ATF: Prowler - 20p rbs water heater bypass location

windviewer

Well-known member
i found it. not really very convenient nor accessible for access nor repair. especially the electric water heater circuit blocked by bypass pipes/valves. electric not working probably because difficulty for dealer during pdi to connect same. dealer will now rework this 'design' to be more acessible.

is there a recommended redesign of the hot water bypass on newer prowler 20p rbs trailers?

i like the 20p rbs layout with the large bathroom, but not at total expense of serviceability
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi windviewer,

The dealer shouldn't have had to do anything to turn on the electric side of the water heater, except turning on the secondary switch on the outside of the water heater. Once that switch is on, and there's water in the tank, you just turn on the switch inside the RV.
 

windviewer

Well-known member
you are assuming the prowler we have came with a suburban water heater (where everything is accessible on the outside). ours has an atwood gc6aa-10e where the bypass valves are on the inside and not accessible (in our case, easily). i was under the impression the trailers with atwood heaters are shipped with the electric connection disconnected (there is no secondary switch) to prevent inadvertent frying of the heating element without water in the tank. the dealer is supposed to connect this during pdi (an impossible task in the design of our trailer unless they have nano technology robots)
 
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danemayer

Well-known member
Something doesn't make sense to me. If your dealer sells Prowlers, and it's impossible to connect the power, surely they wouldn't have just ignored this and expected every customer to just use the propane side of the water heater.

Also, this is the first time I think anyone has suggested that the factory deliberately leaves the Atwood electric wiring disconnected at the water heater end. That would be a pain on any trailer, not just your Prowler. Seems like they could just turn off the circuit breaker that powers the water heater.

Maybe the factory just failed to connect the wires on your trailer.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Is your hot water heater under the kitchen sink?

If so, there is probably a wood panel screwed to the floor that if removed, you'll find the back side of the water heater.

That is the way it was in our previous Heartland bumper pull trailer.

I took that wood panel out once and just left it out.

That gave quite a bit more storage space under there!
 

windviewer

Well-known member
water heater is left rear corner of trailer, under the cabinent, behide the corner sink. there is a access panel beside the sink, but no panel diectly to the back of the heater. the sink blocks access to the heater. a panel will have to be cut behind the sink.

the impression that the factory ships the heater disconnected was provided by the dealer comments to me. i agree that simply leaving the breaker off would be simpler (it was the first thing i checked when it didnt work)
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
water heater is left rear corner of trailer, under the cabinent, behide the corner sink. there is a access panel beside the sink, but no panel diectly to the back of the heater. the sink blocks access to the heater. a panel will have to be cut behind the sink.

the impression that the factory ships the heater disconnected was provided by the dealer comments to me. i agree that simply leaving the breaker off would be simpler (it was the first thing i checked when it didnt work)

Can you take a picture under there and post it?

In our Trail Runner the panel had a square wood dowel (1/2x1/2") on the top and the bottom and was screwed into the floor on the bottom and the base of the sink cabinet behind the kitchen sink.

I wonder if yours is a similar setup . . .

I know I've seen some strange things in these trailers from the factory, but not leaving access to the water heater stuff is a pretty big goof up!

Also, outside behind the water heater panel is there a tiny little on/off switch on the heater somewhere?

Here is the outside water heater panel of our 2015 Prowler:

ProwlerWHswitch-P1000779.jpg ProwlerWHswitch-P1000780.jpg

That switch is on the lower left corner under the outside panel.
 

windviewer

Well-known member
Also, outside behind the water heater panel is there a tiny little on/off switch on the heater somewhere?

Here is the outside water heater panel of our 2015 Prowler:

View attachment 40080 View attachment 40081

That switch is on the lower left corner under the outside panel.

That is a non atwood hot water heater I would guess. Ours is ATWOOD and there is no switch.

I'll try to take a picture when I get it back, but the dealer would have remedied the problem by then so it may not illustrate how it arrived.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Cool . . . let us know how this turns out!

We have two more camp outs before the season ends and then will be taking our Prowler in for several warranty issues as well!
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Instead of your dealer cutting up your trailer....why don't you call HL service yourself and ask them how to turn it on. Have you removed the outer vent cover to see if the heating element is just unplugged??
 

windviewer

Well-known member
gc6aa-10e.jpg
You cannot access the electrical connection (on an atwood heater) except from the back of the water heater. It is that access that is blocked by the cupboard/sink panels and require cutting to access. Not only that, the pex pipe/valve for the bypass is right in front of the electrical access panel (where the heater element would be) and you cannot get the electrical cover off because it hits the bypass valve. If you did get the cover off by bending it, you still wouldn't be able to do anything (like change the heater element) with the current access setup. I felt it better the 'dealer' do the cutting while under warranty than myself....

This is why I posted the question to the ATF forum to see what the factory has to say about this particular configuration... The dealer has a few words to say to them as well :)

The diagram above shows where the element/panel is; imagine the pex connector coming of and running right in front of that panel. Then imagine a cupboard panel 1 inch away from the pex line.
 
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windviewer

Well-known member
here is a picture of where the water heater access is. this the AFTER picture where the technician had removed and reinstalled the water heater to gain access to the electrics and testing. it turned out to be a loose connection inside the connector box.image.jpgimage.jpgThe lower valve has been repositioned away from the connector box. previously the handle was 1/8 inch away from the connector box.
 
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