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I'm persnickety about anything that rattles.


Noody

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Is it just me ?

 

At eight years old in motorhoming terms I don't regard my views as expert though I do have some expertise, she I bought this van it rattled, I worked on those rattles for the eight years I had and as I put the bathroom back together I find more things that rattle.

 

This is my view, if it rattles it's either loose or I'll-fitting and will eventually fall off. Every rattle I cured is down to poor installation because mostly of lightweight materials put together like flat-pack furniture with no respect for the limitations of the lightweight material.

 

I just replaced the shower cubical, for the second time. First time I took it out because it was flapping about. This Remis cubical is up too the job but wasn't installed properly. Second time out and in-again gave me the opportunity to resolve a few more rattled then I stood looking proud of work but it still F-ing rattles. Handles on either side of the door flap about, they didn't need to articulate through 180 degrees so I glued the bastards in a suitable position.

 

I think motorhome builders are caravanersnat heart.

 

If you have the tenacity to listen I could go on and on about rattles, the van is getting very quiet though I figure it could take ten years.

 

I won't give up.

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When I drive a quiet car with one little squeak or rattle it drives me (further) round the bend >:-)

But when I drive my van with a hundred squeaks and rattles I don't noti9ce them :D

So you just need to make a few more things squeak and rattle again ;-)

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I saw the title of this thread, "I'm persnickety about anything that rattles" and my first thought was... why on Earth are you driving a motorhome (lol)

 

If I were to start now, fixing everything that made a noise, I'd still be doing it in twenty years time 8-)

 

Mine makes sooooo much noise I can't even turn the radio on as you simply can't hear it!

 

My solution? I just shout louder at my copilot while driving :D

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My previous smaller vans didn't rattle much at all. When I bought a brand new larger PVC, I was shocked how much it rattled. Having been professionally constructed, I assumed that it would be almost silent. I'm now used to it, and think the answer is to ignore it. With so many things shoved into cupboards to utilize the space, plastic windows, a larger body flexing, and other issues, it would drive you barmy trying to fix it. The whole premise of motorhoming for me is to have a relaxing time. It does seem to me that you have chosen the wrong hobby!

 

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I'm with you all the way on rattles. Spent hours trying with little success. Started with coach built, American ( that one was pretty good) A class, coach built again and now an amazingly quiet PVC !!!!

It's the Malibu. Incredible. NO RATTLES and only 1 squeak from the Mosquito bind to the side sliding door. Took the wife all of 2 mins to rectify that. We've covered 3500 miles since we purchased it in September.

Well done Carthago.

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flicka - 2016-10-25 8:06 PM

 

So as Noody's Burstner Elegance still has rattles after 10 years, still not resolved & having had to refit the shower twice, will this silence some of the German build quality brigade :-> :->

I already got my coat, lol

 

This is what I was coming too, when we finally decided to buy a van it had to be a Hymer or Burstner. Yes, because of the perceived quality. Whilst our Burstner has design quality and some nice touches with quality materials lack of forethought and poor installation is everywhere and I blame you lot.

 

Everyone I become aquatinted with that owns a motorhome is either apathetic to rattling or becomes apathetic yet the slightest creak in thier car and it's back to the dealer. Why is this ?

 

If it rattles, it's loose. If it's loose it's going to fail in some way.

 

This apathy to poorly fitting furniture and poorly installed furniture is so deep rooted that if a took a van back to the dealer because it rattles they would stare at you.

 

It doesn't have to rattle, I still have rattles after eight years because it takes time to identify each one when the whole lot are playing a tune though these days I'm top side of it.

 

The shower doesn't rattle, it had to come out because of other repairs and a camera fitting. What is now rattling is a bunch of 12 volt and 240 volt cables that are loose. Loose shelves in cupboards are ok in your house but not ok in a vehicle. Doors and drawers don't need to rattle and if everyone took thier van back to the dealer they would soon pass on the problem to the construction team.

 

Not all vans rattle.

 

As your van ages the screws holding everything together become rusted and loose because of the damp atmosphere, if you always kept a dehumidifier in your van this wouldn't happen so why not use stainless steel screws ? They are not expensive.

