Upgrading or Replacing your RV Hot Water Heater

Last updated on June 8th, 2019 at 09:51 pm

December 5, 2018 by Marlan at Rv52 3 Comments

When we first purchased the Tiny Texas Tumbleweed (TTT), we made a list of things to modify and improve to make the TTT more livable. Replacing the RV hot water heater SHOULD have been on the list.

What wasn’t on it at first made the list during a cool spring morning.

The hot water heater on the TTT is the lowest cost hot water heater you can put in an RV. It is a 6 gallon PILOT LIGHT UNIT. In some ways, the pilot light type might be the best in terms of reliability… but for me, I had a little something more in mind.

Sheri and I usually keep our hot water heater off. From an engineering standpoint the way to lower hot water heater electric and gas consumption is to keep it off.

That was no big deal in our Puma or Open Range as both of these had electric ignitions. An added bonus on the Open Range was that it used electric shore power.

On that cool spring morning, I was snuggled up to my little Texas blondie and she says “Can you turn on the hot water heater so we can shower and get ready this morning?”

At 36 degrees and a slight wind along with air bubbles in the gas line (first use), getting that pilot light started was a pretty COLD experience.

When I got back in the RV I could hear the hot water heater roaring. Yay me.

Then it stopped. An air bubble let the flame go out. And the pilot light went out too.

Back outside.

Freezing cold.

I’m thinking that this is total crap. Here are pictures showing where I had to light the pilot light and the button you have to press when lighting the pilot light. It isn’t horribly hard, but I like the idea of an electronic ignition much more.

So when I got back inside I ordered a new Atwood Gas/Electric Hot water heater with electronic ignition. It arrived back at RV52.com World Headquarters a few days later.

And promptly sat all summer.

Here are pictures of the Atwood BOX prior to installation:

Why did I order an Atwood? Because I was replacing an Atwood and I didn’t want any trouble when replacing the unit. I noticed that not all RV Hot Water heaters are shaped the same. I wasn’t going to try to save $100 by getting some other brand. That isn’t enough saving to cause an even bigger project. Furthermore, I didn’t have any rational basis for NOT wanting an Atwood. I assumed they would make a reasonable product. The Amazon ratings were also very good – a nice indicator.

I finally got around to putting in our RV hot water heater.

It wasn’t horribly difficult. Of course I probably did some things half-way, but overall, I’ve improved our RV and am looking forward to NOT going outside and still having hot water.

I’ll put a video gallery here of my project. It took the better part of a day, but I must admit I didn’t hurry at all. If you had everything you needed and have done this before you could replace this in an hour. For guys like me it took 3-4 hours and a trip to the hardware store.

I’d say the most important FIRST thing to do is to make sure your RV is drained. How do I know this? Do you see the towels on the floor? Embarrassing.

Once “all hell is breaking loose” with water in the lines stops, then you can start you project in earnest. Your RV is MOVABLE so make sure you create a nice working environment and space. Get yourself a chair.

RV Hot Water Heater Replacement - Getting ready to start the job — RV Hot Water Heater Replacement – Getting ready to start the job

I ended up getting out alot more equipment than this picture shows.

Tools and accessories needed to replace your RV hot water heater:

New RV hot water heater… of course
Automotive Marine Weatherstrip – experts may say I chose the wrong gasket… but here is the brand I used.
Electric Drill with screw driver bits
Rotary tool to remove insulation, sealant, and glue.
Gorilla glue – the type that will glue metal to metal.
caulking gun – I LOVE this caulking gun
electrical crimp connector collection
14 gauge wire
Plumbers joint putty
Plumbers nylon tape
Electrical pliers for crimping and stripping
Multimeter
Toolkit with general tools – like a socket wrench

Assuming your RV hot water heater is drained, then I think the big “macro” step is to remove the old hot water heater.

The steps to remove the old hot water heater are:

Unscrew the PEX hot and cold water connectors (you can see the picture above for the RED/BLUE PEX connectors). I was lucky in that I had a bench I made that made access to the hot water heater easy. You might not have that.
Unscrew the LP gas connection. You do this from the front (outside) of the hot water heater. Then push it back as much as possible.
Remove the door. It was two spring connectors in the lower left and right sides. Very easy.
Unscrew all the screws. An electric screwdriver is pretty handy about now. There were many screws.
I promise you the hot water heater won’t come out yet. The glue they used in Indiana is crazy good.
Take a box cutter knife and cut the glue all the way around.
Once you do that well, the hot water heater will come loose.
I went inside and pushed it out gently… taking care to not damage anything.
The foam gasket was adhered tightly as well. I ended up having to cut it too.

