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  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper
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    Ariston Washer & Dryer install into Solitude 300GK part 1

    They are installed!!


    LINK TO MY PICTURES AND VIDEOS

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz...kdQTEphem9Ubms

    Since my wife and I are going to full time in our 2017 Solitude 300GK, we knew we wanted a washer & dryer. Grand Design advertises that the closet up front in our model is prepped for them, but I couldn’t find much other literature regarding make and models. So to the internet and The Grand Design Owners forum I went in search of my options. The choice between a combo unit and a stacked set of 2 separate units was an easily made one. The reviews of the combo units related the small size of a typical load, the excessive length of time required to complete the wash & dry cycle, the fact that clothes came out still damp and mostly wrinkled. And after I read “RamGunner’s” write up about the different types of machines and how they worked, my decision was made. We thought the separate washer and dryer had a couple benefits, first, you have the ability to have a load washing and another load drying at the same time, so laundry day should be shorter. Next the cycle times were shorter, and the load size was slightly larger. We also read some reviews that indicated the clothes would come out of the dryer, dry. So we opted for the separate units in a stacked configuration. That was only possible because the 5W was designed for it. Or so we thought. J
    The decision to buy the Ariston by Splendide was led by price/reviews and availability. It seemed that the other models on the market were the same size, (and yes size matters!) but either the reviews were worse, or they were a long wait.
    Then it was time to measure… I had my doubts that any of the units on the market were going to make it into the 5W let alone the prepped closet. When I measured the closet door, I came up with 23.5” between the door stop. That was the narrowest point. When you look on line at the specs of these washers and dryers, you’ll see them advertised as 24” wide units. BUT if you dig deeper and find the manufacturers spec diagram, you will see the width is 595 mm. Which equals 23.425” J That is not much room. Before I found that little bit of information, I had queried the GD support center, the GD owner’s forum and Facebook page, I asked everyone I could think of and never got a definitive answer that YES those 2 units will fit into MY closet. Until, several owners that had made installations in different models of 5W piped up to let me know that IF our closets were the same size, they will go in there. It seemed no one had yet put a W/D stack into a 300GK. But I decided that the manufacturer MUST have designed the space for these units, so I bought them. I shopped at Camping World and Amazon.com, Amazon won out by less than 30.00 per unit, but I saved $175.00 on freight. I was totally surprised that they were delivered in 2 days! It was a direct ship by fed X.
    When I unboxed the washer, I immediately measured the exterior to confirm that it would go thru the bedroom and closet doors. There wasn’t any extra space! But they would go thru the doors without removing the door jamb molding. But I was going to need a helper to carry them into the 5W.
    Before the install was begun, I wanted to test them outside. I didn’t want to go thru all the time and effort of installing just to find out that one of those things was dead on arrival. So, I hooked up a water hose with a wye to provide the water, and put out a large tub to collect the wash water, (I wanted to measure how much water was used in a typical cycle.) and plugged in the washer. We ran a load and were quite pleased with the washers operation. Then I plugged in the dryer and ran that to dry the test load. It takes a while, but the clothes came out dry. So finally I felt confident that I had purchased the right units.
    Oh BTW, the washer used 12 gallons of water in that test run. It was the 30 minute cycle.
    I also bought the plastic drip pan, the anchoring brackets for the washer, the stacking kit brackets to attach the dryer on top of the washer, the exterior vent kit in brown/black (yes there is one.) All of this is on Amazon. See the links below.
    So this is where I had my set back. I figured out that the 4” flexible dryer vent tube was not going to make it from the dryers exhaust port at the back lower left corner, over to the location where the vent was supposed to exit the 5W. The dryer was going to be set back all the way to the rear of the interior closet wall with only about 1” of space that would not allow the vent tubing thru. Without crushing it and that would restrict the airflow to darn near nothing. I even made a short video and posted it on the GD owner’s forum and the Facebook page, asking for advice and hints. This is where the community of GD owners really shines thru, because it wasn’t 30 minutes before I had an answer and a phone number of another owner that had done what I needed to do and he was willing to talk me thru it the next day. Wow, GD owners are something special. Thanks Allen!

    Allen and Sandi-Lexington, KY
    Home of fast horses and beautiful women!
    2015 Chevrolet Duramax 4 x 4 3500 HD LTZ
    2014 Solitude 369 RL-Oct. 2014
    2016 Momentum 376 TH-April 2016


    So the next morning Allen and I talked and he explained to me that he had modified his dryer (same model) to put the exhaust port on the right side instead of out the rear. I had actually done this to a house sized dryer a long time ago, so I knew I could do it. I just had a bit of trepidation about cutting into my brand new dryer if I didn’t have to. But the plan was to modify the dryer so that the exhaust came out the right bottom rear corner area (as you face the dryer) and then viola you can go right out thru the wall where GD put the target for dryer vent.

    Here are the links to the parts I bought.

