Did I dodge a bullet?

Excellent point OB. Propane was on for furnace and I cannot remember if one or both switches were on ( one for AC other for gas and both side by side) Heater is an atwood and going by my track record I would bet the element fried and the gas warmed the tank.

Boxerslave, When my kids come to visit, I stay in trailer and let them have the house. Had a similar incident, except kids left water heater on when they left. Thank goodness, it wasn't cold enough that we had no water in it. I also discovered they didn't realize they needed to open vent and turn on fan to release extra moisture when they showered.

So now, they get the house and I go out and have some privacy from all the visitors and sleep through the night even if the baby doesn't.

Electric element turned on.......element will be burnt out due to lack of water
Propane turn on.......OK as far as propane burner BUT


What brand of water heater?

Atwood..........probably OK as tank is aluminum and t-stat would shut down when temp was reached. Tank can take the temp as long as it is allowed to cool before filling with water

Suburban......Maybe? Tank is steel but is glass lined. T-stat would shut down when temp was reached but glass lining may have cracked from the direct heating.

Fill it.......run it then if heats OK drain it and check for any 'debris' if Suburban

Nineoaks Good advice, below freezing now, so I will try that later. Next time I will try to be smart enough to trip breaker before sleepovers.

Only way to know is turn off, let it cool, then fill with water and see if it heats ok and shuts off. If so you are lucky..

You may have dodged a bullet in the sense that the trailer didn't burn down. It is, however, likely that you damaged the water heater.