You can see the partially removed hot water heater here:

RV Hot Water Being Removed from Travel Trailer

At this point, you probably need to use any number of methods to remove the glue and the foam gasket. I’m a bit of a hack so I used a rotary grinder. Mine is from Harbor Freight and is one of the few tools they sell that worked more than one time! ;-)

Preparing the space for the replacement rv hot water heater

Remove any foam gasket from the old RV hot water heater mounting area. I used a rotary grinder with a sanding flapper disk which is probably the wrong name for it.
Remove the old glue, which was probably an amazing glue, from the old RV hot water heater mounting area.
This is a good time to clean the area inside where the rv hot water heater will eventually go.
Get a really good gasket – automotive grade with a good adhesive and put it, in my opinion, just inside the center line that goes screw to screw to screw. I’m talking about the mounting screws for the hot water heater. By doing it this way, you have good access to the screw holes and they do not block the screws when you go to replace them.

Prepare the new replacement RV Hot Water Heater for its new home

You’ll see in my picture of the installed, but not operational replacement rv hot water heater FOUR L-shaped pieces of metal in the center of the RV hot water heater… remove those. You’ll use those to mount the RV hot water heater in a moment. Just break them apart into 4 pieces and set them aside.
There were two plumbing fixtures that CONVERT the RV hot water heater inlet and outlet to PEX style connectors. Remove these from the old hot water heater.
Clean those connectors up a little bit with a rag.
Apply plumbers putty to the threads.
Put the connectors into the upgrade RV hot water heater.
Tighten slightly with a wrench. I used a pipe wrench. I made it “fairly” tight, but not so tight I could hurt anything… if possible anyway. I’m always a bit nervous about that.
Find the little hole (lower left when facing the installed hot water heater) and rubber gasket that will hold the LP gas hose in place. I removed that gasket and fit it over the LP gas hose ahead of time.

Place the upgraded RV hot water heater into the space vacated by the old RV hot water heater

Gently pick up your newly prepared replacement RV hot water heater and as gingerly as possible put it into the old RV hot water heater’s old space.
Be careful with the electrical wires to make sure that you don’t let one fall so you can’t find them. I kept mine carefully located on top of the styrofoam insulation.
Be careful not to harm the insulation. Your rv hot water heater is worth several hundred dollars so hurting the styrofoam insulation is not good.
Gently press the hot water heater into place until it touches, but does not squash the foam gasket you put in place.
Go inside and make sure all the wires are visible and accounted for.
At this point, you can see the PEX water pipes and fittings should line up perfectly with your RV hot water heater.
This is a good time to fish the LP gas pipe through the hole to the front of the RV hot water heater and then put the gasket securely in the hole where you found it, except now with the LP gas hose through it.

Secure the new RV hot water heater into place after the test fit above

On the Atwood RV Hot water heater, I can’t speak for the others, you have to bend the “lip” with the holes for the screws 90 degrees from straight out to flat with the RV external surface.
When you bend the hot water heater lip, it should then line up with the original holes. This is a HUGE (or Yuge) reason that getting the same brand as a replacement might be wise.
Now that the lip is bent on all four edges, fill the space between the lip and the RV exterior surface with Gorilla glue. This is a one-shot deal so do a good job and make sure you don’t leave any holes. Be mindful to not get it in the way of the screw holes on this step or you won’t be able to see where to place the screws.
Push the RV hot water heater in. Glue will squish out.
Use the angle brackets you removed from the new hot water heater on the corners and start putting screws in the holes
Put the screws in everywhere.
Tighten the screws evenly around the hot water heater. Be mindful to not over tighten and strip the wood. Remember the screws hold a little, but the glue will hold alot.
When the RV hot water heater is nicely secured and you are done tightening screws, clean up the Gorilla glue so that the RV looks nice.
Fasten the LP gas hose to the LP gas nipple and tighten by hand, then a little extra with a wrench. I would also add that I used plumbers nylon tape on mine. Hopefully that isn’t some crazy combination.
You should find two little clips. You can use those to fasten the NEW door (mine came with a door even though the part number I ordered above and gave you says it does not. I’m just sayin.)
Also put the metal heat deflector in place.

