Creaks, Squeaks, and Rattles
Having caravanned for 20 years, it may well be that our vans creaked and rattled when on the move, but of course not travelling in them, we never heard it.
Now with our first motorhome, albeit only a couple years old, and low mileage, we have been astonished at how noisy it is when travelling.
Not what we have put in it, but the furniture, microwave, Remis blinds etc, etc
I have been going around putting sticky backed plastic pads on door, and draw shuts, tightening screws, and wedging bits of foam rubber into joints that I think are squeaking, etc, but it seems to be an impossible task.
Are all motorhomes inherently noisy, and if so do you drive with ear plugs in? 
Its a real pleasure to get into the silence of the car.
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Our Bessacarr was rather noisy but both AS MHs haven’t been too bad and it’s mainly the contents that rattled. Careful packing has eliminated most of it and tricks like placing the tea towel over the hob to stop the glass lid rattling help. Clothes pegs to keep the oven shelves in place and packing the grill pan and m/wave turntable away all have their place in the great silencing plan.
You're on the right track, Dave, with plastic or felt pads and it’s very much trial and error. I’d be a little concerned and keep a close watch if I thought the actual furniture was groaning and in danger of moving.
Remis cab blinds are often noisy but sometimes adding tension to the cables can help. Maybe just stuffing a bit of kitchen paper behind the cable will help - it did for me.
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Its a Bessacarr High-Style 412. 6m length.
Nicely appointed, and comfortable when not on the move
The 2.3L Ducato 130, is respectably quiet at cruising speed, and on a rare section of smooth Tarmac the creaks and rattles subside quite considerably, but on our "normal" road surfaces, everything behind gets very noisy.
BTW, going by your 'user name' I take you are into SCUBA. I spent several years diving (BSAC), and many times in Dorset. Is Ron Parry's dive shack still at the Portland end of Chesil Beach?
Too old now
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I don't think the furniture is moving at all, and I guess its more case of flexing
It did get my son to ride in the back, to try and identify the clatter, but he said it seemed to be coming from everywhere. (lol)
I'm hoping that now I have dropped the tyre pressures down from 80psi, to Continental's recommended pressures, that it might help matters.
As it was, with 80psi all round, it was a real 'bone shaker'
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It’s true that rattles are worse on poor road surfaces, Dave. The better the road, the quieter the van.
Our Bessacarr was a 795 of 2007 vintage. Comfortable with all mod cons but poorly put together.
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"Re the rattles have had had your van weighed in fighting trim? If so have you contacted your tyre manufacturer and obtained their recommended tyre pressures? It could make all the difference."
Yes I have. See my 'thread' on tyre pressures.
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Dave, like DD we also have a Carthago and batting along French highways, it seems pretty 'silent' at close to 70mph, with quiet chatting easy...
yes, I know their roads are in a different league and back home things are a bit different....but as DD says, changing those pressures 'should' help quite a lot...
forgetting the cooker/pots/pans rattles, whats difficult is identifying where your other 'squeaks' are coming from, even with a 'detective' on board...
however, there is a lot to be said for the varying fixing methods used to build cabinets and enclosures....
our old Boleros (we had two) were just screwed together...edge to edge, whereas on this van all joints are 'biscuit jointed, glued/bonded and then screwed together'...
i wanted to remove a panel in the rear garage to make a small modification......it had the usual 'angled screws' and after removing these I thought the panel would ease out.....
no.....I called the dealer who then told me what else held all panels....
i decided not to bother....and worked around it another way...
we have no 'edge to edge' creaking and groaning and I'm sure the construction technique has everything to do with this....
also, all the furniture is totally self supporting, being fully assembled prior to the sidewalls being added.....these provide no structural support to the furniture.
noise in a vehicle can drive one mad, especially as tours can be quite extensive....
ypu need to be patient and hope the detective can contine to help you detect.
welcome to motorhoming.....
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Squeaks :- may be from a cause that can be found and dealt with.
Rattles :- Likely to be able to be suppressed by packing techniques especially the classic coming from the galley area and/or the grill-pan.
Creaks are a different matter altogether and arise from the nature of the construction of a coachbuilt or A class whereby the sides roof and rear panels are thin and relatively flimsy and are glued onto the structure in a mechanised process which takes minutes.
