I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.

On 11/15/2013 6:13 AM, wrote:
I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.

Mine is like that, with the outdoor hatch. My WH died one
winter day with 16 inches of snow on the ground. I was
able to replace it myself, but it sure was a total pain.
And cold, too. I don't know. I'm also curious.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

wrote in message ...

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.


My guess is so it has outside air for the gas burner. WW

On Friday, November 15, 2013 6:13:19 AM UTC-5, wrote:
I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked

to knows why either.



Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water

heater?



It's so that if the WH is out drinking late some nights,
when it comes home, it can get back in without waking you up.





There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?

Regular houses dont do that?



Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the

water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in

the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to

replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer

house and some are pretty high.



The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I

have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there

is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a

inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so

the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the

heaters 8ft.

On 11/15/2013 9:31 AM, wrote:
On Friday, November 15, 2013 6:13:19 AM UTC-5, wrote:

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water

heater?



It's so that if the WH is out drinking late some nights,
when it comes home, it can get back in without waking you up.

makes about as much sense as any other idea.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Friday, November 15, 2013 6:13:19 AM UTC-5, wrote:

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

Because the typical trailer house is owned or rented by a certain type of people, and the water heater is the thing that needs to be serviced most often. This way, the repair man or landlord doesn't have to go inside the filthy house that probably has a meth lab or marijuana garden to do the work.

On Friday, November 15, 2013 10:17:55 AM UTC-6, wrote:
On Friday, November 15, 2013 6:13:19 AM UTC-5, wrote:



Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water

heater?



Because the typical trailer house is owned or rented by a certain type of people, and the water heater is the thing that needs to be serviced most often. This way, the repair man or landlord doesn't have to go inside the filthy house that probably has a meth lab or marijuana garden to do the work.

I kinda agree with this assessment...and for safety (using outside air and isolating CO). And even from the inside you would have to truck it to the door and lower it down the 8 feet anyway.
And isn't it called a "house trailer"?

On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.
Very simple The trailer doesn't have enough room to install a water
heater with the required access space inside the trailer. By code you
need a certain amount of un-impeded space to service the heater. It
can be 2 inches from the wall if the wall is removeable from the
outside, and still pass code.

Sounds weird to call them trailer houses - up here we call them house
trailers. The first word is the adjective, the second is the noun.
They are a trailer first.

wrote:
On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.
Very simple The trailer doesn't have enough room to install a water
heater with the required access space inside the trailer. By code you
need a certain amount of un-impeded space to service the heater. It
can be 2 inches from the wall if the wall is removeable from the
outside, and still pass code.


Why can't an inside "wall" be removed? By "wall" I mean an floor to ceiling
access panel or something like that.

I don't spend a lot of time in trailers (never?) so you'd have to tell me
why an interior access panel wouldn't work just as well as an outside door.

On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:14:43 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.
Very simple The trailer doesn't have enough room to install a water
heater with the required access space inside the trailer. By code you
need a certain amount of un-impeded space to service the heater. It
can be 2 inches from the wall if the wall is removeable from the
outside, and still pass code.


Why can't an inside "wall" be removed? By "wall" I mean an floor to ceiling
access panel or something like that.

In MOST cases the quarters are so tight that even removing the inside
wall would not provide the required unobstructed 24 inches minimum
required service clearance - which is far from adequate service space
for a 200 lb plus service technician. I've always been GLAD for the
external access panel when I've had to work on a house trailer, cabin
trailer, or camping trailer (whatever you want to call it) - or
motorhome.

I don't spend a lot of time in trailers (never?) so you'd have to tell me
why an interior access panel wouldn't work just as well as an outside door.

On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:14:43 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.
Very simple The trailer doesn't have enough room to install a water
heater with the required access space inside the trailer. By code you
need a certain amount of un-impeded space to service the heater. It
can be 2 inches from the wall if the wall is removeable from the
outside, and still pass code.


Why can't an inside "wall" be removed? By "wall" I mean an floor to ceiling
access panel or something like that.

I don't spend a lot of time in trailers (never?) so you'd have to tell me
why an interior access panel wouldn't work just as well as an outside door.

Actually I have seen 3 or 4 trailers that DO have the access panel
inside, but that's 3 or 4 out of many. Maybe 10% at most have it
inside. I have been around a lot of trailer homes since I used to do a
lot of handyman work. I knew a guy who lived in a trailer park, and he
had me do some repairs for him. In less than a week, I had at least ten
jobs in other trailers in that park.

