I imagine owning an older RV can be a DIYer’s dream. We bought our 2005 Airstream Classic in 2016, and over the past 10 years, my husband’s DIY skills have been put to use. He’s replaced the skylights, installed solar panels and a charge controller, changed out fans, repaired drawer sliders, replaced the axle, wheel hubs and bearings, fixed water leaks, pulled a gas line into the interior for a propane heater, replaced the original refrigerator with a 12V refrigerator (bigger and better!), repaired the fan in the new refrigerator, repaired awning arms, AND, most recently, replaced the water heater.
One fine Saturday in April, I was enjoying some quality time with my mother while Carl stayed at the Airstream to watch sports and putter around doing small odd jobs.
He was walking around the Airstream when he noticed water dripping from the water intake area. He checked the water lines and connections to see where the water was dripping. This caused him to tear apart the bathroom—removing the composting toilet, pulling out the drawers, and removing the knee wall in the bedroom, which has side access to the water heater—to take a deeper dive in that area to determine where the water was coming from. He inserted his borescope into various cavities to look for moisture.
Long story short… he narrowed the water drip to the water heater.
He shut off the water, turned off the breaker to the water heater, and closed off the propane to safely unhook the water heater so he could remove it. And it was evident that the dripping water was coming from this 21-year-old appliance. There were three tiny holes in the tank, and calcium deposits were flaking everywhere.
No doubt about it, the original water heater needed to be replaced.
Research began. Was there a direct replacement for this old model? Would we be able to find it locally (in the Morehead City, NC area), or would it need to be shipped? How long would it take to get a new one? Would Carl be able to install it himself, or would he need help?
My first research tool was Roy (what I’ve named my Microsoft Copilot AI bot). Our original water heater was an Atwood GC6AA‑10E. Of course, those are no longer available, and Roy indicated that a Dometic WH-6GEA is a direct drop-in replacement. Some of Carl’s initial research also found similar information.
The Dometic WH-6GEA is both a propane/electric water heater, but its dimensions were not quite right. Carl believed he would need to make some modifications because the Dometic unit was about 2 inches deeper than the old Atwood model. So…not really a direct drop-in model.
He was reluctant to go with the Dometic, but a local RV repairman that Carl contacted gave him the same model number. Since everything pointed to it, we ordered the Dometic WH-6GEA from Amazon for $685.68, and it was scheduled to arrive by Thursday.
I suggested that he also contact Airstream to find out if we were on the right track. He emailed them on Sunday and finally heard back from them on Monday evening. They said that the direct drop-in model was a Suburban 690803-01SRV, that we would also need a new door, and provided us with the model number for a new door (more on that in a minute). Of course, this is an Airstream-exclusive model number. Carl asked Tyler (at Airstream via email) for a non-Airstream-exclusive model number, and he responded with 5322A. Carl continued sleuthing on Suburban 5322A and discovered that it corresponded to SAW6DEL, which was a direct drop-in fit. So, on Tuesday, he ordered a Suburban SAW6DEL from Amazon for $647.95 along with a corresponding door.
The Dometic arrived on Thursday. We didn’t even remove it from the box.
The door arrived on Friday. We didn’t remove it from the box. The reason: we still had the original door, and Carl felt certain we could use it again. The downside: he lost one of the clips while removing the door. However, while researching the Suburban SAW6DEL, he read SOMEWHERE that door clips (not the door) came with it (AND THEY DID!).
On Saturday morning, we returned the Dometic and the door through a UPS Store. Amazon makes it easy. That afternoon, the Suburban SAW6DEL arrived, but it was a cold, rainy day—not conducive to an in-depth repair.
On Sunday morning, the bathroom was torn asunder once again—toilet and drawers were removed, as well as the knee wall in the bedroom near the water heater. With me pushing from the outside, Carl was able to get the water heater inserted correctly. He then did the water, electrical, and propane connections. And voila! After a full week without hot water and a couple of hours of installation, we had a new water heater and hot water.
Carl…my DIY hero.
PostScript: Carl wanted me to go more in-depth on the replacement parts and other aspects of this ordeal. I opted for just the storytelling. You are more than welcome to email Carl at carl2591@yahoo.com for additional installation information. He loves to share and to help. Be clear in your subject line that it pertains to RV water heater installation.
For more on the beginning of our SEVENTH year of full-time RVing: On the {Bumpy} Road Again!
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