washing.  After about 50 min depending on road conditions, dump out dirty water and add rinse water, repeat cycle as often as necessary.

At first we were very skeptical but we gave it a try and were amazed at the results.  Now granted it's pretty hard to do a lot of laundry this way but we were always able to take care of essentials and really stretch out the need for official laundry times.

This is probably best suited for the "walmart parking lot" boon-docking RV type  :laugh:


----------



## Lil Truckr (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Hey guys,  I love having a washer/dryer unit in our coach.  We can do a load as we run down the road or if we're sitting in a campground.  My only wish is that it was a stacked unit instead of a combo one.  There is no more convenient way to do a load of laundry then walking to where it's installed in your coach/trailer and push a button.  As for the weight issue, give me a break. A combo unit weighs so little your coach won't even know its there.  As for taking a long time to dry, don't believe it.  I can do all my and the wife clothing from two or three days in about three hours.  The drying time isn't bad at all.  I for one would NEVER own a coach without a washer/dryer, be it combo unit or stacked. Once you have one you will not want to be without...  

Keep in mind, I can do laundry on the fly because we have a generator and carry water with us.  Also, I hate going to Laundry Mats. Sittin in them, looking at old outdated magazines, in the heat.  Nope, not for me... :dead: 

Just my opinion.  

Lil Truckr


----------



## Tammi (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Bajadudes that is one of my all time favorite books


----------



## C Nash (Jan 30, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Lil Trucker
quote ( A combo unit weighs so little your coach won't even know its there. )
 Some of the rvs are all ready near their carrying load w/out anything in them so it's a good idea to weight everything you put in them.   A extra 100 or so pounds could put some units over their rated limit.


----------



## Lil Truckr (Jan 31, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

C. Nash,

I guess I don't agree with you on this one.  Granted all coach/trailer owners should have his rig four-corner weighed but I really don't think a 100 pounds would make that much difference. For my coach, the total weight I can carry above the total weight of the coach, with liquids, is almost 3500 pounds. If 100 pounds would put a coach over the maximum carrying limit then you have more problems then the weight of the washer/dryer combo would add.   

Again, just my opinion...


----------



## C Nash (Jan 31, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Couldn,t agree with you more Lil truckr but, look at some of the rvs and you will find that a good precent of them can be easely overloaded. Most are just made to sell and to heck wheather they are overloaded or not.  No yours would not have this problem and others that do would just have to decide what to leave off if they were near the limit


----------



## Lil Truckr (Jan 31, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

I guess you get what you pay for.  If someone is going to buy a coach or trailer they better find out what their load limits should be.  If there is no load capacity, run out the door...


----------



## Kirk (Jan 31, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

I think LilTrucker should check the weight of a washer/dryer again. The stacked twins weigh in at more than 300# and a single combo unit will run close to 200 in additional equipment by the time that it is installed.


----------



## Lil Truckr (Feb 1, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

100 pound or 200 pounds, to me it really doesn't make a difference if your load capacity is around 3500 pounds but I stand corrected if the combo weight is 200 pounds.  I humbly apologize for a 100 pound mistake.    :blackeye:  :blackeye:  :disapprove:  :disapprove:


----------



## Fulltimin (Feb 1, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

quote:Once you have one you will not want to be without...My wife will totally disagree on that point. We always had a washer and dryer in our stick house and they were both used every week. We never had any in any RV we ever owned. As fulltimers we still don't have a washer and dryer in our 5er and we never will. Taking all the pros and cons into consideration we feel the coin op laundry is the better deal.


----------



## Lil Truckr (Feb 1, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

I agree on the better deal, you can wash lots of cloths at a laundromat for the $1300 a combo washer/dryer cost, but for me, I hate with a passion going to the coin laundry.  I look at it this way. If I'm on vacation somewhere, and I only have so much time to see the sites and enjoy myself, I'm not going to waste hours sitting in the laundromat someplace.  

For full timers its a different situation all together.  What else do you have to do but the laundry or sit and watch the grass grow.   

Again this is just my opinion. 

Happy camping to all and think spring for your poor northern folks.


----------



## Fulltimin (Feb 1, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

quote:For full timers its a different situation all together. What else do you have to do but the laundry or sit and watch the grass grow.

Boy you sure do have a total misconception of what fulltiming is all about. You see we are on vacation 24/7/365. Most of us have little time to sit and watch the grass grow and really hate to take the time to do laundry either. But we also realize that the $1300 a combo washer/dryer costs will get us into a lot of attractions or pay for a whole bunch of campgrounds. As fulltimers we also have to carry everything we own in our 5er and the additional weight of a washer/dryer is just that muchless personal stuff we can carry. I'd much rather carry a few more toys than appliances that are readily available at most parks.

And like you, this is just my(?) opinion.


----------



## Krazeehorse (Feb 1, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Just stay nekkid as much as ya can.  No clothes=no dirty clothes.  :bleh:


----------



## Lil Truckr (Feb 1, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Nekkid is good, in my younger years, but now not so good. :dead:


----------



## tink24tom (Feb 2, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

you should get the stacked washer and dryer made by whirlpool and sold by sears. our 1996 kountrystar came with them installed and they get used 5 months every year. no big problems.


----------



## Gruffy (Feb 2, 2005)

Clothing washing machine

Only problem with a stack is that you can't run them both without lots of available power.... and you can't see into the washer worth a hoot unless it's a front loader.

When we boondock it's a real blessing to be able to do a load now and then and not have to search out a coin laundry.

It's also nice to know someone has not just washed greasy coveralls in the machine before you use it.  People use coin laundrys to wash things that they would never wash at home.

Big sign over as campground laundry in Florida "This machine stains cloths"... just more stuff we don't have to put up with.


----------

