Forest River Riverstone – RV Water Heater Thermostat and Heating Element Replacement

Forest River Riverstone – RV Water Heater Thermostat and Heating Element Replacement

My van’s got a dedicated compartment along the driver’s side where I keep spares for the jobs that repeat themselves — heating elements wrapped in bubble wrap, thermostats in their boxes, gaskets sorted by size. I learned years ago that stocking these parts meant the difference between a two-hour roadside fix and a wasted day hunting down a supplier. On Forest River Riverstones especially, the electric water heater system fails the same way almost every time — you get propane heat fine, but flip the shore power switch and nothing. The thermostat drifts, the element goes bad, or both decide to quit at once. Either way, your family’s got no hot water, you’re parked in the middle of nowhere, and what was supposed to be a relaxing week turns into troubleshooting mode. This post walks through the exact procedure I use when I show up to one of these rigs with my multimeter and a fresh element in hand.

Parts Needed:

• Suburban 232306 Thermostat Switch, Model: 232306, Outdoor&Repair Store (Part Number: 232306) ($18.99)
• Upgraded 520900 RV Water Heater Element For Suburban RV SW Series Electric Wa… (Part Number: 520900) ($17.00)
• Lrichy 110V/120V RV Water Heater Screw-In Electric Heating Element 110V/1400W… (Part Number: Replaces Suburban 520789/520900 • Atwood/Dometic 92249) ($21.97)
• VOTMELL 4 Rolls 1/2 Inch(W) X 520 Inches(L) Teflon Plumbers Tape,Pipe Sealing… ($3.59 ($0.90 / count))
• Nextronics Tool-Free Wire Connectors 25 Pieces – Quick Splice Terminal Blocks… ($8.99 ($0.36 / count))
• Suburban 232767 Water Heater Anode Rod (Part Number: 232767) ($25.99)

After years on the road, I’ve learned that a bad thermostat is almost always the first culprit when your Suburban water heater stops doing its job — and getting the exact OEM replacement makes all the difference. The Suburban 232306 Thermostat Switch drops in without any adapter gymnastics, and the bi-metal contact design holds up well through temperature swings that would kill a generic part. Just be sure to drain and dry the tank before you disconnect the wiring harness — moisture and live terminals are never a good combination.

If your element tests open on a multimeter, don’t cheap out on the replacement — this is the part that actually heats your water, so quality matters. I keep the Upgraded 520900 Suburban SW Series Heating Element on my short list because it’s built to the same 1440W spec as the factory unit and the flange threads are clean and consistent — sloppy threads on a water heater element mean leaks down the road. Wrap those threads with fresh Teflon tape, torque it down snugly by hand plus a quarter turn, and you’ll be back to hot showers before dinner.

When the 520900 is backordered or you just need something shipped fast, the Lrichy 110V/1400W Screw-In Heating Element is a solid backup option I’ve recommended to fellow campers without hesitation. It’s rated for 110V/120V shore power — exactly what most campground pedestals deliver — and the stainless construction handles the hard water that plagues RV tanks over time. Double-check the thread size matches your Suburban SW tank opening before you install, and as always, verify the element reads around 9–10 ohms resistance before buttoning everything back up.

Step 1: Testing and Removing Failed Components

Start by confirming the heating element has actually failed. Once you’ve turned off the power and drained the tank completely, disconnect one of the two wires running to the heating element. Switch your multimeter to ohms mode and touch each probe to a terminal on the element itself. A working element reads between 8–15 ohms, usually landing around 10–12 ohms on most RV units. If your meter says “OL” or shows infinity, that element is dead. Anything far outside that 8–15 range means the same thing — replacement time.

Now extract the bad element. Grab your wrench (usually 1-1/8″ or 1-1/16″ depending on your exact model) and turn it counterclockwise slowly and steadily. As you loosen it, some water may trickle out even though you thought the tank was dry — that’s normal. The element comes out along with its rubber gasket. Look that gasket over carefully for cracks, flattening, or any deterioration. Keep the old one nearby as a reference for size even if you’re throwing it away. The element itself might be crusted with mineral scale, corroded, or actually cracked — any of those signs confirms you made the right call replacing it.

