Chasing the sunshine on holiday is part of the fun of motorhome touring. We like to check forecasts and keep our plans flexible enough to drive away from wet weather, wherever possible. The only slight drawback of this constant movement is that when it’s time to do some washing we have to slow down, find a campsite or laundrette and use the washing machines. Then again, if the sunseeking plan has come together, it seems daft to pay for a tumble drier when you can take advantage of sunny and windy weather to get your clothes dry.

How do you get your wet laundry dry in a motorhome? Draping damp towels over the wing mirrors to dry during breakfast is all very well, but getting a batch of wet washing dry is more of a challenge. As with all aspects of motorhome ownership, a few well chosen camping accessories and gadgets make a world of difference to everyday life. We regularly test suitable outdoor gear in Practical Motorhome and you can read the results of many of our group camping accessories tests online here. 

Recently we tested a group of clothes airers, from simple ones to heated versions. We tried out portable rotary washing lines such as the Vango Clothes Drier, which costs £35, the Quest 4-Arm rotary Airer costing 29.99, and the Outwell Drying Rack at £24.99. And we tried out a couple of simple and cheap airers, the Kampa Clothes Dryer AC0290 at £11.99 and Kampa Universal Clothes Dryer AC0600 at £9.99. 

In this review we’ll focus on the Vango Clothes Drier, which costs £35. Although there’s nothing wrong with Vango’s take on portable rotary clothes lines, Outwell and Quest’s rival offerings definitely trump it. Unlike the other two, this version only has three top arms, which reduces the total hanging space available, but doesn’t make the pack size significantly smaller to pack away in your motorhome. When folded the Vango Clothes Drier measures 87cm x 22cm x 13cm.

Like Quest Leisure’s 4-Arm Rotary Airer, the Vango Clothes Drier comes supplied with a carry bag. Fortunately, it is plenty big enough to house the folded product, complete with all that loose washing line.

Like most portable airers, the Vango Clothes Drier is designed for outdoor use in moderate winds and so it does have ringed feet and pegs. While we cannot fully justify its premium price, compared to the better and cheaper Outwell Drying Rack, this Vango rotary washing line does at least have a similar clamped top hub, which allows the lines to be made fully taut after the arms are opened out.

The Vango Clothes Drier holds a up to 22kg (3st 6lbs) of wet laundry. When it is fully opened out it measures 134cm wide and 143cm high. The whole thing weighs 1.82kg.