Adding a dishwasher

**Thirdwaver** · 03-07-2022, 10:24 AM

Hey all!

I have a 2021 320MKS. That unit has a 120V mini fridge in the outdoor kitchen compartment of the passenger side slider. On the inside of the coach, the back of that fridge is behind a wood panel next to my stove right across from the sink island. Since I never use that outdoor fridge, I'm thinking of using the space for a dishwasher. When it's done, you'd see the back of the dishwasher if you opened up the outdoor kitchen compartment and the front will come in through that aforementioned panel next to the stove. The physical dimensions are nearly perfect for a dishwasher like the Vesta DWV335BBS (If I can find one).

The problem is, while I have power in the slide, I don't have water or drain. So I was considering running those from the plumbing in the island (which is about 4-6 feet away with the slide open). I've never removed the underbelly of this thing to see how accessible everything would be for me in the kitchen sink island. Will I be able to see the floor under the island or will I have to remove a grey tank? I think I just need to be able to drill a hole from the bottom up through the floor into the island compartment under the sink to run my drain and supply lines.

Does anyone have any experience, gotcha's, tips, or warnings about this kind of thing? I'm pretty handy but this is the first major upgrade I've done on this unit and I'm a bit nervous. I especially don't want to buy the dishwasher unless I know I can plumb it.

**Tom Traveler** · 03-07-2022, 11:49 AM

I can think of a couple of issues you probably have already considered. If I am understanding the layout correctly, you will need to account for slide movement for the water supply and drain hose with some kind of loop. Also, you would want to make sure the drain hose enters the sink island drain plumbing before the trap so you don't get odors backfeeding your dishwasher.

I can't offer any thoughts on the underbelly stuff as we are pretty new to our coach and I've haven't looked yet. My curiosity may get me to take a look eventually.

By the way, I am also looking for a Vesta DWV335BBS so if you find a source, please let me know. Better buy it before you tell me though.

**MoonShadow_1911** · 03-07-2022, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by Thirdwaver

Hey all!

I have a 2021 320MKS. That unit has a 120V mini fridge in the outdoor kitchen compartment of the passenger side slider. On the inside of the coach, the back of that fridge is behind a wood panel next to my stove right across from the sink island. Since I never use that outdoor fridge, I'm thinking of using the space for a dishwasher. When it's done, you'd see the back of the dishwasher if you opened up the outdoor kitchen compartment and the front will come in through that aforementioned panel next to the stove. The physical dimensions are nearly perfect for a dishwasher like the Vesta DWV335BBS (If I can find one).

The problem is, while I have power in the slide, I don't have water or drain. So I was considering running those from the plumbing in the island (which is about 4-6 feet away with the slide open). I've never removed the underbelly of this thing to see how accessible everything would be for me in the kitchen sink island. Will I be able to see the floor under the island or will I have to remove a grey tank? I think I just need to be able to drill a hole from the bottom up through the floor into the island compartment under the sink to run my drain and supply lines.

Does anyone have any experience, gotcha's, tips, or warnings about this kind of thing? I'm pretty handy but this is the first major upgrade I've done on this unit and I'm a bit nervous. I especially don't want to buy the dishwasher unless I know I can plumb it.

Honestly, it would be better and much easier to lose the drawers on the right side of the island. You would have to extend the counter top to completely enclosed the dishwasher, but you have power, water, and drain all right there.

To put it in the slide, you will need to try to account for at least 3' of travel for the water and drain lines. Personally, not my idea of fun, and I'm an engineer type!

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**Thirdwaver** · 03-08-2022, 03:44 PM

If I'm faced with a cabinetry challenge, I think that's the worse one for me. It's very important that I don't hack up my island or need to call in a cabinet maker to make what I did right. Plus those drawers are heavily in use. There aren't many drawers on this model. The factory regularly runs drain and water lines out to sliders when they put in outdoor kitchens. Mine just happens to not be one that has a sink out there but many do, so I don't think it's insurmountable. Both the drain and the supply are flex hoses. The instructions for the dishwasher say the drain hose can be extended up to 6 feet. That should be plenty. My main concern is the ease with which I'll have to get to the bottom of the island. I'm definitely going to remove the underbelly cover to check it all out before I buy the dishwasher but I was hoping someone who's had the bottom cover off can tell me what I'll be facing trying to get to the bottom of the island from the ground beneath it.

**MoonShadow_1911** · 03-08-2022, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by Thirdwaver

If I'm faced with a cabinetry challenge, I think that's the worse one for me. It's very important that I don't hack up my island or need to call in a cabinet maker to make what I did right. Plus those drawers are heavily in use. There aren't many drawers on this model. The factory regularly runs drain and water lines out to sliders when they put in outdoor kitchens. Mine just happens to not be one that has a sink out there but many do, so I don't think it's insurmountable. Both the drain and the supply are flex hoses. The instructions for the dishwasher say the drain hose can be extended up to 6 feet. That should be plenty. My main concern is the ease with which I'll have to get to the bottom of the island. I'm definitely going to remove the underbelly cover to check it all out before I buy the dishwasher but I was hoping someone who's had the bottom cover off can tell me what I'll be facing trying to get to the bottom of the island from the ground beneath it.

