Vent Cover Disintegrated on 2006 A/S

[dwightdi]

Airstream needs a good plastics/materials engineer or consultant. They seem to lack an ability to pick the proper materials for the job. They also seem to lack an ability to do accelerated ageing tests or enviromental tests to prove out their products before they release them to their unsuspecting customers. They need to hire someone with that experience to head up a program to do accelerated testing and only put into production materials that have been thouroughly tested.

[Tim A.]

Originally Posted by dwightdi

Airstream needs a good plastics/materials engineer or consultant. They seem to lack an ability to pick the proper materials for the job. They also seem to lack an ability to do accelerated ageing tests or enviromental tests to prove out their products before they release them to their unsuspecting customers. They need to hire someone with that experience to head up a program to do accelerated testing and only put into production materials that have been thouroughly tested.

I doubt very much that Airstream has anything to do with the production of the vents. Many components of any trailer are purchased from outside suppliers who may well have provided good products in the past. From the posts in this thread, it sounds like the vent supplier got a bad batch of plastic and that the problem has shown up some time after the trailers were built.

[dwightdi]

Having owned Airstreams for twenty years and been a member of the club for 12 years, and a professional materials/plastics engineer for 40 years; this example is not just a bad batch of plastic but an improper material choise by someone who should have be trained and responsible to make material subsitutions. This is far from my first observation of poor materials choises and testing done by Airstream and its vendors. The OEM (Airstream) engineer is person responsible for allowing the vendors to make poor material choises. All responsible OEM's (original equipment manufactures) have a material approval person on their staff who assures the engineering department and/or vendors are doing proper testing and supplying the test results for approval before a materials change is allowed to go into production. I had a discussion with the chief engineer for Airstream five years ago at the International and he admitted they did not have a materials/plastics engineer on his staff. They needed one then and they need one now.

[Tim A.]

Originally Posted by dwightdi

I had a discussion with the chief engineer for Airstream five years ago at the International and he admitted they did not have a materials/plastics engineer on his staff. They needed one then and they need one now.

It is likely that many of us would like for Airstream to have more engineering input, but quality control of vent covers would probably not be economically justifiable for Airstream.

Assuming the numbers in another thread were correct, Airstream produced about 1820 units in 2007. You can easily find a replacement cover for about $10 to $13 retail, so the wholesale cost of the cover to Airstream might be about $7.50. Assuming an average of 1.5 vent covers per trailer, the total annual wholesale cost of the covers would be about $20,500, only a portion of the annual cost of a dedicated engineer. Please remember that the cost of an engineer includes not only salary but also such things as benefits and the employers' parts of Social Security, Medicare, and (in most states) disability.

I am not suggesting that Airstream should not increase its engineering staff, but they are a profit-making company in our capitalistic society and cost vs. profit considerations must be a part of their business.

[Devoman]

Mine is a 2005 and my vent cover ripped off after I got it.I went to an rv shop and got a cheap replacement for it.It has lasted the last 2 years but I think this one will go here shortly from being sun beaten.When I replaced the front one with a fantastic fan It crumbled when I was taking it off.

[TinLoaf]

I just bought a used 2006 Safari yesterday and once I got it home I noticed that the rear roof vent was missing. I figured it was an easy fix and I bought a new vent cover. Once I got out the ladder I noticed that half the hinge mechanism was missing.

My trailer is still under warranty as long as the factory warranty transfers to the 2nd owner. Is this something that a dealership would fix under warranty? It's a pretty long haul to my nearest dealership, so I'd rather fix it myself and save the time and gas. Does anyone know where I can get the hinge that's missing?

Steve

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by TinLoaf

I just bought a used 2006 Safari yesterday and once I got it home I noticed that the rear roof vent was missing. I figured it was an easy fix and I bought a new vent cover. Once I got out the ladder I noticed that half the hinge mechanism was missing.

My trailer is still under warranty as long as the factory warranty transfers to the 2nd owner. Is this something that a dealership would fix under warranty? It's a pretty long haul to my nearest dealership, so I'd rather fix it myself and save the time and gas. Does anyone know where I can get the hinge that's missing?

