4 Steps to Choosing a Washer and Dryer for the RV

Seriously, the best RV upgrade!           

 When my husband and I started talking about living in the RV full time he asked if I would like to have a washer and dryer. We had to talk about it for a few days because we had an All In One Washer/Dryer combo when we bought a motorhome a few years earlier.  That particular unit would not dry anything. It never occurred to us to check and see if the heating element was broke. We just assumed that it was a sucky idea and did not work at all. We have since learned to NOT assume anything. 

Step 1: Research

While we were thinking it over we did a lot of online research about the washer and dryer we might want to buy.  We knew that there was an All In One that washed as well as dried the same load.  That was one unit. The other option was like a home washer and dryer only smaller. The first thing I discovered, on line, was the complaints about not being able to dry the first load while the second load was washing. I guess I had not thought that through before I read the reviews.  That helped me decide that I wanted a separate washer and dryer so I could dry one load while washing the second load.  

Step 2: Which Brand should I buy?

More research dug up the fact that that there are only two major brands of washer and dryers for an RV. There are a lot of small washer and dryers and then there are the apartment size washer dryer combo. But we chose to go with one of the two that are specifically made for the RV.

You might ask why? Because they are made to take the shaking and rock and roll of the traveling RV. We also worried about the height and depth of the other brands.  The space in our RV dedicated to the laundry system was frugal. And the truth is that there is no wasted space in an RV. I will caution you to measure carefully before you buy and especially if you buy a system not built specifically for an RV, that or ask a lot of questions about the return policy where you buy it.

 Step 3: Vented or Ventless Dryer

I knew that the vented dryer would work better and the reason I knew that was because my husband told me so. The RV is wired for 110v and a house is wired 220v for the dryer. That is one of the reasons we choose a vented dryer. With less drying power we thought we needed all of the help we could get to dry a load of towels in less than a day. We took into consideration that a vented dryer meant that we would be drilling a plug out of the wall of our, $60,000.00 +, 5^th wheel. We still considered it a good choice.  Don’t forget to purchase a vent kit if you buy a vented dryer and a stacking kit. Most RV’s don’t have the space for them to sit side by side. The cost of the kits are extra but well worth it.

 Step 4: Measure, Measure, Measure

Like I commented in step 2, measure your appliances. Also, measure the opening of the RV front door. Measure any other doors you have to go through. We have a slide out that blocks one of the doors about 10 %. We thought that might be a problem but we managed to wiggle around the problem by taking the door off and lifting the washer and dryer over obstacles.

The space where our washer and dryer goes seemed to be big enough and the door way seemed to be big enough but…. we had to take the door trim off of the door after we removed the door.

Our RV has a closet for the washer and dryer and it measured at a good size.

We did not know that we needed extra space for the dryer vent to exit the RV. Our good size laundry closet became too small when we decided that the dryer needed to vent to the side of the washer that was opposite of the vent outlet on the back of the dryer. The vent hose is 3 inches around, not so big right? But you have to have space for that hose to make a 90 degree turn so your 3 inch hose needs six inches of space. My husband worked and wiggled it until he got that hose to make the 90 degree turn. It is a tight fit. I think that the manufacturer of the RV should have thought more about the placement of the laundry  space. Still, we managed to get it installed.

While your thinking about doing laundry in the RV, take some time to redefine what constitutes a load of laundry.

It is just my husband and myself so doing smaller loads of laundry is a good option for us. Our washer can do four towels in one load or three pair of genes.  It takes about and hour to dry four towels or the three pair of jeans.

 

What do I think of our RV washer and dryer?

All in all our Arisdon made by Splendide, Washer and Dryer are GREAT and they have made my life easer living in the RV fulltime.

Check out Splendide Washers and Dryers at www.camperworld or at www.Splendide.com

(disclaimer, I did not get paid to tell you about this product... I just like it.)

 

 I keep reminding myself that change is inevitable and I might as well view it as an adventure with a smile and a positive attitude.