Washer dryer, yes no?

ianandjo

Advanced Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
34
Location
Toronto Ontario
In the market for a new RV soon, retiring, not full time, but a lot of the time.
We live in a condo and have a stacked, condo sized, ventless… so used to small loads and not quite dry clothes.
So ideas… Stacked washer dryer? Washer dryer combo? Don’t bother, just wash at next park?
If you get one, a favourite model?
Thx for insight,
Ian


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ianandjo, I have been looking into the washer dryer combo. My wife is tired of using someone elses washer and paying $5+ to wash and dry. Have decided on the vented Splendid wash/dryer combo weighing in at 150 or so pounds. Safe travels!
 
We like ours. Slow, but gets the job done. We put them in, go out for a few hours and their about done when we get back. Sometimes we set time delay and they wash during the night and are ready when we wake up in the morning. Ours is in the garage not the bedroom.
 
ianandjo, I have been looking into the washer dryer combo. My wife is tired of using someone elses washer and paying $5+ to wash and dry. Have decided on the vented Splendid wash/dryer combo weighing in at 150 or so pounds. Safe travels!

Thinking the Splendid too. Nice doing a load in pjs having your coffee, is my thought.


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We like ours. Slow, but gets the job done. We put them in, go out for a few hours and their about done when we get back. Sometimes we set time delay and they wash during the night and are ready when we wake up in the morning. Ours is in the garage not the bedroom.

Like your what? What type is it and what make?


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In the market for a new RV soon, retiring, not full time, but a lot of the time.
We live in a condo and have a stacked, condo sized, ventless… so used to small loads and not quite dry clothes.
So ideas… Stacked washer dryer? Washer dryer combo? Don’t bother, just wash at next park?
If you get one, a favourite model?
Thx for insight,
Ian


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We have the separate Splendide washer and dryer (I wouldn't worry about the model and just get this year's model). We like them a lot. Yes, the loads are about 50%-60% smaller than a residential washer and dryer, however for us, since we are going to go full-time next fall, it's worth it.

The one thing to remember is the dryer is 110VAC instead of 220VAC (for obvious reasons I hope), which means it WILL take longer for it to dry clothes. The key we have found is smaller loads, more often. Maybe 3 pairs of jeans, or 5 t-shirts, or 4 pairs of shorts, each in their own load.

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We have the separate Splendide washer and dryer (I wouldn't worry about the model and just get this year's model). We like them a lot. Yes, the loads are about 50%-60% smaller than a residential washer and dryer, however for us, since we are going to go full-time next fall, it's worth it.

The one thing to remember is the dryer is 110VAC instead of 220VAC (for obvious reasons I hope), which means it WILL take longer for it to dry clothes. The key we have found is smaller loads, more often. Maybe 3 pairs of jeans, or 5 t-shirts, or 4 pairs of shorts, each in their own load.

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I notice you have a 320MKS, that is top on our list so far. I’m concerned about the extra weight of separate units on the pin. Also the stacking, shaking etc. In our condo we have the stacking kit, professionally installed, but on tile floor, sometimes, on a fast spin, it still shakes more than I’d like.
Those are some reasons we are looking at the combo unit too. Would love to hear from someone that has used both.
Ian


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We have the separate Splendide washer and dryer. They are big enough to be functional. Ours are in our bedroom, and we find the dryer to be very quiet and can hardly tell it's running. The washer does noticeably vibrate; so it's not something we run at night. We are not full timers, so we do not use the washer often, but we do throw our towels into the dryer every day.

One issue we had was with the washer. The washer drum's spindles came out of their mounts. The repair tech I used told me he had called Splendide and was told that this was something they had heard of with big fifth wheels where the washer located on the rear wall (so far behind the tires, pretty harsh bouncing during travel). The repair tech added some bands to hold the spindles in place, so hoping this is a fix. This just happened at the end of last season, so, right now have had one season with no further issues.

One other thing to bear in mind; winterization. We store in a lot with no access to power. To winterize the unit, we need to cycle the washer to pump antifreeze through; we need to have power to do that. Just forces me to do my winterization on my last planned trip of the season while i am hooked to power.

All that said, we do enjoy having the washer and dryer.
 
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I notice you have a 320MKS, that is top on our list so far. I’m concerned about the extra weight of separate units on the pin. Also the stacking, shaking etc. In our condo we have the stacking kit, professionally installed, but on tile floor, sometimes, on a fast spin, it still shakes more than I’d like.
Those are some reasons we are looking at the combo unit too. Would love to hear from someone that has used both.
Ian


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The RV-friendly Splendide vented combo (weight is always an issue for us) in our Solitude 310-GK. We are part timers, about 6 months out of the year and wouldn't be without it. Slow and small loads...but whats the hurry!
 
I notice you have a 320MKS, that is top on our list so far. I’m concerned about the extra weight of separate units on the pin. Also the stacking, shaking etc. In our condo we have the stacking kit, professionally installed, but on tile floor, sometimes, on a fast spin, it still shakes more than I’d like.
Those are some reasons we are looking at the combo unit too. Would love to hear from someone that has used both.
Ian


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The one thing to keep in mind. The washer weighs more than the dryer and is on the right (passenger) side of the 320MKS, which is already heavier than the left side. The dryer on the left side helps a little bit to offset that weight differential, not much, but a little. So, if you have the combo unit in a 320MKS, you will probably want to find a way to add weight to the left side to even out the weight.

This is of topic a bit... To help a little with the weight distribution issue, I did add Sumo Springs to the 320MKS. They also immensely improved the tow ride quality.