While I had a lot of work, trailer homes are usually harder to work on
than regular houses. Nothing is standard in them, in fact I worked on
one that had exterior wall studs that were 1 3/4" X 7/8". The interior
walls were 1 1/8" X 7/8". Standard doors are too high to fit trailers,
even plumbing fixtures are often made specifically for trailers. And
crawling under them to fix a busted pipe or something is even worse,
it's dark, sometimnes all mud, and I've seen my share or rodents. Part
of the problem is that far too many of them are not high enough off the
ground.

So, work or not, I had work, but it was some of the lousiest jobs, and
getting paid from some of those people was a challenge too.

Anyhow, getting back to the water heater door, as I said, I have seen a
few trailer homes that have the water heater access indoors, and it's
always from inside a closet. That makes sense because a closet is about
the same width as what is needed for the water heater room width. While
outside access can be nice in summer weather, I'd prefer mine to have
access from the interior. After all, most plumbing problems seem to
occur when the outside temperature is way below zero. I'd rather clean
out a closet to get to the water heater than freeze my ass off doing it
outside in the middle of winter.

wrote:
On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:14:43 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03


Why can't an inside "wall" be removed? By "wall" I mean an floor to ceiling
access panel or something like that.

In MOST cases the quarters are so tight that even removing the inside
wall would not provide the required unobstructed 24 inches minimum
required service clearance - which is far from adequate service space
for a 200 lb plus service technician. I've always been GLAD for the
external access panel when I've had to work on a house trailer, cabin
trailer, or camping trailer (whatever you want to call it) - or
motorhome.


Thanks

On 11-15-2013, 21:51, wrote:
So, work or not, I had work, but it was some of the lousiest jobs, and
getting paid from some of those people was a challenge too.

You didn't get the money in advance? That's why you had so many jobs in
a week.

--
Wes Groleau

Armchair Activism: http://www.breakthechain.org/armchair.html

On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.

Don't you have to lift it up 8 feet to get it into the trailer?

micky wrote:
On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.

Don't you have to lift it up 8 feet to get it into the trailer?

Raises hand, shouts "Me! Me! Call on me!"

There are stairs up to the door of the trailer. It's much easier to move a
WH 8 up a flight of stairs than to lift it 8' into an opening in the side
of the trailer.

Throw a rope over the top of the trailer and use it to hoist the water heater up and into the opening.

On Sat, 16 Nov 2013 13:58:07 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:13:19 -0600, wrote:

I've never understood the reason for this, and no one else I've talked
to knows why either.

Why do most trailer houses have a separate outside door for water
heater?

There must be some actual reason besides just doing it that way?
Regular houses dont do that?

Personally I think it's a pain in the ass, because in winter if the
water heater needs to be repaired or replaced you got to stand out in
the cold to do the job. And even in good weather, if you have to
replace it, you got to lower/raise the tank the height of the trailer
house and some are pretty high.

The trailer I'm working on is 8ft off the ground by that door, and I
have to replace a natural gas heater with an electric one, because there
is no natural gas (farm). I've already decided to just cut a piece of a
inside wall out and make a door there. There is a closet next to it, so
the door will be inside the closet. No sense trying to fight the
heaters 8ft.

Don't you have to lift it up 8 feet to get it into the trailer?

Raises hand, shouts "Me! Me! Call on me!"

There are stairs up to the door of the trailer. It's much easier to move a
WH 8’ up a flight of stairs than to lift it 8' into an opening in the side
of the trailer.
Just drop a beam on the roof and lift the WH with a winch or
come-along.. Or use the backhoe or loader. (doesn't every red-neck
trailer park have a backhoe???)

On Saturday, November 16, 2013 8:32:19 AM UTC-6, ralph wrote:
Throw a rope over the top of the trailer and use it to hoist the water heater up and into the opening.

....or if it happens in winter...build snow stairs. (or a snow slide and push it right-in!)

On 11/16/2013 9:38 AM, Bob_Villa wrote:
On Saturday, November 16, 2013 8:32:19 AM UTC-6, ralph wrote:
Throw a rope over the top of the trailer and
use it to hoist the water heater up and into
the opening.

...or if it happens in winter...build snow
stairs. (or a snow slide and push it right-in!)

When I did mine, one cold January. I ended using
a snow blower to cut a path to the access door.
It was a very cold, miserable job to get the WH
changed out. Hope never to need to do that, again.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..