Steve

It isn't missing anything, you have the wrong vent cover. You need the new Jensen type. See the hook things along the right side of your picture? The proper vent has one side with perf's in it that will fit under the hooks. There are two screws on the opposite side that go from the brace into the plastic to hold the other side secure when you raise and lower it. My replacement HAD the two screws and the metal brace in it.

Take your picture back to the RV Dealer and he should instantly find you the new vent cover in stock. I took a picture of my vent cover (pieced together on the picnic table) when I went to get the replacement.

Paula

[Silvertwinkie]

Sorry to hear about this issue. I can relate to the feeling you all must be going through.

I had an '03 Bambi that had 2 standard vents as have been described here. I never had an issue with either, but I only owned it for about a year before upgrading to my 25' Safari SS, which has 2 Fantastic Vents in these locations, and have also had no issues, at least with that.....other things, now that's a whole nuther thread/story.

[overlander63]

We had exactly this problem with a replacement vent in our Sovereign. Same brand, same problem--woke up in the morning to find too much daylight, and a gaping hole where a vent cover should be. I replaced the whole works with a Fantastic.

[TinLoaf]

Thanks for the help. Replaced it with the proper cover. When I was replacing the missing cover I noticed that there's a low spot right behind the vent (to the left in the photo). You can see that water pools there and evaporates. There's no sign that it was dented or damaged. Has anyone else seen this low spot and is it cause for concern?

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by TinLoaf

There's no sign that it was dented or damaged. Has anyone else seen this low spot and is it cause for concern?

It is only a cause for concern bacause the water will pool where there is a seam, and may eventually leak through the seam.

[Devoman]

Mine does this to but it is not a concern to me.It is not that big at all.The only solution to do is to put wood between the walls.It not only braces it but keeps it level as well.I have seen this done in past posts.That is how I learned about it.

[ccornett]

I lost the cover to my FF. It seems to have shattered and then blew off when I moved my Bambi ('02) from winter storage. The fantastic fan folks promised a new lid and shipped it immediately for no charge (supposed to arrive Monday).
Any advice on installation ?

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Claudia1

I lost the cover to my FF. It seems to have shattered and then blew off when I moved my Bambi ('02) from winter storage. The fantastic fan folks promised a new lid and shipped it immediately for no charge (supposed to arrive Monday).
Any advice on installation ?

Hi, welcome to the forums.
The Fantastic cover is very easy to change, just 4 phillips screws holding it in place. Crank up the actuator (the thing that makes the vent go up) about halfway from inside the trailer. Then go on the roof with the cover and a screwdriver. Unscrew the remains of the hinge, and slide the cover off the slide for the actuator. You'll see a slightly larger spot in the slot, the little plastic knob will come out through that. Slide the new slide onto the actuator, then attach the 4 screws back to the vent. Crawl off the roof, and verify the vent goes up and down as intended.
Relax and enjoy your new vent cover.
I did this this morning, to install a thermostat and rain sensor, total project time was 45 minutes, including schlepping the ladder.

[ESCAPE POD]

Originally Posted by JStanley

Interesting to read that someone else had a vent cover disintegrate on a 2006 Safari.
The pieces on mine were very brittle and yellow. It looked like it was in the sun for 50 years.
Since the trailer was still under warranty I had it replaced for free and added a hood over the cover.
I bet someone mixed up a bad batch of plastic or errors were made in the fabrication process. How many others had the same problem?

I was washing our '07 Bambi this morning, and when my brush edge came in contact with the corner of the bedroom vent. The corner broke off into smaller pieces that crumpled like a graham cracker in my hand. Luckily, the break was outside the gasket, but I'll be replacing the cover under warranty as well. What does the "hood" look like, and do you have to remove it by hand to open the skylight cover?

-Jerry

[Andrew Selking]

I have had the same problem on our 2007 SE FB 25ft. Safari. I was not near a Airstream dealer at the time. I ended up at a local RV dealer he had replacements so I got two and went on my way. Since then I keep an extra one under the bed so when I loose another I will be ready. The best replacement is the Fantastic fan they seem to be made of better plastic. They also cost a lot more.