Do Any Replacement RV Water Heaters Have the Motor Aid Feature

Published 09/13/2024

Question:

WE HAVE AN OLDER MOTORHOME 2003 ITASCA WITH A WATER HEATER THAT HAS MOTOR AID ON IT AND WE NEED A REPLACEMENT WITH THAT OPTION. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THIS? THANK YOU

asked by: Buddy M

Expert Reply:

Hey Buddy, good to hear from you again!

We don't have any water heaters that use the Motor Aid feature, and from my understanding that's an outdated system so you'll have a hard time locating even a used water heater with this feature.

From what I was reading, this feature was designed to basically "pre-heat" the water so you wouldn't have to wait as long to get it. If you replace your water heater with the Furrion RV Tankless # FR98SR you'll actually get instant hot water and this guy is rated for an impressive 144 Gallons of hot water per hour so gone are the days of "military" showers - you'll be able to take a nice warm shower just as if you were at home!

expert reply by: Jon G

Buddy

9/13/2024

WELL IT USES THE ENGINE COOLANT FLOWING THROUGH IT TO HEAT THE WATER WHILE ITS RUNNING AND ITS REALLY NOT SOMETHING WE WOULD WANT TO BYPASS WOULD PROBABLY LEAK. ANYWAYS I DONT THINK THEY ARE AVAILABLE ANYMORE AT LEAST THE SUBURBAN IS DISCONTINUED SO I DONT KNOW

Jon G.

9/13/2024

@Buddy Correct - you'll need to bypass it to use a water heater that doesn't have that feature. If this isn't something you're comfortable doing then I recommend taking your rig to a local RV shop to help you out with this.