Connect the PEX cold and hot water connections to the RV hot water heater on the inside

I used plumbers tape on these. Maybe overkill, but RV leaks are so common…
I tightened by hand, then just a little bit more with a wrench. Be mindful… plastic breaks easily.

Connect a 12 Volt power source to the igniter circuit on the RV hot water heater

The instructions were pretty good from Atwood so I’m not going to go into that detail. But I will tell you what I did.
I cut a little rectangle in the hot water heater box. I see I did it out of level, which is embarrassing, but at least I did it where no one will see it but Sheri and I.
The ON OFF switch came with the Atwood hot water heater which was a BIG relief.
I DID NOT connect AC power to heat water using shore power as we did not have convenient power to the hot water heater. Maybe someday.
The closest 12 V was the overhead bin light. You can see the wire in the picture. We’re going to use decorative tape to hide the wire.
Once you route 12V to the hot water heater box then you are 99% done.
I hooked up the “lockout light” which tells you that the igniter failed.
I hooked up the 12 V igniter switch only. There are no wires going to the AC control switch.

Test out your new replacement hot water heater

Turn on your LP gas. I did not have any soap to look for leaks, but Sheri has a really good smeller and we did not detect a leak.
Turn on water to the RV. Monitor your connectors for leaks.
We did light the range to bleed out any air in the LP gas lines. True it wouldn’t bleed air out the line going to the hot water heater, but it does help.
Turn on the igniter… click click click… pause click click click … ROAR!!! What a wonderful sound.

Conclusion: You can put in an RV hot water heater upgrade

This isn’t that hard. This was my FIRST one and I learned quite a bit. Experts might see I did something wrong. If so, just leave a comment and let us all know what part can be improved. Be nice, that is all I ask.

I can’t wait to NOT go outside and light the hot water heater!

Installing an RV shower surround to create a higher quality RV Shower

Last updated on November 29th, 2019 at 11:47 am

October 11, 2017 by Marlan at Rv52 Leave a Comment

The picture gallery in this article (may not show in an email) shows how I installed my rv shower surround in order of the steps I took. If you want to READ more details you can skip below the picture gallery section to my text writeup.

upgrading a low quality rv shower with a nice rv shower surround - RV How To Article

upgrading a low quality rv shower with a nice rv shower surround - before picture showing wall only shower

Why would I install a shower surround in our camper?

When Sheri and took the Tiny Texas Tumbleweed out for our maiden voyage(s) we had a couple of problems with the shower and maybe some “imaginary” issues where we were worried about the future of the shower in our camper.

Our biggest worry was that the basin shower, as pictured above was VERY VERY (and a third) VERY susceptible to water getting behind the basin and into places where it can mold and rot.

We also worried that the wall, which was the same type of wallboard used throughout the camper really wasn’t that great at rejecting water and once again we would live to regret showering in the Tumbleweed.

On one of the trips, Sheri showered and the basin has no “lip” to keep the water from simply rolling off the basin and onto the floor. Once on the floor it was easily slipping underneath the basin to begin the molding and rotting process.

Finally, and Sheri and I are not deluded by RV quality, the basin itself had large holes where the installers didn’t have the cuts correct. These were not just slight misfittings – they were square notches where the cuts where wrong and the basin was installed anyway. Not cool.

With all these problems, we committed to installing a better shower since we believe the shower, as-is (now it is as-was) was simply not usable.

Video of RV shower surround installation

https://youtu.be/H7Svit9T28k

Summary of steps for installing an RV shower surround

Time needed: 4 hours.

How to install a nice shower surround to make your RV shower waterproof.

Measure size of rv shower surround needed by measuring the width, depth, and height where you will place the surround
Have materials on hand
RV Shower Surround – find here on Amazon for this exact one
on Camping World shower surrounds <- I purchased mine here
and also comparison shop for RV shower surrounds

Plywood braces (I didn’t do this, but I’ll recommend)
2×4 to use with the plywood braces to get a better glue connection between the surround and the wall.

