DIY Installing a Lemaire Washing Machine

Installing a Lemaire Washing Machine plus a Wringer on the Rear Bumper - any brand

Max and Dorothy Haines from Nyora in Victoria have come up with a rather unique method for washing on the road. For light loads they use the tried and true three bucket method with a plunger. They use a specially adapted wringer to speed up drying. For larger washes they use the little Lemaire auto washing machine. As Max is into music in a big way, they didn't want to clutter up the interior of their older 25 foot Winnebago and there wasn't room in their conventional bathroom of that era to do anything clever either. Being a retired BHP engineer, the obvious solution was one involving steel and lots of it! Now this project will only work for you if you have mastered welding, or have a few willing mates with these skills.

First up Max extended the back bumper with a fairly substantial structure, incorporating a quite large odds and ends box, the washing machine itself, a rack for holding it off the ground, a folding BBQ table, a bracket for the wringer and a 240 volt outlet. The photo above left, shows the bracket in the stowed position next to the stowed for travel Lemaire. The photo at right shows the bracket in the lowered position ready for washing. Note the two cups at the front. These positively stop all movement during spin etc.

The photo above left shows the machine resting up against the rear storage box. The photo at right shows the canvas cover and the method used to deter the light finger brigade. This all looks quite neat when following behind - we did over quite a bit of Tassie at the CMCA Rally in March 2004.

The photo above, shows the 240 volt external power point (can be generator or inverter driven), and the tubular bracket for the wringer. The small door to the left of the power outlet covers six lengths of hose complete with fittings! A very clever idea, as this goes right across the full width.

The photo above left shows the wringer made up by Max. It fits into the tube welded to the bumper base as shown in the top right photo. The frame of the wringer is made from aluminium and overall is a beautifully made piece of gear. Max was selling these at rallies for around $125.00 - an absolute bargain as you just can't buy anything like them any more regardless of cost. If you want one just drop us an email as Max and Dorothy aren't on the Net just yet. We have camped with them and have seen their system in operation and it does work quite well.

Bob & Chrissy Eustace

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