Water heaters

[travelmom72]

Hello to all!

We are brand new travel trailer owners and just came upon our very first problem. We were getting the camper ready to go out this weekend and as soon as we turned the water on, it started leaking behind the water heater and the carpet inside around the bed got wet before we could turn it off.

That said, we have a big hole in the back of the water heater and now need to replace it. We did take out the old one, it is a Suburban SW6DE.

My question is: Do you have to get "exactly" the same one as came out of the trailer? Because I also see a Suburban SW6D model that you can buy and I even see other brands of them. We don't want to order something only to find out that we can't use it.

Can we order something different to put back in the trailer or does it have to be exactly the same model number and brand?

Also - are they as easy to install as it was to take out? We don't want to mess anything up as we are nervous first owners, lol.

Thank you for any guidance you can give. It appears this board is wonderful at helping others so I'm hoping someone can tell us if we just need to go ahead and get the same brand and model number or if they can be changed.

Please help!

Thank you and I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday.........'

Tara in East TN

[travelmom72]

Caveman, thank you! I will remind him to do that.

[Caveman_Charlie]

Not really. Just makes sure you do a soap bubble test on the gas line after the new install to make sure it's not leaking.

[travelmom72]

Wow, ya'll are fast with the replies and I appreciate that so much!

Okay, looks like an exact replacement is what we will need to do. Hubby says it should be easy to install the new one - and since the new ones don't come with the door, I'm assuming if we order the same exact one, we can use our existing door cover.

Is there anything else we would need to buy or know about doing this?

Thank you guys so much!

[downtheroad]

If your old one was gas only and you get a new one that is gas and electric, you will have lots of extra wiring/circuit breaker, etc. to do..

Easiest is to get a direct replacement...exact to the one you removed.

[westend]

You can install a different model or a different brand. The easiest will be one of the same brand and model. The Atwwood has a different plumbing layout, IIRC.

[newman_fulltime]

The due is gas and electric the d is only gas