What we see most
Three kinds of water heater, and it changes what you own
RV water heaters come in three kinds. Aluminum tanks (Atwood and Dometic) have no anode rod at all. Porcelain-lined steel tanks (Suburban) rely on a sacrificial anode rod — the rod corrodes so the tank does not. And tankless, or on-demand, units (Truma, Furrion, Girard, Fogatti and others) still hold a very small amount of water, but heat it as it flows and run on propane only.
Older rigs mostly carry a gas/electric tank. Most newer models come with on-demand only. Same job, completely different maintenance — which is why advice from the owner in the next site over so often does not apply to your rig. If yours has a rod and nobody has checked it, that is the highest-value thing to look at on the appliance. If yours does not have one, looking for it is wasted money.
Hard water is the Las Vegas factor
Southern Nevada water is hard, and every water heater here deals with more scale than the manuals assume. On a tank system it shortens anode life and settles in the bottom of the tank. On a tankless system it builds on the heat exchanger and shows up as reduced flow before it ever shows up as a fault.
Whatever you have, the service interval that came in the manual was not written for this valley.
Tank heater? Gas side or electric side — tell us which when you call
Most tank water heaters run on both propane and electric. That is useful: if one side works and the other does not, the fault is on the side that does not, and the list of causes gets short quickly. Knowing which before we arrive often means bringing the right part the first time. On-demand units run on propane alone, so for those, just tell us the brand.
Steve holds a State of Nevada LP certification for RVs, so the gas side is ours to diagnose and repair rather than something we have to hand back to you.
Thinking of swapping to tankless? Read this first
We regularly hear from owners who want to replace an old gas/electric tank with an on-demand unit for “unlimited” hot water. It can be a good upgrade, but there are three things to know before you buy one.
You always need propane. An on-demand heater has no electric side, so when the propane runs low, so does the hot water.
Plugging in at an RV park does not change that. Shore power runs a tank heater’s electric side and saves your propane. With tankless, propane is the only option, even on a full hookup.
Your rig has to be able to feed it. The BTU rating of your existing propane regulator and your water flow in gallons per minute both need to be confirmed before moving to tankless. We check both before recommending the swap, not after.
What we do
Ignition and electrode faults, gas valves and supply pressure, burner tube cleaning, heating elements and thermostats, high-limit diagnosis, relief valves, anode rod service, tank flushing and descaling, on-demand diagnostics, winterizing and spring recommissioning, an honest assessment before any tank-to-tankless swap, and full replacement when the tank itself is gone.
Pricing
Common questions
Do I need to bring the rig anywhere?
No. On most coaches the entire appliance is serviceable through the exterior access door, so this is a driveway or storage-lot job.
How do I know if mine has an anode rod?
The quickest tell is the brand and the drain plug — a steel tank uses the anode rod as its drain plug. We will check and tell you either way, and if it does not have one we will say so rather than sell you a service you do not need.
My water heater and furnace both quit. Related?
Often yes, if both run on gas. A supply or regulator fault upstream takes out several appliances at once, which is a propane diagnosis rather than two appliance repairs. Propane and LP service →
By brand
The same work, brand by brand — what differs on each and what we see most.
Related
Stuck right now?
Call or text — fastest way to reach us. In summer, no-A/C calls go first.