Is a washer/dryer really used much?

[Berrie]

So as we are slowly starting to look at 5th wheels, one of my wife's requests is for it to have a washer/dryer.
It will be just the two of us, with the intent to spend 4 - 8 summer weeks (maybe longer) heading northwest from our home in Pensacola, to get some relieve from the heat and humidity. Spending time in somewhat remote areas like Yellowstone, Wyoming, Utah, Washington State, not necessarily in campgrounds with full facilities.
We don't care that much about lots of space, and since we will be towing with our F-250 CC 4x4 6.2L, we will be limited to about 28-30' max. I would be OK with a 24'

Looking at used 5th wheels in that length range, it seems that a washer/dryer - or even w/d prep - is a very rare find. Is it just not used much?
How do you wash your clothes if you are in somewhat primitive campgrounds with only water (and maybe electric) hookups?

 

[RRR]

We use our Splendee all time, most of time we have one or two of the grands with us. But even when we are by ourselves we use it regularly. Cuts down on the cloths we pack and stuff like towels we can wash and leave in the motorhome rather than drag them in at home, wash and reload. And the granddaughters like swimming so we can dry the towels before the next use.

When we were looking for the current ride the Wife wanted more counter space than C had and when she saw the Splendee she blurted out "Oh, I always wanted a washer," for her it sealed the deal. We were just talking about this the other day. She told me that when were were looking she all ready decided it was to have a washer.

 

[SMR]

We fulltime and DW uses it all the time. We have a Panda dryer and Whirlpool washer.

 

[Tom]

So as we are slowly starting to look at 5th wheels, one of my wife's requests is for it to have a washer/dryer.

Like RRR, we used our Splendide combo washer/dryer extensively when we moved around in our 38 foot Diesel Pusher. Also used the Splendide combo in our boat extensively. In both cases, space was not an issue, and the times we stayed in campgrounds without full hookups, we merely used a clothes hamper to store soiled clothes until we got to the next full hookup site.

In 30 years of RVing, we've used campground laundries a handfull of times (at most). I have an aversion to sitting in smelly/warm laundries waiting for clothes to wash/dry.

Since buying a lot where we now spend most of our RVing time, we bought a 42 foot 5th wheel which is set up for a washer/dryer, but we haven't bothered to buy one. We have separate full washer and dryer in a separate building (aka shed) on our lot. We now appreciate the extra closet space resulting from not having an on-board W/D.

 

[Rene T]

We had a Splendide combo and I’ve always said that if she was given the choice of keeping me or the Splendide, she would have to think about it. She loved ours.

 

[jymbee]

We had a Splendide combo and I’ve always said that if she was given the choice of keeping me or the Splendide, she would have to think about it. She loved ours.

Similar decision methodology here as well.

We travel for 4-5 months and being able to do our own was/dry is huge. Typically we keep up with everyday items-- shirts/socks/underwear/jeans/towels etc. a few times a week.

Maybe once or twice in all the time on the road we hit a laundromat to do bulkier items such as linens, carpets etc.

 

[Jackiemac]

We don't have have space for a washer/dryer in our trailer and as we often boondock it wouldn't be convenient.

We have found many good clean laundrettes on our travels.

We tend to spend 1.5 hours every week or so doing the laundry. I check Google reviews. Works well for us.

 

[Berrie]

OK so I guess we will have to find that needle in a haystack.... LOL

 

[Tom]

One way to handle between-laundry visits:

A friend used to fly search and rescue for the US Coast Guard, and went on x month-long deployments. His wife once told us that he made one set of underwear (i.e. one pair of underpants) last 4 days; Inside, outside, front and back.

 

[TonyL]

Like Jackie, we don't have washer dryer on board, even though our fifth wheel is prepped for them.
Laundromats are easy enough to find in most towns, and we fit in doing the laundry the same day as doing the grocery shop.
We did consider them when purchasing the unit, but the dealer explained the cost of purchase against water and electric use, especially when dry camping, and compared to laundromat costs.
We average around 10 to 15$ a fortnight for laundry, and we don't need to worry about the machines breaking down. The space is handy too.
Those who have them, love them, everyone to their own.

 

[Kirk]

Looking at used 5th wheels in that length range, it seems that a washer/dryer - or even w/d prep - is a very rare find. Is it just not used much?

The smaller the RV the less likely it is to have a washer/dryer or a place for one. The reason is that the people staying in it require space which is at a premium and owners of smaller RVs typically do not spend as long in them as do the larger, more spacious RVs. I can't recall ever seeing an RV of less than 30' length that had a washer/dryer. They may exist but there won't be easy to find. As RVs get smaller, so to do the tanks for water and waste water so you probably will need hookups to use on in the smaller RVs. Friends of ours did have a washer/dryer in a smaller fifth wheel and it was plumbed such that the water leaving the washer didn't go into the gray water tank but entered the drain line between the gray water dump valve and the connection for the sewer hose.

 

[Henry J Fate]

Rv stackable laundry units can be used to maintain a flow of dirty cloths. The quantity and types of clothing will weigh heavily on the practicality of the laundry system's sustainability.

