Copyright Janet Groene 2025.
Wrung Out? More Tips for RV Washday
When my friend Didi went back to “real life” after living on the go for several years, she laughingly claimed she hugged and kissed her washer and dryer every day. RV newbies who are accustomed to having a-home laundry find it tough to go RV-ing without one.
The RV-ing traveler has several choices.
1. Carry laundry machines in the RV.. Compact units are available. Some are washer and dryer all in one. Over-under Combo washer-dryer units are also sold. Consider the space they take up, the price and the weight of the machines as well as the extra water and electricity required.
2. Use coin laundries. Many campgrounds have bright rooms filled with multiple washers and dryers, foldiing tables and sometimes irons and ironing boards. It’s speedy to have all your loads done at once.
3. Wash by hand.
A fourth choice would be to send laundry out, but that’s cumbersome and costly, not an option most of us would choose.
It’s a personal, but passionate choice. I heard from one woman who refused to go RV-ing until her husband bought an RV with a washer-dryer. Another woman told me the first thing she removed from a newly acquired RV was the combo washer-dryer. She had other plans for the large footprint it occupied.
I chose to stay lean and mean in a 21-foot RV. Keep these tips in mind when using laundromats:
* Check both washer and dryer with eyes , nose and hands before adding your clothes. If the drum is rough your clothes will be picked and snagged. If the last user dyed a garment or left a crayon or lipstick in the dryer, your load could be indelibly stained. If someone used the dryer to fluff the dog’s bed, your clothes could come out of the dryer covered in hair. Filters are good but not foolproof.
* Clean washer and dryer filters before every load.
* Use a dye-absorbing sheet in every wash load. It saves accidents that occur when you accidentally leave a dark sock in a load of whites. It also allows you to wash whites and colors in one machine.
* Test run the washer and dryer. If you’re going to wash a really expensive item (the throw your grandmother made, your best knits) try the machines first by doing another load of less important items. I’ve found campground machines that wouldn’t spin and washers that delivered scalding water when I dialed up Cold. Sometimes campground well water can be rusty and dryer temperatures can be quirky too.
* I don’t have room to carry bulky laundry baskets. Instead, I sort loads into large canvas bags. I carry them to the laundry, wash and dry the bags with other loads and fill them with clean, folded clothes to carry back to the RV.
* Buy the most super-concentrated detergents available and use only as much as the label recommends. I’ve found pods that work and detergent sheets that don’t work at all. Dryer sheets are a plus.
* Mesh laundry bags are handy not just for bras and other delicate items but for keeping pairs of socks together.
* Bring something to read and stay with your laundry. Meaning well, a fellow camper could remove your clothes when the machine quits and pile them just anywhere. One kind soul even unloaded my washer, fed quarters into a dryer that was set on Hellfire and my clothes were almost ruined. It was my fault for not being there the minute the washer finished.
* Shake out clothes before putting them in the washer and again before putting them in the dryer. Then fold immediately after drying, while they are warm.
* Double and triple check dryers before leaving the laundry room. Drums are so huge it’s easy to overlook one small item stuck in a corner.
* Plan ahead. Some campground laundries are always open. Others are open only during certain hours. Also, some take tokens, coins, bills or only electronic payment. Be prepared with the right way to pay.
DOES THE OPEN ROAD CALL YOUR NAME?
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RV PARKS & CAMPGROUNDS: GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS
These news breaks from our local sources in travel and real estate may be premature or incomplete. Follow up as each story develops and make reservations as soon as they go live. (This may be months before the official opening of a new park.) Locations are in boldface.
RV PARK CHANGES, UPGRADES, NEW OWNERS
A total of 90 new riverside RV sites have been added at the Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA Holiday in Wilmington, New York. Included in the Riverside section on the Ausable River will be full hookups, some KOA Patio sites, 50/30 service and a K9 dog park. The park is noted for its scenery, fly fishing events and all the amenities of a Holiday class KOA. . (518) 946-7878
Also in New York State, two Adirondack Park Agency parks are getting upgrades. They are the Luzerne Public Campground and the Lincoln Pond Campground.
Wind Creek State Park bear Alexander City, Alabama has improved ADA access to its campground and brought in 50-amp service for RV-ers. See Alapark.com
The campground at Meaher State Park, Spanish Fort, Alabama is open again after an expansion that includes new cottages, a new office and 45 additional RV sites with full hookups. Go to Alapark.com/
Celebrating improvements and additions is Winton Woods, a county campground on the north side of Cincinnati, Ohio . Seven new, paved RV sites have full hookups, picnic tables and fire rings. (513) 521-7275.
NEW AND FUTURE RV PARKS
The new Killian Road RV Park is expected to open by November in Blythewood, South Carolina. The 55-site RV park near Columbia will offer a pond for fishing and kayaking, Reservations and questions are now being taken at (803) 622-1117.
Big Bear Crossing is the name of a future RV park and mixed use development near Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, Strawn, Texas. Centered by a full-service travel center, the 80-acre project will feature a hotel, a lake, RV park, retail stores and industrial spaces. It’s expected to open in Summer, 2026. (254) 672-5684
New in Bakersfield, California, the Grapevine RV Resort has 187 RV sites, full hookups, three gated dog runs, a camp store, hot showers, a swimming pool and a meeting room and kitchen in the clubhouse, .Long-and short stays are welcome, See GrapevineRVResort.com/
SilverStar Mountain Resort near Vernon, British Columbia now has 36 new, year-round campsites. Although sites are dry, the campground has vault toilets, a camp host and bear-proof garbage bins.. Washrooms and showers at the resoirt are available to campers at a fee, Reservations are requited. (00 663-443 1 in the U.,S. And Canada. .
Little Lake, Michigan has a new, 40-site RV destination. Charley’s RV Resort has full hookups for RVs plus year-round cabins, a camp store and a pavilion. See
charleysrvcampground.com
RV EVENTS
Georgia’s 46th Harvest Pioneer Festival comes to General Coffee State Park, Nicholls, Georgia on November 8. See how life was once lived in the Wiregrass Country. Hands-on fun plus food, games, live music, vendors. See blacksmithing, living history actors, cane grinding, syrup making, quilting and more in a “living history” farm setting. .(912) 384-7082. Admission is $2; parking $5. The park has 50 campsites with electric. .eserve early at (www.)ReserveAmerica.com/
Plan now to be at Robbers Cave State Park, Wilburton, Oklahoma on October 17-19 for the annual Fall Festival. Browse the classic car show, hear live music all day and evening, enjoy fall foliage, eat treats from vendors galore and shop the many arts an crafts booths. The park has RV, tent and equestrian camping, a playground, dump station, rock climbing, a beach, horseback rides for rent, paddleboats, and more. (918) 465-2562
The latest in the Yacht Yenta cozy mystery e-books brings widow Farley Halladay closer to the answer of her husband's death.
Read the six cozies in any order as Farley copes, cooks and solves crimes with the help of her wacky cast of characters. You'll laugh at her frailties; cry with her as she grieves the loss of her husband. Find it on Google Play and other ebook formats and also on Kindle, https://amzn.to/3wcf6ao
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Can't get enough shortcut recipes and tips for RV cooking? See https://campandrvcook.blogspot.com
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