Why two identical-looking RV parts may not fit

These two parts look the same — are they interchangeable?

Two RV parts can be visually identical and still carry different part numbers, because manufacturers split a number by colour, by which side it fits, by profile height, or by production date. The parts list is what settles it: if your model’s current list names a different number, the similar-looking part is the wrong one regardless of how it looks.

The four things that split a part number

A manufacturer does not create a second part number for fun. When one exists, something differs — and often the difference is invisible in a photograph.

  • Colour — white, bone, black and parchment are usually separate numbers, not a finish option on one number.
  • Handedness — left-hand and right-hand versions of hinges, arms and door hardware.
  • Profile — high and low versions of pedals, bases and shrouds on the same model family.
  • Production date or serial range — the same component redesigned partway through a model’s life.

The one that catches people out

The hardest case is when the same component sits in the same position on two different appliances and carries a different number on each. Nothing about the part looks wrong. Nothing about the listing looks wrong. It is simply not the number your parts list names.

This is the single most useful thing we publish, and it is why our part pages carry a section for what a part does not fit — with the other model’s parts list cited, so you can check it yourself.

Two visually identical parts with different identitiesTwo identical abstract ring shapes side by side. The left is labelled as verified for one appliance model and the right as belonging to a different model. Their outlines are the same; their model, revision and part number differ, so one is a verified fit and the other is explicitly contradicted.Same shape. Different identity. Only one fits your appliance.part 31708Appliance A · Rev EVERIFIED FITpart 33027Appliance B · Rev DDOES NOT FIT A
A photograph proves shape. It cannot prove which parts list the part came off, and that is the thing that decides fitment.

Same position, different appliance, different number

  • Blade seal on Aqua-Magic V and VI — 31708
  • Blade seal on Aqua-Magic IV Hand Flush and Pedal Flush — 33027
  • Both are item 9. Neither list mentions the other number.

See the does-not-fit record

What is not evidence

A marketplace title that says a part fits several models is a seller describing their own stock, and sellers are frequently wrong in the direction that sells more units. A photograph proves shape, not fitment. A forum reply proves that it worked once, for somebody, on a camper that may not be yours.

The only thing that settles a fitment question is the manufacturer’s current parts list for your model. That is what we read, and that is what we link.

Look up your part

Search a part number, an appliance model, or the component that failed. We check the manufacturer’s own parts lists first.

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Last checked 2026-08-30.