I'm familiar with the 320MKS, we have one. Yes, the drawers are something that I personally would not remove. I think the other problem is putting in the trap, since you would be running the drain hose up hill to make the sink trap.

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**livinthelife** · 03-08-2022, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by Thirdwaver

If I'm faced with a cabinetry challenge, I think that's the worse one for me. It's very important that I don't hack up my island or need to call in a cabinet maker to make what I did right. Plus those drawers are heavily in use. There aren't many drawers on this model. The factory regularly runs drain and water lines out to sliders when they put in outdoor kitchens. Mine just happens to not be one that has a sink out there but many do, so I don't think it's insurmountable. Both the drain and the supply are flex hoses. The instructions for the dishwasher say the drain hose can be extended up to 6 feet. That should be plenty. My main concern is the ease with which I'll have to get to the bottom of the island. I'm definitely going to remove the underbelly cover to check it all out before I buy the dishwasher but I was hoping someone who's had the bottom cover off can tell me what I'll be facing trying to get to the bottom of the island from the ground beneath it.

Just thinking off the top of my head - why not put the drawers in the slide and put the dishwasher in the island as suggested? Since you are thinking of losing that space in the outside kitchen anyway, putting a basic cabinet with drawers there could ease the storage you'd lose by removing the drawers in the island.

**Tom Traveler** · 03-08-2022, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by MoonShadow_1911

I'm familiar with the 320MKS, we have one. Yes, the drawers are something that I personally would not remove. I think the other problem is putting in the trap, since you would be running the drain hose up hill to make the sink trap.

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The uphill issue shouldn't be a concern as you have to put a "high" loop in the drain line anyway to keep the sink drain from backfeeding the dishwasher. In most houses, the dishwater drain line goes up to the air break device mounted next to the kitchen faucet. The dishwasher pump/drain line always has drain water in it between the dishwasher pump valve and the top of the high loop.

**Thirdwaver** · 03-28-2022, 11:30 AM

For posterity in case anyone finds this thread later, here's an update on the job since it's now complete.

I'll post some pictures of the finished job. Overall I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The access to the island under the belly of the trailer was really good. In fact, I didn't even have to drill a hole down as the one the factory put in for the drain, supplies, and electrical was plenty large for me to add in a drain and supply to the dishwasher. Using a variety of parts from Ace Hardware, I added a shutoff valve under the sink since that isn't there from the factory. Since I needed to extend the supply and drain to make it (total distance was about 10') I decided to put a Tee valve with a shut off at the connect point under the trailer and poke it through the underbelly. It's pretty close to the edge of the trailer so that will allow for me to easily drain the supply line for winterization.

The largest challenge was around the cabinetry inside. I'm not a cabinet maker and I have only a portable table saw. This job would have been a LOT easier with a full size table saw. The outside refrigerator area floor was just a board sitting on top of a small frame. I pulled that board out, rebuild the frame out of 2x4's instead, then put the board back. That made a 4" lift which was the perfect height to center the dishwasher top to bottom. Next was the left/right center. Turns out there was exactly 3.5" of space on each side so a 2x4 turned flat filled the gap and I mounted it from the inside of the cabinet.

The model dishwasher I bought was a Fisher Paykel DD24SCTX9 I chose this unit despite it's high cost because it's a unit that people install in their homes. I was able to get it from a local appliance store and they can service it too. That's worth it, in my book.

Once the unit was centered left/right I used the included dishwasher brackets but I flipped them upside down. When in correctly, the mounting ears are too far forward. When I flipped them upside down, the ears stuck up above the washer and were farther back - which perfectly lined up with my 2x4s'. Once it was mounted, I began making the custom trim boards to close the gap. This is where a nice table saw would have come in really handy. My crappy one did the job but I'll probably re-do these when I finally get myself some good woodworking tools (on my wish list). I did find a stain at Home Depot that matches the factory color fairly closely. A couple of my trim boards ended up a little too dark but that's because I'm a woodworking newb. As I said, I'll redo these later. They pass for looks now. Trim nail gunned them in place and a dab of wood putty to cover the holes did the trick.

Last step was to make sure that the slide out worked and didn't pinch. I zip tied the drain and supply line to the existing factory bundle connected to the spring and ran it all through the same hole in the frame. In fact, the only holes I had to drill were through the bottom of the compartment in the slide out to drop the drain and supply out. I also had to buy an appliance extension cord with a flat 90 degree piece at the outlet since it was too tight for me to plug it in. That's it! Pictures below. it was a great project, took me 5 trips to the hardware store, about $100-200 in installation parts, and a full weekend. Can't wait to take my first trip in May to try it out.