2022 Airstream Caravel AC Rattle and subsequent fix

[bpg]

Hello Air forums Community Members,

Long time user of Air forums and first time poster here. I have been using Air forums for the past 2 years when I decided to purchase an Airstream Travel Trailer on which trailer to buy, what accessories I need and during the time when I did a slight power systems upgrade by adding solar panels on the roof. Thank you so much for the wealth of info provided here.

Coming to the point, I have a 2022 Airstream Caravel travel trailer and on one of the camping trips that we had this summer, I noticed the AC is making a sound which it is not supposed to make. I recorded the sound and promptly turned off the AC and sent it to my dealer and scheduled a service appointment, which happened on 9/22/2022. As per tech notes that I got from dealer problem is stated as the following:

"Mounting bolt backed out of housing causing fan mount to twist and fan to drop and bind on side of housing"

Resolution Notes:

"Obtained roof access, removed shroud and added blue Loctite to mounting bolts. Re-aligned a/c fan and mounted in place. Reset front mount nut and rubber busing and realigned, added loctite. Installed shroud and ran a/c to test operation"

I feel attaching mounting bolts to frame using loctite is a stop gap solution and I am afraid this is going to happen again. When I researched here in Air forums, there are threads where a/c came loose and fell down for newer Airstreams also. I truly feel, this should be properly addressed by a recall in proper manner than using glue to stick such a big a/c to frame. Moreover when I turned on the AC, I am getting some black particles from vents which indicates that some sort of damage happened to AC unit which I think should be addressed by Airstream.

I expressed my concerns to the dealer. At the same time I also want to check with experts here and validate my concerns. Are my concerns valid or am I thinking too much.

Please let me know. Thank you!!

-Bhanu.

[bobzdar]

Depending on how it's bolted and which loctite is used, it could be anywhere from a temporary fix to requiring a blow torch or cutting wheel to ever get out again...The black stuff is probably some loose insulation from the repair, agree it should have been cleaned up but doubtful it's anything worth worrying about.

[Saluda372]

Had heard a few were not properly tightened at factory, happened to us also but caught early enough that there was no damage. I"d think you're OK for what that's worth.

[swat2]

My 2022 GT 27FBT is in the shop now for this very thing. When we pulled up to our most recent CG, turned on the rear AC and immediately got a knocking and fan cage rubbing/squealing noise. Took it to Airstream of DFW for repair. The shop chief told me that it seems like they're fixing this issue daily. That's what I gathered from reading the forums too. Seems like an Airstream mfg QC issue that needs to get fixed!

[FredWilma]

+1 for the same issue on a 2021 Caravel. It happened to me on a balmy 105F day in North Texas a couple of weeks ago, forcing me on to the baking hot roof to fix it myself. One bolt had fallen out, the second was loose. Access was very difficult but managed to get the bolts back in. I would recommend anyone with a newer airstream to get these checked at next service. Believe me you don’t want to mess with this on the road.

[Wazbro]

It's not bolts holding AC onto the roof, it's bolts inside AC holding fan in place, not any bolts Airstream should have any reason to touch ever. A factory defect from the manufacturer of the AC. It does effect Airstream and all other RV manufacturers reputations.

[bpg]

Thank you all for your chimes. I raised a support ticket with Airstream and they are saying what @Wazbro said.

"Bolt that was fixed are only for the motor to be mounted to the A/C. We have addressed the issue with A/C manufacturer and it has been resolved."

They mentioned there won't be a recall for this and to reach out to Dometic for a quicker fix as most Airstream dealers are fully booked for months ahead.

[Coloradobus]

We recently bought 4 new Penguins II a/c units, and one had the rattling rubbing issue. Since we “self-installed” we dealt with issue ourselves and called outfit we ordered inuts from of our issue