By Nanci Dixon
We are lucky to have a washer and dryer onboard. We use it frequently when connected to full hookups. This year, due to poor planning and crowded campgrounds, we moved frequently and seldom had full hookups. Most of the time we had electric hookups, but only sometimes did we have water.
As I watched the laundry basket pile grow taller and taller, I knew we definitely needed to wash at least a few things. We were hooked up to water and I realized that there was enough room in the gray tank to run a load or two of clothes.
Here’s how I knew I had enough room in the gray tank to do laundry:
Learn how much water each cycle uses in your RV’s washer. Our washer uses between 7 and 15 gallons of water per load, so I chose the setting that used the least amount of water and compared it to what was in the gray water tank.
Check how much room is left in the gray water tank. Our gray tank holds 66 gallons and our levels were at a third. So I knew there was more than enough room for at least one if not two loads of laundry!
Use the fresh water tank and pump. We could have run the washer without a water hookup using the fresh water tank and water pump, but we prefer to have water hooked up and not run the water pump that much.
Watch gray levels and dump when needed. We were moving and dumping the tanks in the morning so it was easy to have fresh, clean clothes. Why didn’t I think of that earlier, like … years ago?
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RVDT2700
Our washer/dryer combo is used whether we have sewer hookups or not. We have a sewer caddy if we are stationary for awhile. We just don’t like to use campground washers unless absolutely necessary! Ours was and still is a game changer!
I have done laundry in our motorhome and discovered I can do 3 loads of clothes without moving the gray water tank needle from 1/3 to 2/3 full. Our gray water tank is 65 gallons so that leaves me to think that our washer uses less than 7 gallons of water. I guess you could get a good measurement by having a completely empty gray tank and then do a load.
In the class A diesel we used to own, we even did a load of clothes while driving a few times. We were running the generator so we had the house they see, so why not?
Thank you for the reminder, Nanci! We have been in similar situations twice this summer. One time I did a regular load and the other time I used the “quick wash” setting. Both left room for showers and washing dishes before we reached our next stop with a sewer hookup. Have a great day and safe travels!