 

 

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My daily drive is an E class Merc for which I paid A$x. My motorhome is an Auto-trail for which I paid A$1.6x. The car had a rattle in the back window area and the dealer fell over backwards to ensure it was fixed at the first service and it was. My AT has lots of rattles and squeaks but I am assured that this is normal for a motorhome due to the light weight nature of the materials. ( other than the rattles & squeaks I am totally happy with my AT) so Mr Boeing uses "light weight materials" to build his planes but not too many rattles on the planes I have flown on. I agree with the view that the problem is that MH's build quality control needs to be lifted to the next level. It is not a country thing as the local industry here is no better than Europe. Having said all that I love the life of a wanderer and as I am deaf in one ear the squeaks & rattles are only half as load!! cheers,
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Geeco - 2016-10-26 8:40 AM

 

but I am assured that this is normal for a motorhome due to the light weight nature of the materials.

 

That is just a lot of nonsense and I'm sure you know it is, the point I'm trying to be helpful with is that its rattling its loose. Being deaf in one ear might be convenient for your sanity but things rubbing against each other and flapping about need fixing.

 

The lightweight materials the dealer refers to are a quality ply manufactured from lightweight woods like balsa, fixing and building from this lightweight material just needs common sense. In some cases it might be sensible to glue the screws into the hole or the reinforce the material before the screw goes in. Balsa (As an example) can be flooded with with superglue. Put the screw in, take it out, superglue in let it dry and put the screw back. ROCK SOLID.

 

My bathroom door was hanging off its hinges because the material couldn't hold the screws eight years ago. I used the above method and now the door is strong on its hinges. I could give you many examples of my proven remedial work but its already been pointed out that I need to be concise.

 

Shame really, i could be so helpful to many of you that don't have the skills. No help for those that can't be bothered though.

 

Have a look at your drawer bottoms, mine were stapled on with cheap nasty staples through thin, but quality ply. Nasty-German-workmanship though I do love this van.

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My bathroom door was hanging off its hinges because the material couldn't hold the screws eight years ago. I used the above method and now the door is strong on its hinges. I could give you many examples of my proven remedial work but its already been pointed out that I need to be concise

.

 

 

 

Rather more than a slight exaggeration here me thinks. Have you tried ear plugs ?

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No, I am not exaggerating and a lesson I learnt as a child was that if you ignore a problem it doesn't cease to exsist.

 

A loose shelf in a bathroom storage compartment took four screws after drilling four holes and less than thirty minutes including getting the tools out, vacuuming and putting the the tools back.

 

Much better than ear plugs.

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"Is it just me ? "

 

Noody,

 

You have answered your own question in one. The majority of M/H's are a ramshackle assembly of loose parts gathered together to form a suitable result with certain parts stylised to attract the customer.

 

The whole assembly sits on a flexible base and even when stationary it still moves.

 

The answer is to live with it best you can. Its doubtful it can be changed

 

Will

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Rest assured that it's not just you, Noody, as I'm the same regarding rattles and squeaks and spend many 'happy' hours eliminating them. I've no interest in travelling around in a box full of rattles. Most of it is fairly easy though anything manufactured by Remis, Seitz or Dometic is a challenge; I may have posted this before but I'm convinced that those companies build-in the rattles and squeaks and that any product that turns out not to have them is returned to their design teams to have them re-introduced by way of brittle and imcompatible plastics.

 

The current van has been a challenge due to a combination of rigid bodyshell and uncompliant rear suspension, but I've made it there in the end and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Thanks for that Steve.

 

I have often critisized thevRemis shower enclosure but it works well and is lightweight. The installer had no interest in a sound installation. Back panels which were designed to be stuck to the vans partition came adrift because they used either poor technique or poor adhesive. The crappy handle that rattled like mad were sorted with superglue into the hinge, the handles didn't need to hinge. It's just a way of opening the door.

 

The whole bathroom is now silent along with most of the structure and furniture. If it wasn't for the apathy of the average motorhome-er we wouldn't have these problems.

 

Regarding the naysayers, listen to this. If you think that a motorhome body should be dynamic and the internals dynamic along with it then that is all possible without rattles but you are wrong either way.

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Noody - 2016-10-26 1:58 PM

 

... If it wasn't for the apathy of the average motorhome-er we wouldn't have these problems.

 

.

 

I suppose it could also be argued that those who choose to remedy their rattles and squeaks themselves (and I include myself here), rather than kicking up a major fuss with the manufacturers, are as equally to blame?... ;-)

 

(..just like how most of us, to some degree or other, have at some point done their own minor pdi snagging, rather than having to drive back to the dealer..(time & mileage involved etc)

 

 

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Noody - 2016-10-26 1:58 PM

 

...I have often critisized thevRemis shower enclosure but it works well and is lightweight...