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I notice you have a 320MKS, that is top on our list so far. I’m concerned about the extra weight of separate units on the pin. Also the stacking, shaking etc. In our condo we have the stacking kit, professionally installed, but on tile floor, sometimes, on a fast spin, it still shakes more than I’d like.
Those are some reasons we are looking at the combo unit too. Would love to hear from someone that has used both.
Ian


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We have the stackable Splendide and my wife likes them. The washer, which is on the bottom, does shake the rig quite a bit. The dryer is very quite and does not shake. We've used an older combo unit in a Class A that we previously rented and it also shook quite a bit during both the washing and drying cycles.

The combo unit took about 2-1/2 hours to do a load. The time to do a load with the stackables is similar to that which residental units would take with maybe a little more time to dry.
 
Guess I'll chime in with the opposing view. We don't full-time and are gone for 2 to 4 weeks at a time. My wife initially wanted a washer/dryer. I pointed out a few negatives: small loads (can do all the clothes at the laundry facility in significantly less time than the unit in the RV), lost closet space (this is huge for us), weight, gray water discharge, dryer venting, etc. She now agrees that sure the washer/dryer would be nice, but the negatives for us outweigh any positives.
 
Guess I'll chime in with the opposing view. We don't full-time and are gone for 2 to 4 weeks at a time. My wife initially wanted a washer/dryer. I pointed out a few negatives: small loads (can do all the clothes at the laundry facility in significantly less time than the unit in the RV), lost closet space (this is huge for us), weight, gray water discharge, dryer venting, etc. She now agrees that sure the washer/dryer would be nice, but the negatives for us outweigh any positives.
In my opinion, I would agree for a coach that will not be used for full-timing. For us, it's the convenience. As you all did, one must weigh the pros and cons of it.

EDIT: I argued for the W/D, she was initially against it... I "won" that discussion... I think it was the only one I won... No wait, the Sumo Springs was the second one! [emoji33]

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We spent our first 4-1/2 years full-time without a W/D in our previous Reflection. We had to set aside 1/2 day a week to use the campground laundry or drive to a laundromat and schlep all clothing and bedding to another location. We took delivery of our Solitude the week that everything was starting to shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. Two trips to the laundromat with people acting STUPID motivated us to call our dealer and have them order the W/D with installation parts. The next week we pulled the rig back over to the dealer (we were still in town because all of our destinations down the road had called and cancelled) and sat in our Zero Gravity chairs in the shade while the techs installed the washer and dryer.

We opted for Whirlpool stackables. The dryer is 120VAC vented (very similar to the Splendide vented separates). We chose the Whirlpool units for two reasons: 1) they have slightly better reliability ratings than the Splendides, and, 2) if you do have an issue, a Whirlpool authorized service tech will come to you rather than having to tow the rig to a dealership authorized to work on Splendide. We have had zero issues in 19 months with the Whirlpool units and like the dryer clothes we get with the vented dryer.

Bottom line... we would never go back to not having a W/D. That said, we do not boondock so, if a lot of boondocking is in your future, your outlook on this topic may be different.

Rob
 
Guess I'll chime in with the opposing view. We don't full-time and are gone for 2 to 4 weeks at a time. My wife initially wanted a washer/dryer. I pointed out a few negatives: small loads (can do all the clothes at the laundry facility in significantly less time than the unit in the RV), lost closet space (this is huge for us), weight, gray water discharge, dryer venting, etc. She now agrees that sure the washer/dryer would be nice, but the negatives for us outweigh any positives.

I agree, if we were only going for a couple of weeks at a time, we’d just wash clothes at home.


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We spent our first 4-1/2 years full-time without a W/D in our previous Reflection. We had to set aside 1/2 day a week to use the campground laundry or drive to a laundromat and schlep all clothing and bedding to another location. We took delivery of our Solitude the week that everything was starting to shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. Two trips to the laundromat with people acting STUPID motivated us to call our dealer and have them order the W/D with installation parts. The next week we pulled the rig back over to the dealer (we were still in town because all of our destinations down the road had called and cancelled) and sat in our Zero Gravity chairs in the shade while the techs installed the washer and dryer.

We opted for Whirlpool stackables. The dryer is 120VAC vented (very similar to the Splendide vented separates). We chose the Whirlpool units for two reasons: 1) they have slightly better reliability ratings than the Splendides, and, 2) if you do have an issue, a Whirlpool authorized service tech will come to you rather than having to tow the rig to a dealership authorized to work on Splendide. We have had zero issues in 19 months with the Whirlpool units and like the dryer clothes we get with the vented dryer.

Bottom line... we would never go back to not having a W/D. That said, we do not boondock so, if a lot of boondocking is in your future, your outlook on this topic may be different.

Rob

Rob,
Not sure what boondocking would change? There aren’t laundromats in the boons. Possibly a different unit maybe.
We will likely boondock from time to time, but don’t foresee so long that we would need to do laundry there.
I had thought there were a few likes for the combo unit, thought I’d get more wish were lighter or a stackable was not needed.
But sounds like a stackable is the way to go,
Thanks all


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Rob,
Not sure what boondocking would change? There aren’t laundromats in the boons. Possibly a different unit maybe.
We will likely boondock from time to time, but don’t foresee so long that we would need to do laundry there.
I had thought there were a few likes for the combo unit, thought I’d get more wish were lighter or a stackable was not needed.
But sounds like a stackable is the way to go,
Thanks all


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Lack of full hook-ups comes to mind as a consideration for boondocking.
 
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Our Splendide combo washer just died just shy of 3-years of full-time use. Although we liked the machine and found it helpful, we decided, at least for now, not to replace it, because it takes so much more time to get wash done and too capture the space for more storage space.
 
I was on Amazon and saw a Giantex portable washer/spin. Seems to have mostly 5stars and used by small apartment (and RV) users.
Obviously small loads and need to hang dry, but lightweight and smaller.
Anyone with any knowledge of this?


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