My solution :-buy a vehicle with a body structure designed to be robust and rigid. Its called a panel van and the resultant motor caravan to give it its Sunday name is a panel van conversion
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Ultimately all LV's of whatever flavour are big boxes given to echoes that magnify any sound. They are never going to provide the degree of sophisticated comfort available in a car. We are, after all, driving a "van". An easy solution is just to turn the radio up a bit more.
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I’m not sure I completely agree with that, CY. Yes, they are commercial vehicles but MHs are insulated and sound does not echo around as it would in a bare panel van. Coachbuilts are definitely boxier and more prone to being noisy than PVCs, as BVM has detailed.
As for comfort, although we all have different ideas of what is comfortable, commercial vehicle seats are designed to withstand more use than those in, say, an uncomfortable town car. There’s cab air con and heating and all you might find in a car except a vanity mirror😂😂😂
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CY you are right about the comparative sophistication levels of cars especially newer ones. I keep my cars for about 6 years but have recently changed and the advances in that short time are acoustically splendid not to mention the engine performance which surpasses the once holy grail territory of 100bhp per litre.
So we should indeed tailor our expectations to respect the "delivery van" heritage of our LVs.
BUT
1. Delivery vans are designed to cope with annual mileages of 100k per annum and/or stop start urban deliveries all day every day so are built to be robust and
2. It is possible to built a LV which has no conversion noise (but does have higher engine, transmission and road noise than a car). I have one. It is also the case that the van manufacturers have made efforts to make the van more car like, for example by improving the sound insulation under the bonnet.
(drafted before but not "clicked" until after Tinwheelers post above !)
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A car and a commercial vehicle which is what most RV's are based on can't really be compared in terms of Noise Vibration and Harshness. as they are different animals. Body creaks are down to the conversion construction and rattles generally from build and contents.
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What was that old song? Oh yeah, 'Shake, rattle and roll'.
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I think that most of mine that may not have been there when the vehicle left the factory, were created by the previous owner having driven it around for two years, and 6000 miles, with 80psi all round tyre pressures. As I said earlier, it was a real 'bone shaker'. At those excessive pressures, it's wonder it didn't shake itself to bits.
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In our MH we found it was the microwave and the oven that made the most noise. This was resolved buy putting a couple of wedges under the microwave and a bit of kitchen towel in the door before closing. The oven was just as easy by using a bit of soft matting (that you line shelves with) under the sides of the oven shelf. The grill pan I made a small cloth bag for, this held the wire grill, handle and tray.
The remis blinds in the cab needed a small piece of cardboard wedged under the outer casing. After these measures were made we could ignore the rest of the little noises and could hold a conversation without shouting.
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We completely emptied our van and drove it on the local road which are a good example of poor maintenance. Our van only rattled etc in the usual place of oven and hob. We decided that all the other rattles etc were caused by the way we pack the van.
Changing the tyres pressures can help but the wheelbase and suspension also play a part; the latter can be improved. Whether it is worth the cost is another matter.
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lightly loaded vans and 80psi all round will exacerbate any 'noises'.
agree, a good idea to empty van to identify 'inherent' noise, but pressures must be reduced to a sensible level to enable the process to be carried out sensibly.
if fully successful, move on to more loading, more checking with slightly more pressure (again, representative of actual testing weight).
finally. should arrive with all kit loaded, all noises identified (and fixed) and correct pressures in tyres....
its not a five minute job....needs patience, a good co pilot etc.....
or a Dethleffs (or similar)
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"or a Dethleffs (or similar)wink"
Not sure Dethleffs or similar is a panacea.
Our 2003 Dethleffs Bus was pretty good with an Alko Chassis but our 2006 Hymer Van creaked and groaned like an arthritic pensioner
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Does the fact that I am one excuse my behaviour
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you obviously missed what I meant by 'similar'.....but better
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We traded in our Murvi last year for a brand new German coach built as we wanted a fixed bed. The rattles are a big shock to us. The Murvi was so solidly built and silent on the road. This new model cannot compare - and not on a good way. We're now seriously thinking of cutting our losses and changing back. And it's not just rattles that disappoint.....supposed to be fabulous German quality. Let's just say I can't wait until this year's NEC show to speak to someone from the company.
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Have you tried to silence the rattles? I’m afraid a coachbuilt will always have more than a PVC.
PS. How did you change your user name? You were JacMcD just now.🤔
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