Camper and travel trailer water heaters are smaller, 4 to 16 gallon tanks built almost exclusively by two companies, Suburban and Dometic (which absorbed Atwood in 2014), running on propane or propane plus electric power. Federal law excludes them from the efficiency rules written for home water heaters, so the repair costs, parts and winterizing steps are all different.
Hot Water Brief is an independent cost-research site. We are not a contractor and do not perform the work ourselves.
The carve-out is explicit. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act sets which water heaters fall under Department of Energy efficiency standards, and 42 U.S.C. § 6292 excludes "those consumer products designed solely for use in recreational vehicles and other mobile equipment," even though water heaters generally are covered. The RV Industry Association has pushed to keep that exclusion through successive DOE rulemakings, arguing RVs are legally motor vehicles rather than household appliances.
The hardware reflects the same split. Suburban's line runs 4, 6, 10, 12 and 16 gallon models with porcelain-lined steel tanks, a replaceable anode rod and Direct Spark Ignition, per Suburban's specification sheet. Dometic's WH-6GA, WH-6GEA and WH-9GEA line uses aluminum tanks with no anode rod, per Dometic's installation manual, which is why the fixes below are specific to these two manufacturers.
If the electric side is dead too, see why an RV water heater stops on both electric and gas.
A camper water heater that won't ignite is often not a gas problem: Dometic's control board needs 10 to 14 volts DC to operate, and Suburban's own warranty documentation lists low voltage as a cause of ignition failure, so a weak converter or a low RV battery can stop the burner before propane ever becomes the issue.
Both brands run a similar sequence: the control board attempts ignition up to three times, each preceded by a purge cycle, before locking out and lighting a red reset indicator. Suburban's operation guide describes a 15 second purge before each spark attempt, with lockout after three failed tries. Dometic's manual sets the same three attempt limit and includes a step that checks for voltage below 10 VDC on the thermostat line before the control board itself is blamed.
Before assuming the worst, both manuals point to the same checklist: confirm the battery or converter is delivering full voltage, confirm the propane valve is open, and check the burner tube for obstructions. Dometic's manual calls out spiders and mud wasps nesting in the burner tube as a cause of delayed ignition. Suburban's control board also carries a small fuse, 2 amps by design and never larger than 3, that can blow from a wiring short and stop the unit even with good propane and good voltage everywhere else.
A dripping pressure and temperature relief valve on a camper water heater is not automatically a defect: Dometic's manual states that normal thermal expansion in a full tank can force the valve to drip once the tank's internal air pocket has been absorbed, and the standard fix is restoring that air gap, not replacing the valve.
The valve is a safety part built to a published standard, ANSI Z21.22 for relief valves and automatic gas shutoff devices, and Dometic rates its own valve to a maximum set pressure of 150 psi. To restore the air pocket: let the water cool, shut off the incoming supply, open the nearest hot water faucet, pull the relief valve handle until water stops flowing, then release it and turn the supply back on. Dometic recommends doing this by hand at least once a year, and it is the step that most often gets skipped after a camper sits in storage over the off season.
A valve that still drips after that reset, or leaks while the tank is cold, is a different story. Dometic's manual is explicit that the relief valve is not a serviceable part: once confirmed faulty, the fix is a swap, not a repair. The same is true of the mixing valve on Dometic's EXT models, which moderates outlet water to about 130°F and must only be replaced by a technician.
Most camper water heater repairs are inexpensive on their own: an anode rod runs around $12, and a thermostat or heating element typically costs $30 to $80 in parts, while a control board runs roughly $90 to $130. A full replacement unit, before installation labor, typically costs $300 to $1,200 depending on gallon size and brand.
| Repair or part | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Anode rod (Suburban tanks only) | around $12 | Dometic's aluminum tank does not use one |
| Thermostat | $40 to $80, parts only | |
| Heating element | $30 to $60, parts only | |
| DSI or ignition control board | $90 to $130, parts only | Suburban 520814 board, priced August 2026 |
| Pressure and temperature relief valve | around $30, parts only | Suburban's 150 psi valve, priced August 2026 |
| Tank swap, labor only | $200 to $400 | Same brand, same size replacement |
| Tankless conversion, labor only | $600 to $800 | Swapping a tank unit for a tankless unit |
| Replacement unit only | $300 to $1,200 | Before installation labor |
These are national, brand-general figures, since neither manufacturer sets retail repair prices itself. What moves a job toward the low or high end is mostly whether it's a part swap an owner can do with basic hand tools versus disconnecting gas and water lines to pull the whole unit. The general water heater repair cost page covers the same breakdown for household units, where the price floor and ceiling both run higher than a camper's smaller tank and simpler plumbing.
Skipping the bypass valve, not skipping the drain, is the most common cause of a cracked camper water heater tank. Draining removes most of the water, but any left in the tank, plus the antifreeze that follows if the water heater isn't bypassed first, can freeze and expand inside a tank that was never built to hold ice.
