Quote:
Originally Posted by BobM
Just curious as my DW wants to get the washer & dryer. How well do they work? Is it worth the money?
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My grocery list (long):
Negative reasons for having an on-board washing machine and dryer (or a combo unit).
1) The machines take water and AC electricity which are extremely precious commodities when boon docking.
2) They require space to be installed. If the camper does not have the space or if that space is vital for something else, washer and dryers won't work in a camper.
3) They are really, really pricy. Doing a quick internet search, you can expect to pay over $2000 for the stackable set and $1500 for a combo unit.
4) They are much smaller than a house hold unit which means loads are smaller. This may be problematic for some folks who are accustom to doing larger loads all at once.
Positive reasons for having an on-board washing machine and dryer (or a combo unit).
1) You never have to go to a laundry mat again. You can spend the time doing something else ... like enjoying camping while the machines run on their own.
2) You can do laundry at any time. You are not subject to open and closed laundry mats, or traveling into an unknown neighborhood after dark, or on holidays. Nor do you have to be concerned about your safety while at a laundry mat or traveling on the road to get there and back. And if traveling to a new unknown location, finding a laundry mat in the first place seems to always be a real challenge.
3) Saves space in your camper. You do not need to have laundry baskets or laundry bags stored somewhere in an, already space limited living area. No need for stacks of laundry piled high or shoved in bags or tossed in the shower. The washing machine IS the laundry basket. Once it get's full, simply turn on the washer. Run it, and done. (another space saver). No laundry baskets, nothing piled high looking unsightly and cluttered.
4) No need to travel with an arsenal of clothing to get you through an extended trip. We use to travel with enough clothes to run us for 2 weeks between laundry mat visits. Having the unit in the camper means we can wash dirty clothes any time, thus eliminating the need to carry so dang much. Instead of carrying 14 pair of underware, socks and T-shirts, it's been downsized to 4 each. Why? Because it can be washed immediately at the end of the day or beginning of the next day and be ready to war the following day. This holds for pants, shirts, and everything else. The amount of clothing needed for travel is drastically reduced (saving space).
5) Cost? Laundry mats are expensive and getting worse all the time. Once your initial investment into a washer and dryer, or a combo, they pay for themselves after a while and then you are actually money saved.
6) You don't have to keep a bunch of change (quarters) handy to run machines at laundry mats.
7) If you go swimming and return back to the camper wet, you can remove your bathing suit, toss it in the dryer and 30 minutes later is perfectly dry, ready to put back on and go swimming again (without freezing to death putting on a cold wet suit).
8) After taking a shower or bath, you can toss the towels directly into the dryer and dry them off. No need to have a bunch of wet towels hanging around.
9) If you get caught in the rain (or fall in a lake), you can toss your went cloths directly in the dryer and have them dried up quickly. No need to have all that stuff hanging around inside the camper from the shower curtain, on the door, and over chairs to dry out, dripping on the floor making everything else wet.
10) If you have pets, there will always be "accidents". It's always nice to be able to wash up any soiled fabric used to clean up those messes.