AIR GEAR Compartment Lock Upgrade

I have seen several youtube videos about Airfrafters erPOD installations and variants on the ceiling outlets for the air conditioning / heat pump registers in Airstreams. The videos were informative and it seems like folks like them as you can direct the air stream to where you want. This all sounds good and they look cool but has anyone performed a test to see if the erPODs actually cool down the whole Airstream faster? I don’t mean air blowing in your face but change in the temperature throughout the Airstream cooling or heating faster. The reason I ask is that I replaced the stock AS with a simple fixed louvered vents in our 23-FBT Globetrotter which has six air/HP ceiling registers. The stock AS vents, in my opinion, have poor airflow as more than 50-percent of the opening is blocked by the dampening louvers. The replacement registered I used have an 85-percent unobstructed opening area, a 70-percent increase over the stock registers. I performed an air flow tests before and after replacement. I measured the velocity of airflow out of each vent and found that the velocity of airflow decreased with the new vents but the unobstructed open area was greater. Taking the velocity and available open vent area, I calculated the airflow in cubic-feet per minute (CFM) for the six registers. My analysis showed that the stock vents had a total airflow of about 195.3 CFM while the replacement vents had an airflow of 305.2 CFM, about a 60-percent increase in airflow. So, my logic is that more airflow means that our AS will cool, or heat, faster. Which is what you want, right? You might consider making a vent similar to my DIY project that is easy to install, looks great, and has better airflow than OEM or erPODs. Just an idea. Allan Tilton

Added the upgraded latches for security. Very attractive and appear to be well made and high quality. When installing, the adjustments for door tightness when latched and for latching stiffness ( 2 different adjustments on each latch bolt) are quite critical for the latch to operate and close smoothly and properly. In my closeup of the latch, the top 2 nuts adjust the depth of the latch arm against the back of the storage opening and how tightly the door is secured. The bottom nut adjusts so that the latch bolt is held straight when latched… if too loose the latch will not close correctly on the outside, if too tight the latch will be difficult to flip down and up. Once these adjustments were made to each latch, they opened and closed as smoothly as the stock latches. Unfortunately not much help with this with the instructions. Simply a matter of trial and error and comparing the old latch depth to the new ones.

Not easy to install and to get the latches to lay flat. Even with tightening the bolt completely as directed the latch doesn't lay flat.