A bypass kit reroutes the RV's plumbing around the water heater with a middle pipe, so antifreeze pumped through the fresh water system never passes through the tank, as RVshare's guide to the bypass system describes it. Suburban's operation guide tells owners to use the bypass kit if the RV has one, since antifreeze in contact with the anode rod is corrosive and causes premature rod failure and sediment. Without a bypass kit, Suburban's instructions are to pull the anode rod, store it for winter, and thread a 3/4 inch drain plug into its place first.
Dometic's process is closer to a straight drain than a bypass, since its aluminum tank has no anode rod to protect: shut off the main water supply, lift the P/T relief valve handle to let air in, then remove the drain plug. Dometic's manual notes that roughly two quarts of water still sit in the bottom of the tank after draining, and states this residual amount will not damage the tank if it freezes. Both manufacturers say to drain the water heater before storage in freezing weather, and Dometic specifies doing this at least once a year regardless of season.
Suburban builds a porcelain-lined steel tank that depends on a sacrificial anode rod, replaced about once a year, to resist corrosion. Dometic, which bought the Atwood brand in 2014, builds an aluminum tank that resists corrosion on its own, and its manual explicitly warns against installing an anode rod in a Dometic unit at all.
The two brands cover overlapping gallon sizes but aren't interchangeable parts sources. Suburban's lineup runs 4, 6, 10, 12 and 16 actual gallons across its D, DE and DEL models, with the 6 gallon and larger models rated at 12,000 BTU/h gas input and a 10.1 gallon per hour recovery rate, per Suburban's spec sheet. Dometic's WH-6GA and WH-6GEA hold 6 actual gallons, and the WH-9GEA uses that same 6 gallon tank with a mixing valve that moderates outlet water to about 130°F, which Dometic's manual counts as an effective capacity of 9 gallons rather than a physically larger tank.
Maintenance follows the tank material. A worn Suburban anode rod lets the steel tank corrode from the inside, which is why the company's own warranty voids tank coverage on a unit operating without one. A Dometic tank has nothing to swap on that schedule, but its manual bars aftermarket heating elements outright, warning one can lead to uncontrolled tank heating and explosion. Suburban backs its water heaters with a 2 year limited warranty on the unit and a separate 3 year limited warranty on the tank; Dometic's acquisition of Atwood closed in 2014, so an older Atwood-badged unit still follows Dometic's aluminum tank design.
Replacement, not repair, is the right call when the tank itself has cracked or is leaking from the shell rather than a fitting, when the unit shows inconsistent heating or unusual noises on a unit already past about ten years old, or when the relief or mixing valve has failed, since Dometic classifies both of those as non-serviceable, swap-only parts.
Lippert's guide to RV water heater replacement lists inconsistent heating, strange noises, visible leaks and a unit over roughly a decade old as signals worth acting on. A leak from a fitting, the drain plug or the relief valve is usually a cheap fix. A leak from the tank shell itself is not repairable on either brand; porcelain-lined steel and aluminum tanks both get replaced as a unit once the shell is compromised, which is what happens when a tank freezes because the bypass step was skipped.
Warranty length is part of the decision too. Suburban's tank carries a 3 year limited warranty separate from the 2 year warranty on the rest of the unit, so a tank problem inside that window is a warranty claim rather than a repair bill; outside it, replacement cost competes directly against a repair estimate. The cost guide covers what a full replacement runs for a home water heater by comparison, and the camper-specific figures above are the numbers to use instead.
If the tank shell is gone, our RV water heater replacement guide lists cutout sizes and dated unit prices.
Every figure on this page traces to a manufacturer manual, a federal statute, or a dated industry source, listed below with a link.
No. Dometic's manual bars anode rods and other non-approved parts in its aluminum tank units, warning aftermarket heating elements can lead to uncontrolled tank heating and explosion. Suburban's warranty is voided by non-Suburban accessory parts too, so replacement parts need to match the brand and model.
Both manufacturers attribute this to hydrogen sulfide, sulfur in some water supplies reacting with the tank. Suburban's fix is chlorinating the tank with about six ounces of household bleach per 10 gallons of capacity, then flushing with fresh water. Dometic recommends a similar flush with a four parts vinegar, two parts water solution.
No. 42 U.S.C. § 6292 excludes "consumer products designed solely for use in recreational vehicles and other mobile equipment" from the federal covered-products list, even though water heaters generally are on that list. The RV Industry Association has advocated to keep that exclusion through subsequent DOE rulemakings.
Suburban recommends inspecting it at least once a year and replacing it once consumption or weight loss passes 75 percent. Hard or mineral-heavy water accelerates this, so full-time RVers may need to check it more than once a season.
No. Dometic's aluminum tank resists corrosion without one, and the installation manual instructs owners not to install an anode rod or other non-approved devices. Dometic's acquisition of Atwood closed in 2014, so an older Atwood-badged unit still follows the same design.
Battery and converter voltage, before assuming a gas problem. Dometic's control board needs 10 to 14 volts DC to operate, and Suburban's own warranty documentation lists low voltage among the causes of a unit failing to start, so a weak house battery can stop ignition even with a full propane tank.
Independent Research
Published ranges for tank and tankless replacement, the failures that justify a repair, and the ones that do not. Sourced, dated, and free to read.
