Washer Dryer Combo relocation from Front Closet to Pantry

[Davenport]

2015 Reflection TT - Have been considering the relocation of the combo washer/dryer from the front closet to the pantry. Has anyone done this and if so, what are the challenges and benefits of your experience? Main reason to consider doing the work is to reduce tongue weight, and create a better balanced rig by having the weight of the W/D more centrally located. Can the kitchen slide accommodate the additional weight when it slides out? Are water, waste, and venting doable in a slide configuration? Any tips would be most appreciated.

[TucsonJim]

Wow - That is a big job. You could probably figure out a way to vent it with an air admittance valve. I assume you'll be hooked up to shore power and water any time you want to run the washer. I don't think it would be too difficult to install a drain and water connection that you could hook directly to the shore power utilities. But if you did that, you wouldn't have hot water. You might be able to put a Tee into the hot water line and then have a threaded connection between the tee and the washer that you could remove while you're on the road. Trying to run the drain back to the trailer's black tank would be very challenging.

Jim

[Second Chance]

My first two thoughts: 1) the pantry is one of THE most important features in our Reflection - we would not want to give it up; 2) if the pantry is in a slide (as ours is), I would think it would be fraught with technical, logistical, and reliability/longevity issues.

Rob

[arhayes]

Echo the above. The venting would be nonissue, but I'd worry most about plumbing and potential leaks in a slide. I don't see what the upside would be vs the potential problems.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Barbara & Dave]

Also, if the kitchen slide is streetside (most are), it would probably make the left/right imbalance even worse than it already is.

Dave


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[Davenport]

Thanks so much for your reply. Ideally someone who has done this, or someone who has considered it and rejected the idea because its not worth the effort, will have some detailed information to learn from.

The W/D combo would only be used with full hookups, whether in its current location (front closet) or relocated (pantry). It would take up the bottom half of the pantry space if moved there, leaving room for some adjustable pantry shelves about it. It would need to empty to gray water. It is currently in the front closet on the drivers side of the trailer, and would still be on the drivers side if moved to the pantry - so the left to right balance would not be effected by the move.

Wow - That is a big job. You could probably figure out a way to vent it with an air admittance valve. I assume you'll be hooked up to shore power and water any time you want to run the washer. I don't think it would be too difficult to install a drain and water connection that you could hook directly to the shore power utilities. But if you did that, you wouldn't have hot water. You might be able to put a Tee into the hot water line and then have a threaded connection between the tee and the washer that you could remove while you're on the road. Trying to run the drain back to the trailer's black tank would be very challenging.

Jim

[Davenport]

I think you have hit the nail on the head by saying "fraught with technical, logistical, and reliability/longevity issues."

1. Water lines and the waste line moving in and out with the slide would be one of the main factors to be concerned about. I would expect that if this was to be done, it would tie into the island sink as the closest connect for all 3 lines.

2. Also a concern is the weight of the W/D combo unit. The manufacturers literature says 148 pounds but I don't know if that means shipping weight all packaged up, or just the unit itself. However, since the pantry has so much volume for storage, Grand Design must expect there to be quite a bit of weight in it.

[Davenport]

Thanks for your thoughts, I have the same concerns and would not proceed unless all of the problems were solved before the first screw was turned.

The upside for this coach would be to reduce tongue weight, as it seems to be nose heavy in its current configuration. Haven't weighed the tongue load yet as I do not have that type of scale, but plan to do so soon - certainly before making any changes in the rig. Maybe not worth the effort, will certainly be happy to abandon the idea if it turns out to be more work than its worth. Lots of ideas wind up on the cutting room floor, this may be one of them.

Echo the above. The venting would be nonissue, but I'd worry most about plumbing and potential leaks in a slide. I don't see what the upside would be vs the potential problems.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk