family wagon
Senior Member
There might be a technicality relating to total vehicle width -- I think the vehicle width regulations are often written with language like "widest part of the body, not including the side-view mirrors" and so a water heater protrusion would count. That might technically put you into "oversize load" category.
When driving through a narrow spot you might be watching clearance at the wheels, or the top or bottom of the wall, and forget that the water heater sticks out and end up striking it on something.
Hot combustion gases might cause some discoloration or damage to the bus paint above the heater.
When camping in cool weather, the heater hanging on the exterior of the bus would be prone to freezing much sooner than the rest of the water system would be.
It can be helpful to have the heater's flame and water flow knobs within reach while you're using the water; otherwise it can be difficult to get things balanced right. In the short time I've spent with an L5, this was most problematic when I wanted low flow and lukewarm water. Remember that the L5 doesn't automatically adjust the gas in proportion to the water flow. Tempering at the faucet by mixing with cold water could cause the hot water to get hotter, which causes me to turn the faucet a little more toward the cold side, which reduces the hot flow even further.. eventually the flow is so low the heater turns itself off. It really works best when the faucet is set to straight hot water, then the flow and temperature are adjusted with the knobs on the heater. Eventually a person can learn where to set the knobs "just right" ... or learn to not be so picky about the temperature!
When driving through a narrow spot you might be watching clearance at the wheels, or the top or bottom of the wall, and forget that the water heater sticks out and end up striking it on something.
Hot combustion gases might cause some discoloration or damage to the bus paint above the heater.
When camping in cool weather, the heater hanging on the exterior of the bus would be prone to freezing much sooner than the rest of the water system would be.
It can be helpful to have the heater's flame and water flow knobs within reach while you're using the water; otherwise it can be difficult to get things balanced right. In the short time I've spent with an L5, this was most problematic when I wanted low flow and lukewarm water. Remember that the L5 doesn't automatically adjust the gas in proportion to the water flow. Tempering at the faucet by mixing with cold water could cause the hot water to get hotter, which causes me to turn the faucet a little more toward the cold side, which reduces the hot flow even further.. eventually the flow is so low the heater turns itself off. It really works best when the faucet is set to straight hot water, then the flow and temperature are adjusted with the knobs on the heater. Eventually a person can learn where to set the knobs "just right" ... or learn to not be so picky about the temperature!
