Replace Tankless Water Heater

[Guanaco]

I want to replace the useless Girard tankless water heater on my new 2022 19CB Bambi with a regular 6-gallon Suburban or Atwood heater.

We primarily dry camp in our Bambi, and don't like that the tankless system wastes so much water before heating up. It is also useless for taking "navy" showers. On top of all that, our unit shuts down when the exterior temperatures fall near 40 degrees. More than once, we've had to forego our morning showers.

My dealer in the lower 48 says this would have to be done by a third-party, although they would be happy to upgrade us to the Truma tankless system...

There aren't many reputable RV service places in Alaska (none that "advertise" Airstream), so I think I'm pretty much on my own here.

There should be plenty of space under the bed to simply pull out the old and put in the new (with maybe some new wood-frame supports screwed down to the floor if needed). The water plumbing should be more or less the same - cold in, hot out, with drain valves and a bypass valve for winterizing. The propane gas line ought to be readily adaptable for the new unit. The wiring to the wall control unit by the bathroom sink ought to be reusable for a regular thermostat. I'm mainly concerned that I'd have to modify the exterior door to accommodate the exhaust vent if the Suburban/Atwood is configured differently from the Girard.

Has anyone done this to their own unit? Either by themselves or by a third party?

[jeffmc306]

There are several threads on this topic on the forums.

One option is to install a recirculating solution until the water is hot - and it keeps the tankless water heater working. https://www.showermiser.com/

Might be worth looking into vs. complete replacement.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Just a thought: Is the propane burner working properly on your existing unit? Shutting down at 40 degrees sounds a lot like a system running on electric only.

Bob

[Guanaco]

I have considered the recirculation options discussed elsewhere on this forum, but I'd really rather just have a tank of 6 gallons of hot water available.

If we regularly camped in warmer climes, I might consider adapting it that way, but on a recent outing to Denali Park where the outside temperature one morning was 40 degrees, the Girard system could not get the water any warmer than 95 degrees - not warm enough for a real shower.

[Guanaco]

The Girard tankless heater supplied with the Bambi line is propane-only. At this point we are missing our propane/electric water heater that we had in our old motorhome.

[2012FB]

If boondocking the best method is to put a split diverter at the head with a hose on one side and the shower head on the other. Wet down and turn the shower water off. Switch to the hose and when ready to rinse off run the water into a jerry can until hot and switch back to the shower head. When all is done pour the water from the jerry can back into the tank. I have seen where you run the diverter hose directly to the water tank inlet. This eliminates all waste.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Guanaco

The Girard tankless heater supplied with the Bambi line is propane-only. At this point we are missing our propane/electric water heater that we had in our old motorhome.

Hi

Our water cuts out at 40 on electric. It just plain runs out of power. Not a problem up here at Anchor Point right now. It would be later in the season.

On a propane only unit, dying at 40 sounds like the burner really isn't running as it should. Those burners typically put out a lot of energy. Maybe not on this model ....

Bob

[jfreeham]

We like the on-demand (not tankless) water heater that came with our 2021 Caravel. We like it much better than that noisey Suburban on the older unit we had. We live in ours full-time, and boondock often.

I am wondering, though, how difficult if would be to retro-fit with a recirculating water heater, such as the one in the 2023 REI Base Camp (16').

[Hikingsolo]

We have a Truma in our SOB and although scheptical at first I love it. It has an eco mode that won’t come on until demand occurs and a non-eco mode that keeps it hot continually. Very pleased. Was thinking of replacing the Atwood in our 35 with a Truma.

[Kawboy01]

You do know there is a flow control on the backside of the Girard to fix the not hot enough water issue you describe. Look at the manual and it describes the operation. I don't know if you are also doing this but set the outlet temp.to the desired temp and just turn full hot and don't try and mix the hot and cold.

[guskmg]

I have had a Precission Temp RV-550 for four years with no problems. You must have it close to the shower or install a recirculating system. That would be true with a tank heater too! Remember adequate water pressure and propane are also must have.
guskmg

[Skyhook]

We bought a 2024 Flying Cloud replacing our 2019 Flying Cloud. We too would like to replace the useless Girard Tankless (Thankless) water heater. The heater requires over 45 psi pressure and over 0.6 gpm flow rate to activate the heater. We do not have enough flow rate at the kitchen sink to activate the heater.. Unless we are at a full hookup site, we need to conserve our gray tank volume.

With the old gas/electric tanked water heater, once the water got to the faucet we could run a drizzle to rinse dishes or a low flow in the shower. You could turn the shower on and off to take a navy shower and not lose hot water.

The Airstream factory suggested running the freshwater pump + city water to get the flow rate needed. That works but it wastes water and tank space.

How do you run a recirculation line from the shower in the rear bath to the fresh tank in mid trailer? While this is a fix it's a band aid.

Has anyone replaced a Girard tankless with a dual fuel tanked model? The gas and water are already there, but you would need a 15 amp 110v connection. And is the size of the box the same as it was with the tanked model?

The Airstream dealers or factory and not interested in a solution.

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by jfreeham

We like the on-demand (not tankless) water heater that came with our 2021 Caravel. ...

This confused me. I always thought that an "on demand" heater was tankless by design. What am I missing?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Skyhook

We bought a 2024 Flying Cloud replacing our 2019 Flying Cloud. We too would like to replace the useless Girard Tankless (Thankless) water heater. The heater requires over 45 psi pressure and over 0.6 gpm flow rate to activate the heater. We do not have enough flow rate at the kitchen sink to activate the heater.. Unless we are at a full hookup site, we need to conserve our gray tank volume.

With the old gas/electric tanked water heater, once the water got to the faucet we could run a drizzle to rinse dishes or a low flow in the shower. You could turn the shower on and off to take a navy shower and not lose hot water.

The Airstream factory suggested running the freshwater pump + city water to get the flow rate needed. That works but it wastes water and tank space.

How do you run a recirculation line from the shower in the rear bath to the fresh tank in mid trailer? While this is a fix it's a band aid.

Has anyone replaced a Girard tankless with a dual fuel tanked model? The gas and water are already there, but you would need a 15 amp 110v connection. And is the size of the box the same as it was with the tanked model?

The Airstream dealers or factory and not interested in a solution.

Hi

Probably far easier to just install an on/off override switch on what you have.

Bob

[Bill M.]

I have not replaced a tankless water heater with a tanked heater. I have recently installed the new model Atwood/Dometicd 6 gallon LP/electric in my Airstream. I had to cut out part of the storage unit under the bed and re do it. Some plywood and a nail gun took care of that quickly. For the Dometic WH, you buy the door separately and they make a "door kit" that covers the smaller hole for the old WH. My guess is that you will have to cut a hole to fit. You will need flare tubing tools and some ingenuity to get the gas line in place. You probably will not have a wire for the switch for the electric part of the WH. I have done this twice. The first trailer I managed to pull a wire between the skins of the trailer for the switch. The second time I just ran the wire along the edge of the vanity. Getting too old to do all the bending and squatting that an Airstream job entails.

The new model WH has the tank running perpendicular to the length of the trailer so it takes a bit of space under the bed. I really like the tank. We run it for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. Water stays warm all day.

I really like the tanked WH. My thought is that you should just go for it. I ordered mine from Amazon. Camping World has them at about the same price also. Either will ship to your location.