Gorilla glue – find here (or click here and Comparison shop and save)

Screws to secure edges of surround to the wall – I used these

Caulk

Having a roller to nicely press shower surround in place after gluing would be nice

Painter’s tape
Turn off water and bleed out any pressure
Remove flashing from current shower basin.
Remove the shower faucet
Measure placement of location of water hoses cutout(s) in the wall
Use measurements to create cutout in shower surround
Double check cutout measurements, even going so far to place shower surround in tub and eyeball the placement
Cut hole in shower surround
Test fit shower surround
Remove all debris and clean where rv shower surround will be glued
(Update: You might even clean with rubbing alcohol to get rid of ANYTHING that stops good glue sticking. This is a very minor extra amount of work – highly recommended. Ours stuck OK, but the caulking had to be redone as caulk did not stick to the shower)
Apply glue LIBERALLY to the back of the shower surround
Place shower surround into shower
Remember you’ve already test fit this so you know it will work
Use roller to really get the glue smashed and the shower surround firmly in place
If you have them, use the plywood and 2×4 to firmly press and hold the shower surround in place.
Place painters tape around the edges.
Put screws at nice intervals where the shower needs a little help being held in place.

See my pictures. I did it AFTER glue was dry, but I think before is better.
Come back in a day or two. Glue will be setup by then.
Remove the painters tape
If you used 2×4 & plywood to hold in place, remove
Replace the shower faucet if it is in good shape
This is a good time to put water pressure on the system and check for leaks BEFORE you put the shower faucet back in place. (Added Nov 2019 from reader suggestions)
Caulk EVERYTHING.
Make look nice. Use finger to smooth. That is what I do. A REAL painter will do better for sure.
If you don’t have a good “lip” to keep water from going over edge of basin you might consider copying what I did to create a lip.
Turn on the water, check for leaks.
Get yourself clean!

I’ll add a few more notes here that accentuate the steps above. Also my steps in conjunction with the picture gallery should be really helpful.

Here is a list of notes that you might find helpful:

Keep an eye on the Gorilla glue. The shower manufacturer states that it takes special glue to work with ABS plastic. I reviewed the Gorilla materials and it only said it wouldn’t work with polyethelene (any chemists out there?), but I don’t think ABS is that type of plastic. In general, where surrounds are used a reasonable assumption on the RV shower wall material is that it is ABS plastic.

Ignore the Amazon ratings for rv shower surrounds. Amazon ratings for the shower surround were not great. But I think people “get mixed up” and don’t rate on the correct things. The shower surround is a thin plastic shell (thick by some standards) which shower-i-fies a wall. The stiffness of the wall turns the flimsy surround into a decent shower. But people are comparing to a home shower surround which can be much more substantial due to space and weight. Just know what you are buying and understand the difference.

The spray paint can trigger button is super awesome. It is a real game changer. Not such a big deal for 10 little screws, but my other project where I’m spraying 100s and 100s of secure bar holder.

I didn’t do such great planning. My BIG ADVICE to you is to plan well how you will PRESS the rv shower surround into the glue and the wall and hold in place for about 10 minutes. I think I did ok, but I wished I would have made some plywood braces.

To remove, repair, or examing an RV shower faucet, all you have to do is remove the screws to the riser that the faucet is mounted on. I only figured this out after I destroyed my faucet causing me to order a new one. They aren’t expensive, but that was a silly mistake on my part.

Here are the list of things I used where I found them on Amazon to save you time:

Please feel welcome to leave comments on what you’ve done that can improve on my steps lists above.

RV52 Master RV Parts Database for Shower Surrounds

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RV Control Panel

Last updated on February 23rd, 2019 at 03:16 pm

April 16, 2013 by Marlan at Rv52 9 Comments

(excerpted from the book – Your 5th Wheel RV – The Interior)

Almost every RV has an RV Control Panel. You might hear it called rv command center, rv control center or any one of 20 other names, but it is in ADDITION to the fusebox or RV electrical panel.

The RV Control Panel is a central location where all the RV-centric switches and buttons go that are unique to RVing and the RV.

Your RV control panel might be as simple as an on/off switch for the hot water heater OR it might be incredibly complex and sophisticated like the control panel on a Newell, Prevost, or high end Monaco.

