Not full timing, but longer vacation trip... need packing tips

[honda03842]

Many Campground laundry do not permit pods, only liquid detergents.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Many Campground laundry do not permit pods, only liquid detergents.

Any idea why?

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Any idea why?

While I use Tide pods & have never been told not to, I suspect the problem is locations that have very soft water. I have noticed that the soap from a pod doesn't always rinse out during the rinse cycle when I use pods & soft water. Makes for itchy underwear!

As to packing, I travel for the entire winter - 6 - 8 month journeys, and try for 10 days worth of clothes. I do OK, except for "T" shirts. I end up purchasing 20 - 25 each trip (I collect them & my excuse its it helps support the state & national parks). Other than that, if I wear something out it is usually no problem to find a place to replace it.

Now, let's not talk about tools! I had to buy a new truck just to hold them...

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Any idea why?

Maybe the Tide Pod Challenge... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ats-a-bad-idea

[John in Santa Cruz]

we bring a smallish bottle of All Clear or similar liquid laundry detergent, and yeah, tons of quarters, and figure on doing laundry about once a week, if you go too long, you just have to do more loads and take longer, many campground laundromats are small and only have a couple machines... I don't mind wearing the same jeans for a week, and the same pair of socks for a couple days, long as I have clean underwear and T shirts every day!!

[Raspy]

We go to an organized RV park about once a week, or so. There, we can do laundry, dump the tanks, fill up with fresh water, have a leisurely shower or two and re-charge the bats. Some of those things can be done out in the wild, but all of them can at the Park.

Laundry always seems like the most boring chore of all. But wait!, the new HQ19 has a washing machine! I want to see just how useful it really is, and it may be really good if it doesn't use too much water.

What seemed at first to be the most decadent thing imaginable, may turn out to be very practical.

[John in Santa Cruz]

That HQ19 Black apparently has this washing machine, https://www.amazon.com/Giantex-Porta.../dp/B07HKXVQYC

does 7.7 lbs of laundry (not very much) and uses 16L to 30L of water per cycle (so minimum 1 wash cycle 1 rinse cycle with a full load would be 16 gallons (60L). uses 240 watts of electricity, so if its on DC, thats 12V at 20 amps.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

That HQ19 Black apparently has this washing machine, https://www.amazon.com/Giantex-Porta.../dp/B07HKXVQYC

does 7.7 lbs of laundry (not very much) and uses 16L to 30L of water per cycle (so minimum 1 wash cycle 1 rinse cycle with a full load would be 16 gallons (60L). uses 240 watts of electricity, so if its on DC, thats 12V at 20 amps.

Yeah. It uses way too much water to use while boondocking without a water source. But it may be useful with full hookups. They seem designed for apartment living. I've seen some wall mount, front load machines and they might be more economical with the water. It might be OK for National Parks where there is a spigot that everybody shares, but then getting rid of the wash water would be a problem. It doesn't seem very promising.

There are two water tanks, besides the grey and black tanks. One is 50 gallons of general water and the other is 16 gallons of drinking water. The General tank is designed to be filled from streams, or other sources of water that is good for general use, but not for drinking.

[Glenn Baglo]

Love to see a picture of that thing in a full service RV resort, with laundry hanging on the power lines to dry.

[Jim Bennett]

For clothes we pack what would last us with very minimal change for two weeks, and typically find somewhere to do laundry every 10 to 14 days. As long as clothes are relatively clean I continue to wear them unless going somewhere special in town then wear nice clean stuff. If you find yourselves running out of any underclothes they are super easy to wash at the campsite, though this is a rare thing.

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

Now, let's not talk about tools! I had to buy a new truck just to hold them...

And haven't I made good use of this two years in a row at Quartzsite? A drill bit last year and an MC4 crimper this year. I would never complain about your toting along of lots of tools, just when I do it.

[Sheryl M]

We're getting close! We leave on Monday. We've been stocking up quarters, packed the detergent (pods.. and hope we get to use them, if not we'll be buying on the road). I plan to lay out my collection of clothes, and have DH proceed to tell me I have too many. Like a friend advised.. get out all the clothes you're taking and lay them on the bed. Then, before you pack, put half of them back. I'm sure I'll have more advice for everyone else once we finish this trip! :-)