My Nemesis: rattles and squeaks

I have to admit something here, rattles and squeaks seem to be inherent in motorhomes but they are my Nemesis and after a while, they are actually painful.  I have worked really diligently to track 'em down and have made some progress...

Do rattles and squeaks bother anyone else?  Probably not as much as me but how do you find 'em and fix 'em?  The "rattles and squeaks" stories will be read, by me, very carefully.  Thanks, G.

My worst one was the loose metal filters in the microwave oven. They were located top center. Had to dismount the oven to access the screw (hidden on TOP of the oven). Took over a year to find.

Currently being bothered by a squeak in the passenger side of the dash on cold mornings. Extra hard to deal with as a solo RVer.

Rattles and squeaks are going to happen.  As the coach gets older, things shift around and start rubbing and they aren't always easy to locate.  Unless it's something obvious, like dishes or pots and pans, that can be stopped easily, I just don't worry about them any more.  Sometimes they just go away by themselves as things move further.  What bothers me more is finding a screw or nut on the floor and no idea where it came from

We are pretty much like Ned - we fix the easy/obvious ones and ignore most of the small stuff. We do have a rattle in the entry door that we have tried to fix several times without success, though.

Our previous coach had some very irritating squeaks in the dashboard that were only partially resolved. The real fix was to get another coach - our American Tradition is much more solidly built - and quieter - than the previous Dolphin LX.

taoshum said:

Do rattles and squeaks bother anyone else?  Probably not as much as me but how do you find 'em and fix 'em?  The "rattles and squeaks" stories will be read, by me, very carefully.  Thanks, G.

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One of the reasons my parents have a 5th wheel instead of a motorhome is because squeeks and rattles drive my father NUTS ! If they had a motorhome, he'd be wandering all over the coach looking for the noises while Mom drove it down the road.

Wendy

When my other half drives down the road, she's not sure if the rattles and squeaks are from the coach or from me 

You're supposed to close the door to the "reading room" when your wife is within earshot, Tom! LOL!

Wendy said:

One of the reasons my parents have a 5th wheel instead of a motorhome is because squeeks and rattles drive my father NUTS ! If they had a motorhome, he'd be wan dering all over the coach looking for the noises while Mom drove it down the road.
Wendy

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It would be expensive to switch but you may have, with that single sentence, hit the proverbial nail on the head.  I would miss the Jeep we tow but not the rattles and squeaks... thanks.  We thought long and hard about the trailer option vs the MH option but squeaks and rattles were never a consideration until now.

The worst rattle I had was form the screen door. The panel in the very bottom was just loose enough to drive me bonkers. A bead of silicone around the frame shut that bad boy up.

Having a C, I have had a squeak from the seam between the cab and coach for several years now. From the drivers seat, it seems to come from directly behind my left ear. I pulled the trim of the wall, and pried the cover panel back, then removed each  lag bolt one at a time looking for ANYTHING that could possibly indicate a source. Nothing found.
I started looking down the wall farther, and think there may be a broken screw below the floor. Trouble is, that the generator is right in the way and must be removed to access that part of the wall. I found that I can make is better by jamming a piece of rubber between the coach and cab near the base of the door.

I also had a rattling vent flap for the stove. The outside flap was held in place(closed) with only one tab (original design) and was exactly where turbulence from the front at highway speeds seems to vortex. I had a small piece of foam to hold the flap down until I finally replaced the hood for a better design. As a side note, I found that the old hood was the culprit for the water leak that caused the delamination I now have.

Besides that, a few felt bumpers applied on the cupboard doors and I ride fairly quiet.

My most useful tool was having the better half drive while I roamed around with a notebook and noted where sounds came from.

Joe

There is a perfect tool for fixing rattles and squeeks. Its called a voulme control.

In other words, turn up the radio, the squeeks seem to disappear

;D

It's amazing what a bungee cord can do to stop a screen door rattle.. Been there...done that.


carson FL

Wizard46 said:

There is a perfect tool for fixing rattles and squeeks. Its called a voulme control.
In other words, turn up the radio, the squeeks seem to disappear
;D

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I tried that, it helps, a little bit.  I just bought some "noise cancelling" ear phones that I can plug into the radio which might help.  I'm worried that I won't hear the sounds that I need to hear though, like ambulance sirens or someone honking at me because I did something wrong...

carson said:

It's amazing what a bungee cord can do to stop a screen door rattle.. Been there...done that.carson FL

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I use bungees for lots of stuff and I even invented one using "velcro" that works really well... if I can find the rattle or squeak...  The latest squeak was the vertical cabinet material behind the sink was moving against the kitchen counter (corian?) and it was so loud that I thougt my second grade teacher was scrapping her fingernails across the blackboard again.  I couldn't believe it.  Glue, screws and doubler trim to fix that baby.