    Ariston by Splendide washer model ARWXF129W
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Ariston by Splendide dryer model TVM63XNA
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Washer anchor brackets
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Plastic drain pan
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Dryer stacking kit bracket
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Dryer vent kit in BLACK
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    My installation steps.
    First I did a test run of each appliance outside before any installation to check for dead on arrival?
    Next I opened up the dryer to confirm that Allen’s modification could work on this dryer.
    I Went to Lowes to buy 3” aluminum semi-flex dryer vent, a plastic 4 x 3 reducer, some plastic epoxy, and a 3” clamp.
    Got a young man to help carry both appliances into 5W and place in the closet to test for fit. Found that the washer’s plug was a straight one and it would interfere with the back of the dryer. I decided rather than fight it and bend it and put additional stress on the plug and cord, that I’d buy an angled male plug and re-wire the cord. They didn’t have just a 90 degree plug, so I ended up buying a short extension cord that had a 90 degree male plug on it.
    Pulled dryer back out so as to make modifications to internal vent routing.
    Realized I needed a hole saw to cut thru the dryer’s side wall, and I knew I’d need the 4” hole saw as well so made a trip to Home Depot for that. But after measuring the exterior vent tube with flapper valve, I decided I’d need a 4.25” hole in the sidewall of 5W, so decide to just buy the 4.25”. I’d use the same hole saw for the hole in dryer and hole in 5W.
    Then I had an epiphany about how to easily line up the soon to be cut hole in the dryer and the later to be cut hole in the 5W. I realized I could use a long 1/4” drill bit and drill thru the target on the inside of closet thru the pie shaped void and thru the exterior wall of the 5w and then go outside and put the drill bit back in from the outside and where it hit the dryer would be the center of the hole I’d need to make for the 3” flex to come out of the dryer. So I made another trip to Home Depot to buy the ¼” x 12” bit.

    PLEASE GO TO PART 2 TO CONTINUE READING.......
    THANK YOU
    Last edited by 82alaska; 10-15-2016 at 09:21 AM. Reason: Direct reader to Part 2
    Scott & Glenda
    2017 Solitude 300 GK
    2018 GMC Sierra 3500 HD 4x4 CrewCab SRW Denali
    DEMCO Hitchhiker 18K Autoslide
    Air Lift 5000+ air bags with onboard wireless-one compressor, Retrax bed cover

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor Sandi's Avatar
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    What a great instructional article for anyone wanting to install a w/d!!!
    Great job Scott!!
    Allen and Sandi-Lexington, KY
    Home of fast horses and beautiful women!
    2015 Chevrolet Duramax 4 x 4 3500 HD LTZ
    2014 Solitude 369 RL-Oct. 2014
    2016 Momentum 376 TH-April 2016

  3. #3
    Long Hauler LCBoyer's Avatar
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    That's the best written report on washer/dryer installation I've ever seen!
    2018 Freedom Elite 24FE, 2 Yorkies, and my wife MARILYN, HAM call K0LCB. Traveling around this great country, making friends and seeing lot of beautiful and interesting places

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper
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    Well done. Love the video's that show exactly how you figured everything out. My worries about getting a stackable W/D in the 360RL we plan on buying just evaporated.
    Pete & Carla Nelson
    2017 F-350, diesel, DRW, Lariat, 8' bed, Ford's TPMS, Furrion camera, Revolver X2 Tonneau Cover
    2017 Solitude 384GK, with dual pane windows, slide toppers, gen ready, heat pump.
    Added items: WiFiRanger EliteAC (external antenna), WiFiRanger GoAC (Router),
    Trailer Saver BD3 w/underbed adapter, Cheapheat system, Fantastic fan (bathroom), 50 Amp Hughes Auto Former w/surge protection, 5th wheel skirting.
    MoRryde independent suspension, 8k axle, disc breaks, Sailun S637 tires

  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper
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    Thank you all

    Thanks to all
    Third load so far and loving it.
    Scott & Glenda
    2017 Solitude 300 GK
    2018 GMC Sierra 3500 HD 4x4 CrewCab SRW Denali
    DEMCO Hitchhiker 18K Autoslide
    Air Lift 5000+ air bags with onboard wireless-one compressor, Retrax bed cover

  6. #6
    Big Traveler RamGunner's Avatar
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    Excellent work! Having your own washer and dryer makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.
    Editor - www.RamGunner.com and www.MomentumGunner.com
    2014 Ram 3500 Tradesman/CTD/AISIN/4.10/4WD/CC/LB/DRW/VHF/UHF/APRS/CB/SCANNER
    B&W RVK3600 5th Wheel Hitch/Reese 30140 Gooseneck Ball/Gen-Y HDGH-604 Receiver
    2016 Momentum 385TH (Internal LAN/AV Distribution/Polaris RZR 800 EPS/CB/SCANNER/VHF/UHF/APRS and HF for World-Wide Communications)

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper
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    Ramgunner your posts were very helpful to me. Thanks again
    Scott & Glenda
    2017 Solitude 300 GK
    2018 GMC Sierra 3500 HD 4x4 CrewCab SRW Denali
    DEMCO Hitchhiker 18K Autoslide
    Air Lift 5000+ air bags with onboard wireless-one compressor, Retrax bed cover

  8. #8
    Seasoned Camper
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    Hi Scott, great job! I'm not sure I could muster up enough courage to drill a big hole into the side of my new 5th wheel . Quick question, do you know how much the washer & dryer weighed, and also how much that combo added to your pin weight?

    Thanks
    John, Heidi and our 2 Cocker Spaniels Venus & Big Papi
    2016 Relfection 30BH 5th wheel
    2016 F350 SRW CC SB 6.7 Diesel 4x4
    Pullrite Superglide with Superrails

  9. #9
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by perfpix View Post
    Hi Scott, great job! I'm not sure I could muster up enough courage to drill a big hole into the side of my new 5th wheel . Quick question, do you know how much the washer & dryer weighed, and also how much that combo added to your pin weight?

    Thanks
    Washers 140 and the dryer is like 45
    Scott & Glenda
    2017 Solitude 300 GK
    2018 GMC Sierra 3500 HD 4x4 CrewCab SRW Denali
    DEMCO Hitchhiker 18K Autoslide
    Air Lift 5000+ air bags with onboard wireless-one compressor, Retrax bed cover

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