Pix: Retrofit Washer/Dryer in '98 Dutch Star

[Brad Felmey]

Mrs. Felmey tired of trotting back and forth to the laundry. One of the few options our 1998 M-3883 didn't come with was the washer/dryer, so I sprayed about $1,600 at Amazon for a Splendide and various pieces to put it in, then got busy.

If the coach had come with the washer/dryer, it would have been in this location, so that was good enough for me.



Pulling up the floor, you can see the grey water line from the kitchen. Just on the yonder side of that wall is the hot and cold water for the kitchen as well. How convenient.



I kinda had a leg up on the electricity as I had previously replaced the Suburban 10 gallon tank water heater with a Truma AquaGo Comfort tankless. The Truma didn't need the dedicated 110v circuit, so I'd installed a junction box to hold the disused circuit. Now it was time for it to be used again, so I ran 12/2 Romex from the junction box into a surface-mount single-gang box with a GFCI outlet. I ran PEX and tee'd into the existing freshwater lines, and tee'd into the grey water line and put in a P-trap for the drain.



I trimmed the original floor before putting it back into place.



I then test-fit the unit in the location. While it was there I VERY CAREFULLY marked the location for the exterior vent kit. I measured, measured again, and measured again. Once you cut a 6" hole in the side of your RV it's kinda hard to fix.

I then installed the unit for the final time with the vibra-fix feet and we have already run our first load through it. It's very quiet. We've been reading and so did the wash cycle first with a small load, then removed the clothes, shook them out, and inserted wool laundry balls for the dry segment to keep them from wrinkling too much.

Not a bad day's work, if I do say so myself.

[CLIFFTALL]

That's as professional as a professional would do [emoji106]. Thanks for posting this.

[RJOL]

We had a Splendide combo in our last two 5th wheels. In fact I moved it to the new fifth wheel. It never gave us one minute of problems. When we got our coach I specifide a new Splendide but somehow that got messed up and when we finnaly picked up the coach it had a Pinnacle 4000 combo in it. I almost rejected the delivery, but we had an upcomming trip, so I accepted it. We are not full timers, so I thought it would be okay. We have probably used this washer 12 times, since new, and we are on our third circuit board, and second motor. I don't know if is really fixed or not but we will know soon. If it fails again it is coming out. Bottom line... Stick with Splendide.

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[powerboatr]

WOW
you make professional installs look cheap and rickety
great job, BE VERY PROUD
i think we are headed down that road soon, we have a closet already plumbed...but giving up the clothes space is a hard choice

i wish i could put one in the basement. i have height but not at the entry door to the basement

[CJ7365]

WOW, excellent job, it was great for you that the plumbing was conveniently located next to your install point.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by RJOL

We had a Splendide combo in our last two 5th wheels. In fact I moved it to the new fifth wheel. It never gave us one minute of problems. When we got our coach I specifide a new Splendide but somehow that got messed up and when we finnaly picked up the coach it had a Pinnacle 4000 combo in it. I almost rejected the delivery, but we had an upcomming trip, so I accepted it. We are not full timers, so I thought it would be okay. We have probably used this washer 12 times, since new, and we are on our third circuit board, and second motor. I don't know if is really fixed or not but we will know soon. If it fails again it is coming out. Bottom line... Stick with Splendide.

Sent from my SM-T807T using iRV2 - RV Forum mobile app

Good to hear an so far, my DW is using the hell out of ours and at the tune of every 4 days or so. Some hate them, but she's loves ours and has learned all the tricks by now for efficient operation. It was a bit of a pain to wait a couple of weeks an then spend half a day at a laundromat and this way, I don't get involved whatsoever, so I like it too.

[GaryKD]

Hi Brad Felmey,
Congrats on a very, very nice install. Ours died after 11 years. Put in the latest model (2100 I think) about a year ago. This one should last more than 11 years. No G'kids any more.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Brad-

You did a neat job installing the unit!

Our Splendide has overflowed the trap/drain once, putting water into the coach. In our case, the W/D compartment is elevated and the water did not get below the carpet and floor. It would have been nice if the person who had installed the unit had lined the compartment and piped a small drain out to where it could be "managed," or piped to the outside. Splendide sells a tray to go under the unit, but depending on the drain/trap position it may not defend against an overflow. I mention this so you and others can anticipate where water might go should it escape from the W/D or its plumbing.

Again, nicely done!

[Brad Felmey]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

Brad-

You did a neat job installing the unit!

Our Splendide has overflowed the trap/drain once, putting water into the coach. In our case, the W/D compartment is elevated and the water did not get below the carpet and floor. It would have been nice if the person who had installed the unit had lined the compartment and piped a small drain out to where it could be "managed," or piped to the outside. Splendide sells a tray to go under the unit, but depending on the drain/trap position it may not defend against an overflow. I mention this so you and others can anticipate where water might go should it escape from the W/D or its plumbing.

Again, nicely done!

Thanks!

I do actually have that tray underneath. The drain hole for it was below the grade of the P-trap. I pointed the drain hole (1/2" NPT) toward the outside wall, and I think what I'm going to do is install something like this:



And put this perforated cap on it so it'll keep out critters but still allow the water to escape the tray:

[RKins]

Nice work Brad - should keep the missus happy now.

["007"]

Thanks Brad, will add to your thread on old coach QT's # 3.

[burfurd]

Nice installation!

burfurd

[Dutch Star Don]

Very clean job, everything attached to the wall well, pipes parallel to each other and fitted perfectly.