gas hotwater to one ten - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

bluewindsue · 04-21-2011, 12:18 AM

has one converted to electric hot water heating

DebW · 04-21-2011, 04:02 AM

Our 2004 runs either on propane or electric you can also have the propane and electric on at the same time I was told by Jim at J&R if you're wanting to heat water quicker. Our 1996 runs strictly on propane. We have been thinking about putting in a tankless water heater.

PopRichie77 · 04-21-2011, 04:36 AM

There is a 110 AC water heating rod the screws in place of the water heater drain plug came with thermostat, I put one in our 95 shortly after we got it and it worked great. Bought it on Ebay. Our 2209 came with both, and yes you can turn both on for fast heat up, then I turn the gas off.

retiredcamper47 · 04-21-2011, 01:58 PM

When we owned our 1995 HiLo, the water heater was strictly propane. I installed a "Hott Rod" kit in it and never used the propane to heat the water after that. I would imagine that there are several such products on the market now. These type units work great. Only inconvenience is that you have to remove the rod unit from the drain hole inorder to winterize the system. They do make 2 versions of the Hott Rod - one for the six gallon tank, which is what HiLo uses and one for a ten gallon tank. Only difference is the heating element is shorter for the 6 gallon unit. You can google Hott Rod and find out about their product or other like products. Hope this helps.

Bob

JackandJanet · 04-21-2011, 02:27 PM

I'm puzzled at why there seems to be a preference for 110V hot water heating, unless you are always camping in places with shore power.

We almost always boondock camp, and naturally use propane for cooking, heating and hot water. We've been out almost two weeks and have not gone through two propane tanks. I'll admit, we don't use heating while sleeping, since we have warm bedding but we will use it in the mornings to take the chill off and sometimes at night if it's really cold before bedtime.

I have to say, I'm amazed at just how long you can go on two tanks of propane in these trailers.

- Jack

vannooch · 04-21-2011, 03:06 PM

Mine is gas and we don't burn it much, it seems to keep hot forever. Elec would be a nice option if available, especially for the price of a heating element.

RichR · 04-21-2011, 03:09 PM

Well, if I am at home or in a campground with electric I will use that over LP to save a few of my precious dollars. For a faster warmup I throw the LP on and then switch to just electric.

I'm not cheap, just thrifty!

vannooch · 04-21-2011, 03:11 PM

And I'm just cheap, thrifty....ROTFL...

JMDoering · 04-21-2011, 04:30 PM

Jack,

"I have to say, I'm amazed at just how long you can go on two tanks of propane in these trailers."

I agree with you. Modern trailers do get terrific "gas mileage." The foam laminate walls used today pack a lot of "R-value," into a fairly thin space, plus the fact that today's RV appliances use electric lighting devices. Older trailer appliances had pilot lights... those tiny flames insidiously used BIG volumes of propane.

One can only wonder how well a four season Hi-Lo would have sold, with insulated floors, etc. There is a high demand these days for Artic Fox and other similar winter-capable rigs.

Jim

vannooch · 04-21-2011, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMDoering

Jack,

"I have to say, I'm amazed at just how long you can go on two tanks of propane in these trailers."

I agree with you. Modern trailers do get terrific "gas mileage." The foam laminate walls used today pack a lot of "R-value," into a fairly thin space, plus the fact that today's RV appliances use electric lighting devices. Older trailer appliances had pilot lights... those tiny flames insidiously used BIG volumes of propane.

One can only wonder how well a four season Hi-Lo would have sold, with insulated floors, etc. There is a high demand these days for Artic Fox and other similar winter-capable rigs.

Jim

My modification goals are aimed towards four season, and the floor is insulated in mine. Aren't they all?

JMDoering · 04-21-2011, 04:56 PM

David,

Our 1969 Bon Voyage floor DEFINITELY was not insulated. Just vinyl linoleum over 1 1/2 inch tongue and groove sub flooring (same stuff they used to use in home construction).

Regarding our 2004 Towlite... now that you mentioned it, I honestly I don't know if the floor is insulated! You may be right... (I hope)! I'm going to check that out when we retrieve the trailer from storage next week.

