Upgrades - Number 1 in Use and Reliability

I am going to publish reviews on all the upgrades I have installed on my motorhome. Some have not worked as advertised or as they should. Others exceeded expectations. Some my wife likes and some she doesn't. The same goes for me. Every upgrade has some good points and some bad, but the true value is the total cost (including, shipping, installation, additional parts, problem resolution and expected life/replacement cost) verses the total benefits.

Number one on both of our lists is the Vesta Dishwasher. This product was first designed for upscale yachts. I believe this gave this product a great advantage as it has been tested and used in rough conditions prior to adaptation to RV's. The problem is installation. The must haves are a cabinet with space for a 21 inch X 22 inch opening and 20 inch depth, 120V plug near opening, and a close access to a grey water drain. This could a serious challenge, however in our motorhome we had the perfect location. Three drawers under the stovetop were removed to provide space for the dishwasher and a small access door to store the four counter sink and stovetop covers. No space was allocated to store these covers before. A 120V plug under the sink adjacent to the stovetop was available ( on the refrigerator circuit ) and ,of coarse, the kitchen sink drains to the grey water tank.

This looked good except we had three very important drawers containing pots and pans, silverware and many important kitchen items. We solved that later with another upgrade that I will post about later.

So installation was relatively simple although I had problems sizing the box for the dishwasher. It was too tight and required some rework to allow the dishwasher to slide in.

Once the dishwasher was in the cabinet and electric, cold water, and drain hooked up, the test began. This was three years ago and absolutely no problems. The dishwasher heats its own water, runs several cycles, uses common dishwasher soap tabs and rinse agent. It does an outstanding job on the dishes. Not large enough for big fry pans but all dishes for two people fit for once a day washing. One additional benefit, in our installation is our refrigerator is a residential model on a inverter circuit. This means we start the dishwasher while preparing to hit the road and it finishes the dry cycle about 60 miles out.

My wife and I give this upgrade 10 out 10 rating for a cost of only about $500. That is about the best Cost - Benefit ratio for a RV Upgrade I have come across so far.