Ceiling Air Vents Falling

[schristo]

Originally Posted by 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!

Hi Meesh...wondering if your "zip tie" fix continues to be working...I have a brand new 27 FC and both the vents fell out hitting a guest in the face. I am far from my dealer, drink milk with two hands, so need a simple fix that is will correct the problem.

I find it hard to believe that AS continues with this faulty design...not expected on a 90k coach. One lawsuit by someone who gets hurt and I expect it would be instantly corrected.

Any advice on your fix would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[QC TORPEDO]

Go to http://www.airforums.com/forums/f542...rs-166383.html

See if this solution works for you. I have posted pictures of the result. No more falling vents, better air flow.

[BirdDog]

My problem was there is a metal tab in the hole in the ceiling and no corresponding slot on the register. Rather than remove the tab (difficult and messy) I made a slot in the register. This was originally posted here.

My vent register problem seems different than Brians'. I have the 2015 25'FB and my vent hole had a tab that prevented the register from seating properly. Could this be Airstreams solution to Brian's inquiry? Anyway, I had to modify all my registers to get them to snap in place. Made some measurements and took some pics.
Hole diameter 5.00"
Hole diameter including tab 4.84"
Register plastic ring diameter 4.91".

Haven't had a problem with falling vents before the fix today - haven't used it since I bought it last year. Still outfitting the camper.









There was always a large gap on one side of the register and now is more flush with the ceiling.

Joel

[Muddycreek]

Ok, so here are some pics of a simple solution for the falling duct vent diffusers. I made these clips out of 1/2" wide .020 thick SS strapping. A little tricky to fabricate, but can be made with simple tools (pliers, snips, hammer). I have included detail pictures of the finished product.
Once made, they are simple to install. Once installed they allowed the diffuser to function normally and diffuser will not fall back out.
I had some trouble loading a better detailed video here. It wont allow, but I think you will clearly get the idea of how to make them and how they can work from the pics.

[Muddycreek]

Oh, also, I did not show it in the drawing but I used two clips on each vent 180 degrees opposite each other. And I did not bend the holding tab down until after the diffuser was pushed back into place. I pushed the diffuser back in place with my new clips centered on the widest space openings on the back of the diffuser. This allows the diffuser to spin freely, without any interference, as it was designed to do.

[Muddycreek]

Here is clip dimension info, for the size I fabricated and used, which worked very well.

[twbucksr]

The factory fixed ours by screwing them into place. They are still adjustable. You might contact them or your dealer for their fix.

[Mollysdad]

Great idea!
I might use it if mine fall again.
When I look at the stock vent, there are black plastic clips built in. Evidently, they don't hold well.
When one of mine falls, I align two of the plastic tabs with the side of the hole that has a bit of a burr, then push up firmly until I hear a "click".

[ekbruster]

So, I did a bit of a modified fix, rather than put images here, I documented an instructable on how to fix it. Link can be found here, basically used a piece of flat-stock behind the vent and tightened it down with a bolt: https://www.instructables.com/Airstr...ling-Vent-Fix/

[Bobbo]

Originally Posted by ekbruster

So, I did a bit of a modified fix, rather than put images here, I documented an instructable on how to fix it. Link can be found here, basically used a piece of flat-stock behind the vent and tightened it down with a bolt: https://www.instructables.com/Airstr...ling-Vent-Fix/

Link doesn't work.

[ekbruster]

Sorry not sure why it changed. https://www.instructables.com/Airstr...ling-Vent-Fix/