DIY water heater?

[Tennessee_Nomad]

Has anyone ever replaced the water heater in your fiver. DIY style. I've replaced a few in houses we've owned but never one in a camper. Is this something you would do yourself or would you take it to a dealer and let them do it? Thanks...

[Tennessee_Nomad]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
WHY are you looking at replacement?
Split tank? Or some other issue?

No "replacement issues" as of yet. Just gathering information for if and when the time comes. I took the old anode rod out to replace it and I stuck my finger in the hole and I could feel some kind of flaky stuff on the bottom of the tank. I was thinking rust but the rv dealer said its most likely flakes off the old rod. Also it's a little rusty around the outside of the hole the anode rod goes in. I bought a new rod and a "tank washer" to washout/flush the tank and clean it out a bit. Hopefully we won't have issues but you never know. Thanks for the replies!

[Sunnyside42]

If you're in the water heater replacement mode, take a look at the on-demand models. A little pricey on the buy-in side (~$1K), however they supposedly use less propane once installed.

Good luck with your install.

[Old-Biscuit]

Atwood 6 gallon for an Atwood 6 gallon (OR 10 for 10)

Same for Suburban 6 for 6 or 10 for 10

Atwood and Suburban use different size openings so swapping brands is more involved.

WHY are you looking at replacement?
Split tank? Or some other issue?

[bbaker2001]

I just replaced my 10 gallon in 5er.
funny , could not find much on you tube.
make sure to turn off power and gas.
take some pics of wiring.
turn off water pump, taped mine so no accident.
getting unit out was hard. had a lot of plumbers putty around front, also it pulled hard because of very tight fit. same with going back in, very tight.
do not pinch wire or gas connection
good luck
ordered mine from PPL,

[reluyog]

I replace our Atwood electronic with an Atwood standing pilot. Everything lined up the same and it was easy.

[ksbowman]

Had mine out of my Keystone Outback 5th this fall. It was very easy. Mine had a leak around the nipple to tank connection where the element screws in on the back side. The weld to the aluminum tank had a pin hole causing it to leak. Welded it up, replaced the element and replaced. There is a very good You Tube video on how to do it. About a 4 hour job if you take your time and reseal correctly.

[Acampingwewillg]

I did the one in the MH a few year's ago and the funny thing is, our friend is coming over tomorrow with his trailer, so we can replace his Atwood. I know my Suburban was relatively easy on the MH.

[sayoung]

Replaced the one in Daughters travel trailer, easy but it had access under bed.
My Jayco 5er would be easy also ,just remove wall in pass thru storage and all is accessible.

[azjeffh]

Accessing the rear of the unit may be the biggest challenge. If you can do that, the rest will be easy.

[Tyler0215]

Get the same brand you have now, and it's an easy replacement.

[agesilaus]

It's just a minor piping job, no big deal. You want a RV water heater tho. Are you sure yours is bad and doesn't just need an element? You can get those at a hardware store.

[midnightsadie]

I,d do mine,can,t be that hard,if you can do a house one ,you can figure this out,