Ceiling Air Vents Falling

[MeeshM]

I know this has been asked before, but I'm wondering if any new solutions have been found? The directional air vents in our 2017 Flying Cloud FB bunk keep falling when we switch from cooling to heating. They're heavy and dangerous when they come down! Any ideas?

[HiJoeSilver]

Pictures? Those that don't have them may be able to visualize a solution. How are they held in now?

[centennialman]

Are you referring to the round ducted air vents with the slits in them? If so, the ones in my 2016 Airstream aren't heavy at all. They are held in with clips. Can you post a picture of what you are asking about?

[Rgentum]

Some of my vent covers fell out, & that led me to discover that the volume of air coming out of the vents without covers seems substantially greater than the vents with covers. I removed all the covers, & in air conditioning mode, the trailer seems cooler than before.

[jck_dmb]

I have a 2017 International 23D and I've had the same issue. For me, there has been no rhyme or reason to them falling out. With air, when the unit is off, during towing - doesn't matter. They are definitely sharp and they are not easy to put back in. They don't snap in or look flush once they fall out. I have a list of things for warranty work. I LOVE my Airstream, but I am definitely disappointed with some of the craftsmanship.

[thomasd21]

MeeshM,
We have the same problem. We had to take our 23FB back to the dealer and have the A/C replaced after 1 month and also had them look at the vents that had fallen. The service manager said that there is obviously a problem with the design. The ceiling is slightly curved and the vents are meant to be on a perfectly flat surface.
He said they had been fixing them by putting a little silicone caulk around them and sticking them back in. He said it holds them great but allows you to take them back off if needed.
Darrell

[HiJoeSilver]

"He said they had been fixing them by putting a little silicone caulk around them and sticking them back in. He said it holds them great but allows you to take them back off if needed."

That was going to be my recommendation, some gray silicone or polyurethane should blend in nicely. Gray polyurethane probably the better choice between the two since it can be cleaned up easier than silicone, for reattaching in the future.

[D2LLIO]

We had the same problem with our 2015 FC 25 FB Twin (with the ducted air). We had traveled several thousand miles with no issues and then 2 of the vents fell off during our hot Texas summer while the AS was sitting in storage. We applied some thick double-sided tape and so far so good. But I agree, its really a piss poor design.

[Bgibbs]

I tried VHB tape yesterday and one fell off today. I'll either wait until I can turn the air off and let things warm up or come up with another solution. It has been 100 deg here so it gets hot pretty quick with the a/c off. I did have the air off for a while before tring the tape but apparently not long enough. I have some grey Tremco and will try that tomorrow.

[Mach5]

If you decide to use silicone caulk, make sure it does not contain acetic acid, or else it will corrode the aluminum. If it smells like pickles, don't use it on your Airstream.

[Bgibbs]

I got my heat gun and used just enough heat to soften the tabs that are supposed to hold the vents in place. When softened, I got a screwdriver and bent them out slightly and held them there until the plastic cooled. It was very hard to get back in the hole, but when it did it made a loud "pop". I hope I don't have to get it back out. I also noticed that if you just push on the aluminum face of the grill it flexes so much that the back plastic part does not get pushed all the way in. I used an "L" shaped plastic auto body trim tool and just pushed the plastic part. I think that's the way they were supposed to be installed. If they were originally installed by just pushing on the aluminum, the tabs never popped into place and over time they were held in and lost their tension.

[The Colonel]

I like the heat gun idea. If I start having this problem I'll try it.


Sent from Belle on the road! Home base: Navarre, Florida

[stevenson748]

I had them fall out as well, usually after towing. The rear ones seem to ones that fall out onto our beds. I have just snapped them back in, and hope they stay put

[AirstreamCSH]

Have the same problem. Drove our brand new unit home and found them on the floor. Was told by service that sometimes the holes get cut too large and the factory solution is to use silicon. The heat gun makes more sense to me and I'll try that because silicone is rarely a permanent fix when. It originally designed to be the primary method.

[MeeshM]

Hi, all...
Since my original post, I've learned a couple of things. First, the current thinking does seem to be that Airstream is leaving little tabs when cutting the holes for the vents. I have now heard this from a couple of people, and then the mechanic at our dealer said that he'd fixed the problem on other units by removing the tabs that were left by Airstream and then bending some of the plastic tabs on the vent itself out a little further so they "grab" the ceiling better. He's got our Airstream for the winter (sniff) and is going to work on fixing the problem. We'll find out how it worked in the Spring.

While I was gathering this information, we were on a three-month trip with our kids and these vents kept falling unpredictably, sometimes on one of us! One of the vents is positioned directly above the bedroom television, and we were also worried about that being broken, so we had to come up with a temporary fix. My husband came up with something that worked beautifully. I'll describe here, and try to attach photos in case someone else wants to try it.

He ran three zip ties through the plastic tabs on the vents, so they created three loops, spaced around the outside of the tabs. He then bent these upwards and held them in place while reinstalling the vent in the ceiling. The zip tie loops sprung back down above the ceiling skin, holding the vent in place, acting something like a wall anchor. They never fell again for the remainder of our trip. Hope this helps!

[The Colonel]

I had several fall in early trips. When I took my AS to dealer for warranty work one of the issues was this. They rebent tabs according to mgr and I haven't had any issues since.


From dblee50 and Southern Belle on the road

[switz]

We specifically went with a 2015 23D International Serenity without the overhead air duct and flow vents.These rotating vents have been a chronic problem for lots of folks and the factory has been clueless......

[MarkFinATX]

I was having the same problem in our Pendleton. The directional vents are a great idea, but poorly executed.
I put together a punch list of about a dozen items and hauled her up to JC last fall. Our service tech, Lee, did a fantastic job with every issue. For the vents, I believe he used double sided tape, maybe an Automotive Grade? Not a one has fallen off since.

[QC TORPEDO]

I may be on to a permanent solution. Watch Ceiling A/C registers

for updates. I just received some parts that will be used to end this frustration in two ways; One: no more falling vents. Two: the vents will be directed downward, not out against the ceiling by the angle of the louvers.
More next week.

[QC TORPEDO]

Go to Ceiling A/C Registers to see a possible solution to limited air flow and falling vents.