Met a full-time couple with a '16RL that are having ac problems. I helped him to insure the gasket was in place up top & tried to scope the return air ducts, but could only get about 18" from inside & only a couple inches from up top. We checked the collars on the out put vents & he was going to trim or remove them. With unit on top opened up he said that was the best they had ever worked with good air flow, but once closed reduced air flow. My conclusion was, as Rob found in his, that they didn't have enough return flow?? Anything else that might be checked? Supposed to be over 100 degrees tomorrow.

Pull the vent out and use your cell phone to take a picture. That's how I found mine.

AND YES...There is a 99.9% chance (like the rest of us found) that the return ducts are blocked off. The choice is to cut in new additional ducts next to the cross overs and remove the excess (be careful. You could cause additional leakage).

Update;
The fellow RWer took the collars off all of the outlet vents, duct taped the duct to ceiling & replaced the vents & said that there was a 110% improvement in air flow. The last 2 days it's been just over 100 degrees with no wind, damn hot, & he said his ac kept it comfortable. BTW, his RL is the black & silver with the refrigerator side facing straight west, so it takes a lot to keep it cool anyway.

Danny ,

Do you happen to know if those vents just pull out ? or twist off ?
I have a slight whistle coming from 1 and want to take a look see , but can't seem to get the darn thing off ??

The louver "snaps" in and out. There is a back-plate behind the louver and it has 4 small screws that are secured into the paneling ceiling. BE CAREFUL! The good news is that if you pull the flimsy, light-weight screws out of the ceiling, you can rotate the the back-plate and start new screw holes. But, pull too hard on the flimsy ceiling and you may get more than you bargain for.

You may want to review this as it may help you with your issue:

Thanks . . . I just want to peek in there.. we picked up our RW last July and took it the following week to the Keys with NO AC issues... jut want a look see in there...

The collars twist off of the louvers. The outer solid band on the vent snaps off, I used a table knife to carefully snap it off, revealing 4 small screws. The problem is the collars are 1/2" tall sticking into a 2" duct which leaves 1/4-1/2" for air to flow up & over the collar limiting the air flow.

Well said. I cut my collars off to increase the flow rate. It doubled the output.

so , do I first twist off the outer plate... or remove the louvers??

I am better at DEMO , and am afraid to force anything...

snap off the outer band - -remove 4 screws - - ??

Snap the outer band with a butter knife first, remove the screws, either remove the collar or cut it down, close the gap between the duct & ceiling somehow (duct tape the 2 together with just enough not to show), & put it back together.

Thought I might post some additional pictures that show the disassembly of the front cover. They snap on but they are tight to get off:

They are tight, I cracked one of them removing it 🙂

Got a couple of mine off today, without cracking any :cheer:

Pulled the collars out and took a look see.... Everything looks to be in order, no sign of any possible issues, and the collars are only about 1/2" longer than the depth of the ceiling .. So it looks like I am good..

I checked because of all the issues folks were having , I have not experienced any issues cooling ( YET ) , but had some free time after waxing the RW today..

Waxing the Redwood, just reading that made my joints hurt 🙂

Oh they hurt alright !! But I am about 8 weeks behind on everything I need to get done, so I am on overtime here.... But look at the reflection.... Makes it all worth it