Rattle, rattle !!

[wesaaron]

Got away for the first time in our motorhome up Scotland this last week (had a caravan before) and had a great time however we had to stuff cloths, towels and foam rubber in every door, drawer and round oven but still got deafened with rattling and squeaking from everywhere, are all motorhomes like this? ours is an Auto Trail only done 12,000 miles.

 

[yorkslass]

Ours is.

It drives the oh made but i just switch off.

Don't have rattles in the grill, i wrap the trivet in an old t towel. Other than that, i carry so much crap that it must deaden some of the noise.

 

[RichardHelen262]

Got away for the first time in our motorhome up Scotland this last week (had a caravan before) and had a great time however we had to stuff cloths, towels and foam rubber in every door, drawer and round oven but still got deafened with rattling and squeaking from everywhere, are all motorhomes like this? ours is an Auto Trail only done 12,000 miles.

No we just shove things in the cupboards willy nilly and don’t have any rattles except occasionally the cooker door rattles on really bad roads

 

[wesaaron]

Until you get the knack of padding stuff where needed, you will get rattles. However it should be fairly easy to sort them all out, with one proviso: you must get the tyre pressures correct.

The makers usually advise far too high pressures. You MUST load the van up fully and then get the axles weighed separately, then calculate the correct pressures for each tyre.

The ludicrous 80psi that some people use, or even 65psi, is almost certainly too high. Getting it right makes the ride much, much smoother and less rattly. But you should not under-inflate: that's why you need to weigh your van fully loaded, not depend on published weights.

Will try some lower pressures as I think the rear tyres are around 80 psi at the moment

 

[Wully]

You can buy small circular felt pads that stick on cubourds and the like you can get them in Velcro as well if you’re vans a twin rear axil transit i truly simpathise with you when you quieten down all the cupboards cookers And ovens the rear diff will drive you insane I used to think there was a one man band hiding in the wardrobe.

 

[Minisorella]

Got away for the first time in our motorhome up Scotland this last week (had a caravan before) and had a great time however we had to stuff cloths, towels and foam rubber in every door, drawer and round oven but still got deafened with rattling and squeaking from everywhere, are all motorhomes like this? ours is an Auto Trail only done 12,000 miles.

Yes! Took me ages to track down all the annoying rattles that were fixable and there are still plenty that aren't. These days I just turn the radio up louder :rolleyes2:

 

[CarlandHels]

You can buy small circular felt pads that stick on cubourds and the like you can get them in Velcro as well if you’re vans a twin rear axil transit i truly simpathise with you when you quieten down all the cupboards cookers And ovens the rear diff will drive you insane I used to think there was a one man band hiding in the wardrobe.

Our twin wheel Transit is quiet on the rear axle, to be fair the only times it does my nut in is when we drive on the concrete sections on the A1. Oh and those annoying rumble strips they seem to put in random places, now they make everything rattle and bang, even me teeth and they're me own!

 

[Pauljenny]

Bubble wrap.
Non slip matting
Even the sachets of ketchup, mustard or mayo.
All good rattle stoppers.

 

[Tezza33]

I can't hear anything apart from Maggy who rattles away all the time:king:

 

[Nabsim]

Ha ha Tezza, being a bit deaf does help

Non slip matting for cupboards has solved a lot for us plus we always remove grill pan and stuff it under the duvet or the rattle would drive me nuts.

Concrete roads should have all been done away with, may be cheap and long lasting but noise is terrible

 

[QFour]

We had the same problem with a Swift. Being newbies then I asked the Dealer about tire pressures only to be told that they were correct and to manufacturers pressures.

I then read all about getting it weighed and reducing tyre pressures accordingly and boy what a difference.

Seems to be the front that is most effective as the back carries all the weight.

If it’s fully loaded with all water, full tank of diesel, wife, dog and all you normally haul round with you then you can also check if you are overweight.

..

 

[wildebus]

I understand that the coachbuilt motorhomes tend to rattle and creak far more than a Panel Van MH conversion (putting rattling plates, etc aside of course). Is that the case in reality?

 

[wildebus]

Ref ratrles. When I had a SMEV glass-topped hob in my T5 conversion I found the pan support rattled against the glass at the top and rattled against the steel base at the bottom.

Laid the kitchen cloths on top to stop that rattle; And at the bottom I put little sections of electrical heatshrink on each leg to provide a barrier. This can be left on all the time as well. No more rattles.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

To be fair, our old auto-sleeper (coach built) doesn't rattle very much at all when driving.

Is it because I'm good at packing stuff away? Hmm. Not so sure that's entirely the case...

... or is it because a lot of the fixtures are made of old-fashioned solid materials like steel & wood with very little made from plastic??

 

[Borders2]

When we did the test drive on Wednesday the oven rattle made Julie and I look at each other and nod... that needs sorting before travelling another few miles.

Bit of an art really sorting the rattles and some very good tips esp the tyre pressures.

B2

 

[Obanboy666]

I understand that the coachbuilt motorhomes tend to rattle and creak far more than a Panel Van MH conversion (putting rattling plates, etc aside of course). Is that the case in reality?

I went from a Swift C class to a Devon Tempest pvc and the difference was dramatic, far fewer creaks and rattles.
I’m looking to buy a new / nearly new Hymer A or C class in the near future, speaking to a few Hymer owners they reckon there is far less rattles and creaks than British made motorhomes. It will be interesting to see if this is the case.

 

[Borders2]

FWIW having looked at a few vehicles over the last month some hundreds really there is a massive difference in build quality between brands. Some interiors are so flimsy we wondered if they were actually stage sets they wobbled so much.

B2

 

[Robmac]

I understand that the coachbuilt motorhomes tend to rattle and creak far more than a Panel Van MH conversion (putting rattling plates, etc aside of course). Is that the case in reality?

Having owned a coachbuilt and now a panel van conversion I would agree that it is definitely the case.

 

[wildebus]

Now ... Funny how most responses go one way, and hairydog goes the other.

Surprised? Moi? :lol-053:

 

[Canalsman]

I understand that the coachbuilt motorhomes tend to rattle and creak far more than a Panel Van MH conversion (putting rattling plates, etc aside of course). Is that the case in reality?

Yes ...

I have learned to ignore it.

My next vehicle is likely to be a van conversion and I will find out for myself.

I have my eye on an Auto Sleeper Kingham.

Anyone got one?