Suburban Propane Hot Water Heater on RB50

tobanz · 03-11-2011, 12:22 AM

I'm looking to install a Suburban hot water heater (propane) on my RB50. I have a propane heater installed on the passenger side between the rear wheel well and the back of the van (vented out the passenger side). So the only place to put the hot water heater would be on the drivers size between the rear wheel well and the back of the van.

I'm curious if anyone else has this configuration (pics?). It looks like the 6 gallon is 19" deep which would eat up a ton of space. The RB50 (at least mine) has a small area on the driver's side underneath the back cabinets. That space is about 17" wide so I would have to cut a section out of the "wall" to fit the Suburban unit through -- if that make sense. That could be fairly clunky as the water lines that (I think) run into the back of the unit would be exposed to the main storage area at the back of the van. I'd be worried about protecting the water heater when sliding gear in and out of that storage area.

Suburban also makes a 3 gallon which is only 16" deep. That would fit (barely) in the space under the rear cabinet. Does anyone have a 3 gallon installed? Is that a big enough tank? I don't have a shower, so 3 gallons seems like plenty cleaning up and cooking, but if someone has regretted going that small I'd appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,

Toban

billwilson · 03-11-2011, 06:51 AM

You will get alot of feed back on this

My rig came with a waterheater when i got it
i left it in during the rebuild

GLAD i did
- doesnt take up that much space
- nice to wash hand/face with hot water
- nice to be able to really clean dishes (especially on long trips)
- REALLY nice to take a hot (exterior) shower

I will look but i am sure our tank is 3 gal

bw

tobanz · 03-11-2011, 10:21 AM

I've added a photo to illustrate my concern. The space under the cabinet is only 17". The 6 gallon is 19" so it is going to stick out into center storage area. (1) I lose space there (2) I need to box around the water heater to keep from snagging lines. I think that I have to go with the 3 gallon just to make the space work better. Depending on how the fittings work on the back of the Suburban unit I may still have to notch that cabinet, but I don't think the unit would end up sticking into the center storage area.

Anyone see that working differently that I'm figuring?

yvrr · 03-11-2011, 10:31 AM

We have an EB50 and the hot water heater is located on the passenger side behind the wheel well. We have the 6 gallon unit and it is good for two hot showers (Navy style, turning off the water between getting wet and rinsing) including washing our hair.

dhally · 03-11-2011, 09:37 PM

Maybe the interior wall could be cut out and the 3 gallon water heater installed close to the outer skin of the van? Don't they need an access panel from the outside anyhow? That should gain a couple inches.

**BroncoHauler** · 03-12-2011, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhally

Maybe the interior wall could be cut out and the 3 gallon water heater installed close to the outer skin of the van? Don't they need an access panel from the outside anyhow? That should gain a couple inches.

It's hard enough to keep your water system (tank, lines) from freezing in normal conditions, but placing the water tank next to the exterior skin without any air gap is increasing your odds of freeze issues.

Herb

yvrr · 03-13-2011, 04:29 PM

As far as I can tell, our tank and burner are a single unit (which also sounds logical). The installation requires cutting a fairly large hole in the side of the van and this single unit mounts to the hole...it includes a metal "wall between the tank and the burner so that the tank is "inside" the van and the burner is "outside" the wall so that you are not sucking oxygen from inside the van when the burner is lit. This "wall" sits about 2-3" from the outside skin of the van. So, the critical distance is not the length of the tank (which is perpendicular to the centerline of the van) but the length of the entire unit. But that might be the 17" or 19" you mention. (I would need to unload a lot of stuff to be able to measure ours.) Bottom line, the space you need must be measured from the outside of the van to the rear of the tank plus the thickness of the cabinet to protect it.

Hope this makes sense and helps...

jage · 03-13-2011, 10:45 PM

Here are some shots of mine during annode replacement, burner side to give you an idea.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2303&hilit=annode