Forest River Electric Water Heater Dead
The Short Answer: Forest River does not build a “Forest River” water heater. Cherokee, Salem, Wildwood, Rockwood, Surveyor, and cousins ship Suburban or Atwood/Dometic 6- and 10-gallon dual-fuel tanks — sometimes a Girard or Truma tankless. Electric dead with gas fine is 120 V, bypass valves, or a tripped ECO. Open the exterior door, read the badge, reset once with a full tank. Sister: Atwood electric, SW10DE.
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Search Intent & The Real Problem
You are on shore power. The interior switch is on. The tank is silent. Gas may still work, which fools people into thinking the whole heater is fine. Electric and gas are separate circuits on these boxes. Forest River is the coach. The heater is whoever is on the door badge. Winterization is the usual crime: empty tank, electric on, ECO open, element possibly cooked. Same pattern as Thor.
What other guides get wrong
They write a “Forest River water heater” ritual as if FR stamped a unique tank. They mix Suburban Phase 3 boards with Atwood/Dometic boards. They skip bypass valves, so a winterized tank gets a new element. They treat a Girard tankless like a 6-gallon ECO.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Step 1: Open the door. Read the badge. There is no Forest River OEM.
| Door badge / what you see | What it actually is | Electric path |
|---|---|---|
| Suburban, Phase 3, SW6DE / SW10DE / SW16DE | DSI tank, dual-fuel common | SW10DE, Phase 3, Suburban reset |
| Atwood or Dometic | DSI tank | Atwood electric, Atwood troubleshooting |
| Girard / Furrion / Truma on-demand | RV tankless — no 120 V element | Girard, Truma |
| No heater in the bay, wall unit only | Tankless | Follow that jacket |
- What to look for: Model sticker on the access door or the tank jacket. Photograph it. “Forest River” on the coach skin does not pick the part.
- Required tools: Flashlight, phone camera.
If the badge is tankless, this electric-element article does not apply. Tankless uses 12 V and LP, not a 120 V ECO.
Step 2: Full tank, bypass in normal — before you hit electric
- What to look for: Three-valve bypass in the heat path, not winterize. Steady stream at a hot faucet, no sputter. A tank that was blown out with air is empty even if the lines are wet. Water at the tap that goes cold in seconds is residual in the lines, not tank water.
- Required tools: Cabinet plumbing diagram, a hot faucet.
Do not hit the electric switch until that stream is solid. Dry-fire opens the ECO and can cook a ~1400 W element.
Step 3: Prove 120 V actually reached the heater
- What to look for: Other 120 V appliances alive, bathroom/kitchen GFCI tripped, converter not passing through, generator not running, park pedestal breaker tripped. Interior switch illuminated but the pedestal is dead.
- Required tools: Receptacle tester at a nearby outlet. Voltage at the heater with the cover off is a tech step.
No 120 V at the coach is not a Suburban problem. A tired 30-amp pedestal that browns out under ~12 A (~1400 W) will also nuisance-trip the ECO.
Step 4: ECO / high-limit reset — once
- What to look for: Red or black reset on the thermostat/ECO behind the exterior door, on the tank jacket. Fired empty after storage, this is almost always open. Power off, tank full, press once.
- Required tools: Finger. Cold, full tank.
If it clicks off again within minutes, the element is grounded, the thermostat is welded, or you still have no water. Do not hold the button in. Same physics as residential thermostat burn-up.
Step 5: Element, switch, and when the tank is actually dead
- What to look for: No heat with 120 V present and ECO set. Element open (infinite ohms) or shorted to ground (any screw-to-tank continuity) with power verified dead. Interior switch failed. A wet bay or rusty tank skin is a vessel, not an ECO. Gas working only proves the tank can hold water.
- Required tools: Multimeter, shore power killed, element wrench.
Replacing an element in an RV tank is straightforward if you can drain it. Heat-damaged board or melted wire nuts are an RV-tech job.
When DIY Ends: Calling a Licensed Pro
Stop if the ECO will not latch, you smell burnt insulation, the pedestal trips when the element kicks in, or the tank weeps at the element into the cabinet. You may fill the tank, set bypass, confirm 120 V at the coach, and reset the ECO once. A mobile RV tech will load-test the pedestal, megger the element, and replace the ECO/thermostat as a pair when the tank was dry-fired. Order Suburban or Dometic parts off the door badge, not a “Forest River water heater.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is my Forest River water heater not working on electric but gas is fine? A: They are independent. Electric needs 120 V, a full tank, bypass off, and a closed ECO. Gas working proves the tank can hold water — nothing else. Read the door badge; Forest River did not make the heater.
Q: Where is the reset on a Forest River RV water heater? A: On the Suburban or Atwood/Dometic thermostat/ECO behind the exterior access door. Power off, tank full, press once. Tankless Girard/Truma units have no 120 V ECO.
Q: Can I run the electric element on a 30-amp pedestal? A: Yes if the pedestal and cord are healthy — ~12 A at ~1400 W. If the pedestal is weak or shared, the element brown-outs and the ECO can nuisance-trip. Have the pedestal tested.