Questions, where to begin/

Jack&Wanda · August 15, 2017

Wanda and I have moved from a 1982 air-cooled VW Westfalia to a 1985 Pace Arrow. Like going from roller skates to a Cadillac. We are in the process of brining it up to snuff so we can go on the road. Long story but won't get into it. Our condo in SOCal is rented for the foreseeable future. We are both retired with a nice income, the mortgage and HOA are covered by the rent plus. We have about 6 weeks to get the unit ship shape before we need to leave. We came up to give respite care to a cousin who died, the property sold in 2 weeks so we need to leave. Blue Dog RV gave us a list of items we need to have repaired most of which I can do. Most immediate is replacing the water heater. We are considering using a tankless propane unit. Anyone have a response? A new transmission and alignment will allow us to move.

Jack

jc2 · August 15, 2017

25 minutes ago, Jack&Wanda said:

Wanda and I have moved from a 1982 air-cooled VW Westfalia to a 1985 Pace Arrow. Like going from roller skates to a Cadillac. We are in the process of brining it up to snuff so we can go on the road. Long story but won't get into it. Our condo in SOCal is rented for the foreseeable future. We are both retired with a nice income, the mortgage and HOA are covered by the rent plus. We have about 6 weeks to get the unit ship shape before we need to leave. We came up to give respite care to a cousin who died, the property sold in 2 weeks so we need to leave. Blue Dog RV gave us a list of items we need to have repaired most of which I can do. Most immediate is replacing the water heater. We are considering using a tankless propane unit. Anyone have a response? A new transmission and alignment will allow us to move.

Jack

I would stay with a regular 6 or 10 gal rv type water heater that can run on lp and electric. Much cheaper and reliable as I don't think the tankless are refined enough yet for rv usage.

Chad Heiser · August 16, 2017

There is one tankless unit that is refined enough for RV usage. It is the Truma Aquago. I optioned it in my new DRV and am very happy with it. I can highly recommend it. It has solved the problems that other RV tankless water heaters have with scalding water and fluctuations in water temperature by adding a small accumulator tank to smooth out the heating process. It has been on the market in Europe for some time and recently (in the last couple of years) has migrated to the American market. It is offered as OEM equipment by many manufacturers now. It is definitely more expensive than a standard RV water heater, but in my opinion it is worth the money to have the benefits of endless hot water (obviously within the limits of your water supply and disposal limits).

Lockmup68, another member on the forum here, recently retrofitted his 5th wheel with a Truma. Here is the topic he posted about it. Here is a previous topic he started regarding tankless water heaters in general before he decided on the Truma.

Finally, here is a written review Jack Mayer did regarding the aftermarket Truma Aqua Go system he had installed in his New Horizons 5th wheel. He has been using the Truma for well over a year now and is pleased with it.

Kirk W · August 16, 2017

First of all, welcome to the Escapee forums. We are happy to have you join us and we will do all that we are able to help.

l have no experience with tankless water heaters so will offer no advice here but I will point out that you need to keep in mind that you will recover very little of the money that you invest in this RV when it comes time to replace it. Not a bad thing if you got it right, but important to remember even so. Best wishes in your new adventures!