Next, test both thermostats to see which one (or both) needs to be swapped out. You’ll find two of them near the top of the heater assembly — the propane thermostat has a wider, flat conductor while the electric thermostat is much thinner. For electric-side failures, focus on that thinner one. Pop off the rubber cap that covers the reset button and inspect the wiring underneath. Look for melted insulation, burnt terminals, or connections that have come loose — any of that signals heat damage and a thermostat that’s given up.

Disconnect the two power wires running to the thermostat’s bottom terminals. Set your multimeter to continuity mode. Touch your probes to those two terminals — it should beep or show near-zero ohms resistance when the unit is at normal temperature. No beep and no continuity mean that thermostat is bad. Burned wiring confirms it too.

Step 2: Installing New Components and Testing

Before you thread in the new heating element, clean out the opening where it goes. Wipe away any leftover gasket material, mineral buildup, or corrosion with a rag and a bit of gentle cleaner. Slide the fresh gasket onto the element’s threaded portion so it sits right against the flange. Screw the new element in by hand first, turning clockwise. Once hand-tight, use your wrench to turn it another quarter to half turn — no more than that. Over-tightening crushes the gasket and can crack the tank’s ceramic lining from the inside.

Wire the fresh heating element the way the original was wired. Your element has two terminal posts. Hot-side wire (usually black or red) goes to one post, ground wire (white or green) to the other. Most elements don’t care which wire connects to which — they’re non-polarized — but match whatever the original setup was doing. Use wire nuts or crimps rated for outdoor, damp conditions. Make sure every connection is hand-tight and wrap each one in electrical tape. Confirm nothing’s exposed and nothing can ground against the metal housing.

If you’re replacing the thermostat too, remove the old one by unclipping the wires and unbolting the mounting screws (usually two). Set the new one in that exact same position and orientation — thermostat readings depend on where it sits relative to the water flow. Bolt it down so it’s flush. Reconnect the wires exactly as they were before. Take a photo of the old thermostat before you disconnect it if you’re at all unsure. One terminal gets the power wire, the other gets the wire that runs to the heating element. Tighten all connections and screw the rubber protective cap back on.

Fill the tank and purge the air before you test. Tighten the drain plug securely. Turn on the fresh water supply and crack open a hot water tap inside the RV. Let water run until it flows steadily without spurting air. Close the tap and inspect the new element and all wire connections for drips or seepage.

Flip on the circuit breaker feeding the water heater. Switch your multimeter to AC voltage and check the terminals on the heating element — you should read around 120 volts (anywhere from 110–125V is fine). Activate the heater from the interior control panel. Let a 6-gallon tank heat for 30–45 minutes or a 10-gallon tank for 45–60 minutes until it reaches operating temperature. Run hot water at a sink to verify it’s actually working. Watch that first heating cycle — if anything sounds odd, smells burnt, or starts leaking, shut it down immediately.

The Suburban 232306 Thermostat — Why This One Stays Calibrated on a Riverstone

The 232306 thermostat sits between your heating element and the actual water temperature — when it fails or drifts off calibration, you either get scalding water or none at all. This part is the brain telling the element when to switch on and shut off, and on Riverstones it’s almost always the culprit.

What works

• Exact factory replacement for Suburban SW series heaters — threads directly into the spot your old one vacated with zero improvisation.
• Once you’ve got it installed, water temperature actually stays where you set it instead of swinging wild or going cold partway through a shower.
• At eighteen dollars, replacing it beats dropping four hundred-plus on a whole new heater when the real problem was just one bad sensor.

What doesn’t

• Not all aftermarket distributors keep their 232306 stock properly calibrated out of the box — occasionally you’ll get one that reads five or six degrees hotter than it should.
• The installation itself demands you drain the tank and crack a pressurized thermostat connection — if you rush or slip, you’re flooding the compartment and possibly contaminating the new element you just installed.

I almost sent one back thinking I’d ordered the wrong part because the temperature wasn’t climbing as fast as the original — turns out the new thermostat was actually working and the old one had been letting water overshoot by 15 degrees the whole time. Get the Suburban 232306 thermostat here

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