Anyone who has ever spent an extended period of time living in an RV can tell you that doing laundry is one of the more challenging tasks. Sure, some high-end vehicles have the option to add a washer and dryer, but most motorhomes and travel trailers don’t include such a luxury. Instead, we’re usually forced to find a laundromat where we spend hours watching our clothes go round and round inside a machine.
As it turns out, actually washing the laundry isn’t usually the hard part, as a tub of hot water and some soap can go a long way toward completing that task. Waiting for your clothes, linens, and other items to dry is another matter, however, often requiring a great deal of patience to achieve mediocre results. But what if there was a way to bring a dryer with you on your RV travels without taking up much space in your vehicle?
Meet the Morus Zero, a portable dryer specifically designed for use in small apartments, tiny homes, and RVs. This fantastic product delivers a host of functionality in a relatively compact and easy-to-use form, making it a game-changer for anyone looking to do laundry while living in a limited space.
Photo Credit: Morus
A Powerful and Compact Portable Dryer
When I was offered a review unit of the Morus Portable Dryer to test, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My previous experince with products like this one weren’t particulalry impressive. But once the dryer arrived at my home and I took it out of the box, I was immediately impressed by how well it was designed and built.
Weighing a little over 28 pounds, it is relatively lightweight, yet the gadget feels like a substantial product made from premium materials. Those early impressions were reinforced by the sturdy door that seals the drying chamber. It requires a solid tug to open and closes with a satisfying thunk. Everything from the eye-catching outer case and digital control panel to the magnetic lint trap and power cable exude quality.
Like most residential clothes dryers, the Morus has a front-loading design. Users simply open the door and place their laundry inside. The interior chamber is small but can accommodate a load of up to 3.3 pounds. That’s not a lot of weight when you’re filling it with wet clothing, but Morus says it is the equivalent of roughly four to five XL-size adult shirts or eight to ten face towels.
For my first test, I loaded the dryer with seven or eight wet t-shirts, which filled the interior space to capacity. I was a little concerned that this would be too large of a load for the unit, but it powered up, went to work, and completed its task in a surprisingly fast and efficient manner. Later, I also tested it using heavier items like bath towels and denim jeans, and once again, it proved highly successful at drying those items, so long as I kept the load at a manageable size.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
Drying Modes
The Morus Zero gives users plenty of options for drying their laundry. The device comes with seven preset modes, which are selected—and in some cases adjusted—using a control panel on top of the device. A digital display indicates the current settings, estimated drying time, and other information.
Some of the preset modes include a quick-drying feature that can handle small loads in as little as 15 minutes. The device also has a mode that keeps wrinkles to a minimum, a specific option just for delicate fabrics, and a timed warming mode that’s perfect for your PJs on a cold night. It even has a mode just for drying shoes which doesn’t turn the drum but still uses hot air to remove moisture from your wet footwear.
While testing, I typically used the Morus Zero’s “smart” mode when drying my clothes. This functions much like a residential dryer, using sensors to detect moisture in the tumbler and then estimating how long it will take to dry the laundry. It also automatically selects the proper temperature, which can range anywhere between 113ºF and 149ºF as needed.
In nearly every instance, that initial time assessment proved to be an overestimate, with the dryer finishing the job faster than expected. While the dryer was running, the digital display routinely showed a revised estimate of the remaining time. Once the laundry was completely dry, the unit would shut off automatically. Perhaps most impressively, I found the portable unit to be roughly on par with my home dryer in terms of running time.
The little portable dryer worked exceptionally well throughout my testing process. In most cases, the device over-delivered, drying clothing and other items faster than expected. As someone with a healthy amount of skepticism about this product before trying it, I was impressed by its overall performance.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
Using the Morus Zero While RVing
Because it is relatively lightweight and small (16.3″ W x 19.3″ H x 20.8″ D), the portable dryer makes an excellent companion on RV road trips. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind before adding this device to your motorhome or travel trailer. For instance, while the Morus Zero isn’t especially large, it is a bit unusually shaped. This could make finding a proper storage space challenging when not in use. That might not be much of a problem in a larger vehicle, but it is a consideration for a camper van or small towable.
It is also important to note that while the dryer is portable, it does need a power source to function. There are no built-in rechargeable batteries to power the device, so you’ll have to plug it into a standard 120V AC wall outlet. The Morus Zero will run just fine off your RVs house batteries, and a portable power station or generator can provide the electricity it needs to operate as well. However, besides plugging it into power, there are no other tubes, cables, or wires to connect. It truly is plug-and-play.
That said, if you can find a place for it in your RV for the Morus Zero, you’ll instantly upgrade your travel experience. The dryer can make doing laundry on the road much more manageable and convenient, potentially saving you money over the long haul. Add in the ability to warm towels and dry shoes, and you have a device that brings a lot of functionality to your living space.
Full-timers that don’t already have a washer and dryer in their rig will especially appreciate the dryer’s features. At the very least, it will save you some trips to the laundromat, which alone will make it worthwhile to many RVers.
Photo Credit: Morus
Long-Term Value
The Morus Zero sells for $599.99, although it is on sale for $100 off as of this writing. That is pricier than most other models available on the market, but those units tend to be larger and heavier, making them less portable. This device is also more sophisticated than the competition, offering more drying modes, built-in moisture sensors, the ability to shut off automatically, and other nifty features. And while aesthetics are subjective, I happen to think this unit looks much nicer than its competitors too.
According to one study, the average cost of doing a load of laundry at a laundromat is about $6.20. At that price—and when factoring in convenience and time—the Morus Zero will undoubtedly pay for itself in the long run. It may take quite a few loads to reach that point, but eventually, the dryer will pay itself off. But I’m willing to bet that you’ll already come to appreciate what it delivers long before that point.
To learn more about the portable dryer, visit the Morus Zero website.
