I hear what you are saying about five minute showers.
I can't function in the morning until I've had a minumum of a 30 minute shower.
It is possible to switch over to an on demand water heater (more commonly referred to as tankless). There are several caveats, however.
First, units designed for stick and brick homes are not designed for use in RVs due to vibration, venting, and fire concerns (the latter has to do with clearances required). The electric ones draw too much and even if gas fired, they may not be rejettable to propane. Using one in an RV, and, in many cases, a mobile home, will usually void the warranty. When spending that kind of money, voiding the warranty is not a good thing.
There are several kinds of diesel fueled water heaters available but those are usually seen in motor homes that run on diesel fuel and are pretty bulky. They are usually part of a hydronic heating system. You didn't say what kind of a camper you have but since you called it a camper, I suspect it is a fiver on down to a small travel trailer. The diesel units would be far too bulky for those plus you would have to lug around an extra fuel supply just for the water water supply. They are also seriously expensive.
The only other tankless water heaters approved for use in RVs are the propane fired Girards and Precision Temp RV500s. The Girards have the advantages of costing about half of what the RV5009s cost and will fit in the same hole as a 6 gallon tank type water heater does (they carry doors that will allow them to fit in the same hole as a 10 gallon tank type water heater). Because of their lower cost, they are the ones some RV manufacturers are putting in their rigs.
However, they are not very popular because of the way they operate. They do put out plenty of unlimited hot water suitable for endless showers (as long as the water holds out; I saw one demonstrated at an RV show earlier this year and it put out more than enough hot water to satisfy me). However, to keep cost and size down, Girard designed their unit as simple as possible. It lacks the sophisticated temperature controls other units have. The gas valve is not continuously variable so it only puts out a steady amount of heat. Instead of mixing hot and cold water at the tap to regulate water temperature, one has to turn on only the hot water and vary the water flow. The faster the water flow, the lower the water temperature.
The RV500 is twice as expensive as the Girard (neither is inexpensive) but uses more sophisticated temperature controls and a variable gas valve to give the outgoing water a reasonably consistant water temperature. One regulates water temperature at the tap by mixing hot and cold water, the same way as one does with a tank type water heater. The downside of the RV500, other than the added initial expense, is it only fits in the same opening formerly occupied by a 10 gallon water heater. To use it where there formerly was a 6 gallon water heater, one would have to reframe the opening. Whether this is possible depends on if there is room and on how the wall is constructed.
A downside to both of these units is they run only on propane. Many tank type water heaters run on propane and/or 120v. If you do a lot of short term camping where the charge for electricity is a flat rate per night, you would not be able to take advantage of the "free" electricity and would be forced to shell out for the propane you will use instead. Besides from longer showers, you may have to use water at a slightly faster rate since a minimum flow of water is required before the units turn on. The Girard is especially sensitive to this and may require removing flow control devices from the camper's water system.
Both units offer the advantage of endless hot water for as long as the water lasts (duh!). If one is already burning only propane, both units will burn less of it than the tank types since they do not have to run frequently to keep a tank of water hot. The less hot water one uses, the more economical the tankless units are to use. This is more of an advantage when boondocking for extended periods when one needs to conserve propane. Due to the high initial cost, it would take a rather long time, if ever, to realize any payback from reduced propane usage when switching to a tankless unit.
Of course, the single best reason for switching to a tankless water heater is unlimited hot water. For many of us, that alone will justify the initial expense of the unit.
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