Reducing rattles and creaks

Packfan · 02-23-2021, 08:54 AM

Just bought a Vista 27PE. Coming out of a travel trailer, one of the first things we noticed was all the noise in the cab when driving.

We are trying to track down all the sources, but some appear to be in the structure itself. A few things we have tried include:

Added a slide lock on the front of the kitchen slide
Lubricating the joints on the jackknife couch
Adding velcro to the MCD shades to keep them from swinging when closed.
Padding all the contents of the cabinets and drawers

Are there any other ideas or things you have done?

Thanks!

sundog964 · 02-23-2021, 09:01 AM

We found that there were a couple of areas that needed adjustment. The front windshield blind had a few screws that were a bit loose, and a horrible rattle from that was solved by readjusting all the screws and retightening. Also the microwave was squeaking, and that required another readjustment.

We put little felt adhesive dots on the blinds to keep them from rattling. So you have done that with the velcro.

Morich · 02-23-2021, 09:21 AM

Chasing noises is almost part of the game in motorhomes as flexing is almost certain. Keep in mind that flexing is part of the design, something like the wings on airplanes.
Have you noticed how wings are made to flex to avoid breaking and they droop before takeoff?

wyocamper · 02-23-2021, 06:59 PM

Wrapping the door latch with 2-3 turns of 1" Gorilla tape eliminated a major source of squeaks on ours.

**creativepart** · 02-23-2021, 07:05 PM

I put clear silicone on the screen door lower panels joints. Those solid metal panels are loose fitted and rattle like a snare drum. I just put a bead of silicone between the door structures and the panel junction.

Another place on my motor home is the Rest Easy Sofa foot rests. They rattle quite a bit. I've tried adjusting the wheels they ride on to support the foot rests from moving in travel.

Packfan · 02-23-2021, 10:43 PM

Thanks all.

Has anyone else had a loud squeaking noise coming from the kitchen/table slide right behind the driver?

I dressed all the seals with Aerospace 303 and tried to lubricate the slide mechanism with Boeshield. The slide lock was also not effective at eliminating this noise.

Is there anything else to try? I read where baby/talcum powder on the seals works. I may also need to do a better job lubricating the slide mechanism. Does anyone have any instructions for doing this? Everything is sealed underneath so I just hit the gear tracks on the sides.

Pisgah LJ · 02-24-2021, 05:56 AM

Our door rattled and squeaked horribly. Adjusted the latch bolt and that took out the majority of the noise. Still have some others to chase down.

**ThomB** · 02-24-2021, 06:05 AM

We found a lot of those rattles and squeeks went away when we switched out the shocks. (Koni FSD's). I wasn't a fan of them after using them on a car in the past, but they helped greatly to reduce the jarring the interior of the house was getting from not having rebound in the shocks.

kmessinger · 02-24-2021, 10:53 AM

I just turn my hearing aids off. Quick, cheap fix.

Wyatt · 02-25-2021, 08:16 PM

Stove top was a major rattle for me. Put some felt high temperature BBQ grill tape under the stove top edges, which made that go away. I use silicon on every other steak I find.

bigb · 02-28-2021, 04:38 PM

I have a Via but fixed a lot of rattles. Had many in the cab which I fixed with Dynamat and foam, took the whole dash apart and put the mat under the thin plastic and removed all the pillars and added mat to those as well. Wrapped a loose module in foam and put some more behind the stereo where the plugs and connectors are just laying loose. The cooktop also rattled, I removed it and re-installed it with a new double adhesive seal and ordered new burner grommets. On the outside I found the front nose separated from the lower brackets which I re-attached with 3M 5200 and the wheel liners were loose. The ECM rattled in it's holder so I added some rubber grommets for that. The driver's door whistled and rattled going over bumps till I slipped some latex tubing inside the seal all the way around which firmed it up and stopped all noise. It's getting fairly quiet now but being what it is it'll never be completely quiet.

wyocamper · 02-28-2021, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Packfan

Thanks all.

Has anyone else had a loud squeaking noise coming from the kitchen/table slide right behind the driver?

Yeah, I have a squeak from that side of the slide, right behind the driver seat. One of these days when the DW is driving I really need to try and track that down. It's mostly an issue when we're driving on washboarded dirt roads, but there are so many competing squeaks and rattles that I can easily tune it out. Haven't really noticed it on the highway, at least that I can remember right now.

jarnarcos · 02-28-2021, 09:27 PM

The slides have a rubber gasket on the outside. When the slide is in, the gasket keeps the hard parts of the slide from directly touching the outside of the coach. Ours was missing the gasket.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

First couple of trips sounded like all kinds of banging and rattling right behind the driver's seat. Slide lock sort of fixed it by snugging the slide against the coach it but the real fix was replacing the gasket...and now we no longer need the slide lock. Also got rid of the metal stove cover....now have a cutting board that sits on top of the burners. Added little blocks of wood that engages with the burner grills so it doesn't move around. Good luck tracing all the noises down...but its very rewarding when you get them nailed down.

jA
2011 Vista 26P

NYer · 02-28-2021, 11:06 PM

We have a Sunstar 27p. Rattles galore. The one that drove me crazy was the banging behind my head while driving. A guy on the Winnebago owners FB page suggested tennis balls between the bunk bed and the front wall and the bed and rear sliding mechanism. That got rid of that noise. Screen door rattles against the door frame. Foam pads on the screen door worked. Utensils rattle. Wrap them in kitchen towels. Velcroed the blinds. Put pipe insulation under the sink frame to keep the pull down hose weight from banging. Only 5-6 more to find.

NYer · 02-28-2021, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyocamper

Wrapping the door latch with 2-3 turns of 1" Gorilla tape eliminated a major source of squeaks on ours.

I’ve done that too.

alamon · 03-01-2021, 07:03 AM

I just quit trying. My suggestion- turn the radio up

blues46 · 03-01-2021, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmessinger

I just turn my hearing aids off. Quick, cheap fix.

+1, Great Idea!

Packfan · 03-01-2021, 08:47 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I fixed the slide squeak by thoroughly lubricating the slide motor/mechanism. I found that my Vista has Lippert Slimrack slides. They are similar to the Lippert Scwintek system, but have floating tracks instead of those secured to the slide wall. Lippert has a good video on how to properly perform the lubrication. It worked.

I now have a new squeak coming from the Euro drop down bunk track on the drivers side. Lubricant did not do the trick, so I will move to other actions such as insulating it as recommended above.

Turning up the stereo may be easier though!

**macnut** · 03-01-2021, 10:15 PM

Please post the link on how to lubricate them, if possible.
Thanks!

SmilingSimon · 03-06-2021, 08:47 PM

Earplugs !!!

Just turn up the music/audio as loud enuf to hear it well and DRIVE down the road singing as if no one will hear - and no one will WANT to listen !!

Yep good -33db earplugs do a wonder to reduce the annoying sounds of a mh or vehicle - new or old - have used them for 40+yrs and YES you can hear emergency vehicles - but keep eyes open !!

but if not mentioned, any gasket squeak can be reduced/gone by spraying LOTS of silicon spray on them, use on my truck and mh - it does help.

GL !