Jim

vannooch · 04-21-2011, 05:49 PM

When I bought mine I was all over that thing, and when underneath I saw about an inch of insulation in the floor system. My freshwater tank is insulated as well, that was a suprise.

bluewindsue · 04-21-2011, 09:57 PM

i realize there's no way to use a stove in my small hilo
without it being propane.....but i feel i'm in control of that
i'll put a new flex line to the stove only
as far as the water heater and the furnace forget it
in fact does anyone need a furnace free.... you ship
i'm pulling mine out for more storage
i'm double sure i'll never use it
susie in st louis

bluewindsue · 04-23-2011, 04:58 PM

where are the strictly 110 wires on a hi lo
are there any to wire water heater too

Fireballsocal · 04-23-2011, 07:38 PM

Sue, you could always plug in an electric griddle or a hot plate to cook on. That is easy.

I would strongly recommend keeping your propane appliances though. As long as they are in working order, you can't beat em for ease of use and reliability. In the end though, it's your trailer and part of the fun of buying an RV is making it your own.

sam · 04-23-2011, 10:35 PM

If it was me taking out the propane heater I would keep it for reinstall in the event you sell your trailer. You could leave it in and use it and see how toasty the trailer gets. If you camp somewhere with no electric and it it gets cold you will be cold and uncomfortable. I've camped in the summer and the temps drop to 30 or 40 at night and it is chilly in the am. I would just leave the heater in the trailer and not turn it on. Best of luck with what ever you decide. Safe travels.

PopRichie77 · 04-24-2011, 06:39 AM

Sue,
No disrespect intended, but if you don't have the skills to find the 110 volt wires in your Hi-Lo, then you should leave this kind of work to a professional. Bad or faulty rewiring could result in a fire or even loss of life.

Charliek · 04-24-2011, 06:47 PM

A tankless water heater is pretty nice, I built a trailer for when I was in college and put in a Bosch Tankless water heater and vented it out the top. I would imagine they have made many advances since 1990, however it was really nice if you want to take an extended shower. To the best of my knowledge that is the only real advantage to a standard hot water heater either gas or elec. When you have a constant supply of hot water you have a tendancey to not watch the amount u are using and unless you have a constant supply of water and a really good storage area to me they are not worth the change over cost. However I must admit I could take a 20 minute shower with no problems. I had rigged my trailer so it had no holding tanks and I had to be hooked up to a system to use it. Since I was living in my trailer it was nice. I guess you could say it was a small "PARK MODEL" only a 1963 15' Layton trailer. The one I had used a 4 inch vent out the top and I would go through 5 gal of propane a week and I only spent upwards of 5 days in it a week, taking weekends off to go home. It was nice but then it was also spendy to run.

C.

DebW · 04-24-2011, 07:57 PM

Charliek,

The reason we were thinking about replacing ours with a tankless water heater is because we are looking into being Winter Texasans in our Hi-Lo this coming winter. Husband retired in Sept. 2010 and we both would like to go somewhere warm in the bitter snowy cold months. We live in Nebraska and it gets pretty cold here. The water heater we have now is a propane/electric but it's only 6 gals. Thought we might want something alittle different if we are going to full-time in our Hi-Lo for the winter months. We are going to do some checking into this before we make a final decision as we also want to use our Hi-Lo for summer traveling & camping and don't know how well a tankless would work for that.

NDgent · 04-24-2011, 08:28 PM

There are several LP tankless water heaters available that would allow you to retain your dry camping abilities, try: Bosch 1000P AquaStar 2-3/5 GPM Tankless LP Gas Water Heater at Amazon for $369. I am sure there others as well, I've even seen small ones at Home Depot. If you are certain you are only going to camp in full hookup camp grounds then an electric tankless unit will suffice Titan Tankless N-85 Model Water Heater from one of the HTF advertisers. At 38 AMPS you want to be sure your wiring will handle the extra load.

TEMPERATURE RISE CHART (F) FOR THE N-42 Titan which draws only 24 Amps

Flow Rate Temp Rise
1.0 GPM 44°
1.5 GPM 29°
2.0 GPM 22°
2.5 GPM 17°
3.0 GPM 15°
3.5 GPM 12°
4.0 GPM 11°

This is added to your present incoming water temperature, so if the shower flows at 3.0 GPM and your in coming water is 60° your shower water will be a cool 75°.

Here is an unit designed specifically as a replacement for your RV; Recreational Vehicle LP Gas Tankless Water Heater. RV 500 on demand hot water heater by PrecisionTemp, but at $1,054.00 it ain't cheep.