The two biggest issues are the capacity and dry time. Capacity is quite small but for light cloths (underwear tshirts etc) it becomes a good helper. Dry time is quite long because of the 120 volts typically used for dryer heating elements. Home electric dryers typically will use 240 volt powered heating elements. Dry times can be quite a bit longer when using 120 volts and will be close to double the dry time of a home 220 volt dryer.

It will be up to the user to decide how the RV laundry system can be integrated into their laundry flow.

 

[PancakeBill]

In the sizes you are looking at it is unlikely to have one and if there is one it will be a Splendide. We had one, my wife was not a fan. I don’t think she ever really got the hang of it, and I just stayed away from that one. If you have one you will lose a good amount of space it requires.

 

[jymbee]

Friends of ours did have a washer/dryer in a smaller fifth wheel and it was plumbed such that the water leaving the washer didn't go into the gray water tank but entered the drain line between the gray water dump valve and the connection for the sewer hose.

Hmmm... of course they had their reasons and it worked well for them, but wouldn't it be easy to just leave the gray dump valve open when doing wash? No additional plumbing involved.

Having a larger gray tank (58g) we usually just dump after a load or two of wash, keeping an eye on the gauge. The downside there of course is if one doesn't check the level and forgets to dump that gray. That could result in some pretty soggy conditions. Please don't ask me how I know...

 

[DutchmenSport]

You probably will not find very many (if any) campers in your length range that has a washer/dryer or washer/dryer hook-ups. They are usually in the larger, 35 foot (plus) length campers, and almost always in the 37-41 foot travel trailers and fifth wheels.

Now, motor homes of different lengths will often have washer and dryer accommodation's.

About the usage of a washer and dryer in your camper. Just think about this for a moment... in fact ... you may even try testing this out and see how it works out for you.....

Unplug your washing machine and dryer at your home for 2 weeks and now use exclusively laundry mats or go to grandma's house and use her washer and dryer.

Yep! It will be the same in a camper. It's horrible to have to lug laundry somewhere to get it washed and dried, and then lug it back. Our washer is not a huge one. But it runs a smaller load of something almost every other day, sometimes more, depending on how smelly the bath towels and kitchen towels get.

The dryer is great for drying bath towels after using them so you are not hanging wet towels up all over everywhere. It's great for drying wet bathing suits after returning so you don't have to hang them all over the place. It's great when you get caught in a rain storm and your clothes are soaked and you don't have to hang them all over to dry out. It's great because you do not have to carry as much of a wardrobe with you because you can wash things out any time you want and not have to plan a weeks worth of laundry to lug to the laundry mat and hope you still have something left that doesn't stink you can still wear. It's great not having to keep quarters for those white colored slot machines! It's great not having to take the time to sit mindlessly in a laundry mat where it's hot and you are surrounded by questionable people because you have never been there before. It's great, because sometimes laundry mats can be miles and miles and miles away from your campground. All the TIME it takes pack up laundry, transport the laundry, spend time waiting in the laundry mat, folding the laundry, driving back t the camper, unloading all that laundry and finally putting it away.... ALL that time could have been spent playing at the beach or hiking a trail or eating hot dogs around a camp fire!

 

[Kirk]

No additional plumbing involved.

If you have a washing machine, there is additional plumbing for the water to go somewhere. There is no "additional plumbing" just a different end point. In his case, the washing machine drain then dropped almost vertically down and connected by about 2' of horizontal pipe. The washer was closer to the dump valve than it was to the gray tank. And his was a factory install so I'm sure it was not the only one like that.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A washer/dryer is very convenient if you stay weeks or months at a stretch in your RV. Yes, with the combo units the loads are small and drying is slow, but you don't have to sit there and wait on it either. Pop in a load and go relax or do some sight-seeing. When we got an RV big enough to accommodate, we were ecstatic!

The quality & convenience of laundromats varies widely and fastidious folks may struggle to find acceptable ones in some areas. Usually, though, you can find an reasonable place if you hunt around, read reviews, and maybe drive a bit further. Still, it takes 2-3 hours of your day when you would rather be doing something else.

For the size range you are looking at, I doubt if dedicating pace for even a combo unit is practical. And smaller trailers so-equipped have to be unicorns.

 

[Domo]

If you have any question about it's convenience, go camping with a roll of quarters and each time your DW needs a load of wash done/dried she should hand them to you... ! LOL

Seriously, we love the convenience, no worry about "hogging" a machine or "having" to get back to grab a dryer as soon as the load is done. Etc.

 

[Berrie]

I am very well aware of the inconvenience of laundromats, especially when you are in a more rural area. That's precisely why she wants it, and I don't disagree. But since they are very rare in <30' 5th wheels, I thought I'd ask how others handle it.
I understand they take up space, but otherwise you would need that space for extra clothes/towels/ etc. The power/water/ greywater challenges are substantial, so it's a trade-off.

 

[MoInEd]

Small (compact) washers are a lot more common in Europe and other places (not so common in NA). They don't have a drier but take up a smaller space compared to a front load Washer and might be easier to add to a unit that doesn't come with one.... Just a thought....