# travel trailer hot water (not enough)



## kmill99 (May 7, 2010)

We currently have a 6 gallon hot water heater in our travel trailer. When taking a shower the hot water will run out in under 5 minutes. We turn the water on as low as possible to try and gain more time but have been unsuccessful. We are hooked up to a sand point well (city water line) with adequate water pressure and approximately 4 gallon per minute output from pump. 

Should we increase the size of our hot water heater? Or are there other options or issues we are missing? It is a gas water heater. The shower head states 2.5 gallon per minute but again... we have the water turned down to try and gain more time. We enjoy the current water output but would like to get at least several more minutes of shower time. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance 

Kevin


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## Guest (May 7, 2010)

RE: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

what u need to do is take what they call a "navy shower" ,, that means u get wet ,, then shut the water off ,, and use u'r soap ,, all over ,, then turn on the water agian ,, and rinse ,, i know it may sound weired ,, but that is the only way to do it in a rv ,, with a limited supply of hot water ,, or any water for that matter
  :approve:


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## LEN (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

There is an addition you can make/add to the HW tank, an electric unit that goes in the drain port and hook up to 110. Just screw it in and plug it in. This will add to your hot water time but I doubt you can stand in the hot long even with this. 

LEN


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## Grandview Trailer Sa (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

Kevin,
I am taking a guess here, does your water heater have 3 valves on the back for winterizing?  IF so, make sure the center valve is CLOSED.  That forces the water through the heater.  A lot of folks will leave that center valve open and hot water does not last long.  

As Rod said, you need to turn off the water while soaping up and rinse.  Campers do not have the water capacity of your home, remember you probably have a 50 gallon heater at home.

As far as the Elec. that Len mentions, your heater will recover faster with gas, so I doubt that will "fix" your concern.


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## H2H1 (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

Kevin,
 Rod, Ken are telling you the right things to do. I have  MH with a large HWT ,10 gallons I think, but I had to train the wife how to take a navy shower, Now we can both take a shower on one tank of hot water. I have no knowledge about what Len is talking about, so I can not comment on his post. Good luck and let us know if the navy shower works out  :laugh:


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## kmill99 (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)



Hi Kenneth.

I only see one valve on the back of the hot water heater. DARN!  I was excited for a moment.  My wife just took a shower with the water on as low as possible and she was only able to take a 3 minute shower before the hot water ran out. This seems way too fast right? Only 3 minutes with the water turned down as much as we could? How much does the ANODE affect things? I have no idea if it has ever been changed. We just got the travel trailer and it is 4 years old.



Thanks

Kevin


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## Grandview Trailer Sa (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

There is a one valve bypass system, but no, 3 min's is not long enough.  Is there anyway you could take a picture of the back of the WH and e-mail it to me?  

The anode does not affect how much hot water you have.  It collects impurities in the water and protects the tank.  It needs to be changed pretty much annually.


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## Grandview Trailer Sa (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

Kevin,
Got your pic and your valve is correct.  

Suggestion.  Unhook the water pressure and remove the drain plug.  It just might have sediment that needs to be flushed out.  Have a new anode rod to replace it..if bad.

Question, what color is the flame when burning.  Should be BLUE, no yellow or just slightly yellow on tip of flame.  I am leaning toward poor gas supply (for heat) or bad thermostat.  A dealer will have to check it out.


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## Guest (May 8, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

wonder where u came up with that ,, post ,, ken      JK u  :laugh:


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## H2H1 (May 9, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

Rod it came from the community. :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:


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## Clay L (May 9, 2010)

Re: travel trailer hot water (not enough)

You might want to check the temperature of the water in the water heater tank. It should be between 135 and 145 degrees or so. Then check the temperature of the water coming out of the faucet.

 If the temps are not close to the same then you have a cold water cross feed somewhere or the thermostat disc switch is opening too soon.

That can happen when the outside shower head is turned off but the two valves are open to some degree.

In my case the problem was the diverter (winterizing) valve on the water heater. It was in the proper position but leaked a small amount of cold water into the hot water out line.


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