If you have small children in/around your RV, I might HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you put a lock or other safety mechanism on the door. Otherwise, things could get pretty exciting.

Typical items you’ll find in the RV Control Panel are:

Hot Water Heater Controls (on/off for electric – on/off for gas)
Different lighting controls (porch, hall, other- such as accent lights)
Fresh Water Pump – provides pressure for water system when operating with self contained fresh water only
RV Slide out controls
Tank Fluid Level monitoring system – black tank, gray tank, and fresh water tank
Battery Monitoring and control system – can be simple monitoring or much more
Awning Controls
Super Fan or Fantastic Fan Controls
Air Conditioning Control – for example on/off for the circuits for the 2nd air conditioner so you don’t blow 30 amp circuits

There are so much more that can go in these control panels, I only listed what was in our 5th wheel’s control panel, but I think this gives you an idea of what to expect.

Inspecting this control panel actually gives you an idea of what kinds of systems you would have in your RV. One thing right off the top of my mind you might find extra is a generator controls in this panel. But I think you get the point.

RV Command Center showing controls for slideouts, lights, hot water heater, water pressure pump, super fans, and monitoring system.

CURRENT items related to rv control panels

CLICK HERE IF YOU DO NOT SEE A NICE SET OF AMAZON SEARCH TERMS RELATED TO rv control panel BELOW

Look at that sink! Is this a high end Spa or an RV?

Last updated on June 16th, 2016 at 12:45 pm

February 18, 2013 by Marlan at Rv52 Leave a Comment

RV Bathroom Sink

Most RV’s that are travel trailer class or larger will have a bathroom and inside of that bathroom a set of very standard concepts such as the rv bathroom sink.

The RV bathroom sink will usually be small and unless you get into million dollar rigs, you simply will not find a his and hers bathroom sink. Instead you’ll find something that is just right for washing your hands, shaving and taking care of yourself in a style that is pretty decent.

The bathroom sink will have both hot and cold water, the hot supplied by a small RV hot water heater and the the water for both the hot side and cold side being ultimately supplied by shore water supply. If you are boondocking, you might get water from your onboard fresh water storage tank.

Most RV bathroom sinks are going to be a small standard size that you really can get replaced from Lowes or Home Depot.

Our bathroom sink in our Open Range 399BHS is pictured here and is really too fancy for the RV. But one nice thing about the larger glass bowl is the fact that it does make it easier to shave. But honestly, most RV’s have a much more basic looking sink. Its just not worth getting too fancy here.

Most RV’s have a little storage underneath the sink and a little storage above the sink.

Just in case you need to replace your bathroom sink, I’ve included a few Amazon links here (disclosure). Your faucet is most likely to need replacing first so I list a few links to faucets here as well – actually more faucets than sinks.

Amazon listings related to RV Bathroom Sinks:

CLICK HERE IF YOU DO NOT SEE A NICE SET OF AMAZON SEARCH TERMS RELATED TO rv bathroom sink BELOW

RV Kitchen Sink and Faucet

Last updated on October 5th, 2014 at 10:36 am

January 28, 2013 by Marlan at Rv52 Leave a Comment

RV Kitchen Sink and Faucet

Most RV’s, even the small camping trailers and truck campers, have a kitchen sink with a small faucet. In fact, the small campers will have a small sink OVER a bathroom if faced with having to make the choice.

These sinks are generally VERY small and designed from a lightweight plastic rather than a heavier material like would be in a sticks and frame house.

The faucets themselves are lightweight BUT they follow standard sizes so you can find replacements at your local Lowes or Home Depot. I know, I’ve replaced a bathroom faucet and the kitchen faucet both.

The hot water comes from the RV’s hot water heater. The input to the hot water heater and the cold water for the kitchen faucet both come from EITHER the fresh water tank or the shore water connection. Most of the time, unless boondocking, your RV will be connected to shore facilities.

The drain for your kitchen faucet then goes to a collection tank which is called the “gray tank”. Its gray because it isn’t clean water and it isn’t from the toilet, called black water. You can’t just dump gray water on the ground for many reasons so you’ll send it to a legal place just like the black water.

I thought I would add a couple of Amazon listings (disclosure) for your convenience here.

[amasearch search=”rv sink”]