 

I wasn’t aware that Remis made shower enclosures/cubicles, though the company certainly has made (and still makes) folding-door systems that are commonly fitted to caravan and motorhome washrooms.

 

My wife is (apparently) oblivious to in-vehicle noise, whereas I notice it and dislike it. Unfortunately, if a person is of the noticing/disliking persuasion, owning a coachbuilt motorhome will be - as RogerThat and Tea Cup observe - a challenging (and probably infuriating) experience.

 

Having discovered that the new Hobby motorhome I’d bought in Germany had a major problem with its blown-air heating system, where an air-trunk running inaccessibly within the floor’s insulation had been crushed flat, I managed to address the fault by running replacement air-trunking above the floor.

 

I mentioned this to a dealer acquaintance, saying what a swine the task had been and adding that my ‘fix’ had resulted in much better heat distribution than the original system. He grinned and said “Look on the bright side - not only can you get pleasure out of curing the fault and improving on Hobby’s design, but you can also enjoy telling anybody who will listen how crap at building motorhomes Hobby is and how expert you are at motorhome DIY.” It was fair comment...

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That bought a smile to my face.

 

Regarding Remis, the title "Remis" is on those dreadful handles on the folding doors. I assumed the whole enclosure would be Remis.

 

The folding doors work well, they are lightweight and they do clatter. I put a spring clamp over the centre section to hold it firm when we are moving, then it doesn't flatter.

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My 2005 Hobby motorhome had a Remis-made bi-fold door on its separate shower compartment, while my present Rapido has a pair of Remis-made bi-fold doors on the shower section of its washroom. The doors have the little plastic handles that you loathe so much, but mine (on the Hobby and the Rapido) don’t rattle or flap about unduly.

 

Remis may well produce ‘bespoke’ shower doors for major motorhome/caravan manufacturers, but all of the doors I’ve seen have had the same half-moon plastic handles and, in some instances, there clearly has been a need for the handle to hinge through a full 180 degrees.

 

I vaguely recall the Hobby’s Remis shower-door being rattle-prone and doing something to stop it, but the Rapido’s door is OK rattle-wise. Unfortunately, Rapido built my motorhome’s washroom slightly narrower than the width of the rear Remis bi-fold door when it’s fully extended and I’ve had to resort to a hook-&-loop tape arrangement to keep the door closed when showering. I’d rather the door closed properly like the front one does, but my wife seems happy enough with the Velco ploy and that’s the main thing.

 

When one looks at how a coachbuilt motorhome is constructed, it’s difficult to see how a completely rattle- and squeak-free product could be reliably produced. And, even if the thing were quiet to begin with, there’s no guarantee that it would stay that way.

 

My Hobby was initially quiet inside, then developed a squeaking noise above the left-hand cab door. This eventually became intolerable, but was a beggar to fix. Motorhomes are designed to be built quickly and economically: they are not designed to be ‘unbuilt’ subsequently.

 

The Rapido is pretty quiet internally, though the Remis-made concertina blind on the left cab-door rattles very very slightly. The vehicle is LHD, so the noise is by my left ear and I’ve never been able to track down where the rattle comes from. The right cab-door blind doesn’t do it (not that my wife would notice if it did!) so the left blind shouldn’t. I’ve decided that I’ll learn to live with it.

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I agree wholeheartedly with Noodys comments and reading them made me laugh and brought a smile to my face .

 

Over the years I have just accepted that with each new motorhome or campervan that I’m going to have to improve soundproofing and add or improve fittings & fixtures. As I think the OP said we have brought this on ourselves really because we just don’t complain enough.

 

I reckon to spend at least 3 good trips in a new vehicle to get to grips with its shortcomings and to fix them. In those first few trips, my poor other half is asked to drive over some of the most atrocious roads in the UK while I’m crawling all over the vehicle identifying sources of squeaks, rattles and road noise. During each of these early trips an extensive (but hopefully decreasing) list of problems to resolve is made. The £s I have spent in the following months on soundproofing materials and replacing poor quality screws and fixings would not bear examination. What Noody and hundreds of others like us are doing isn’t rocket science, but it certainly shows that the converters and builders of motorhome and van conversions just aren’t testing their vehicles properly or for long enough before putting them into production. We certainly wouldn’t accept such poor quality finishing, materials or sound proofing on a new car so why do we with a camper or motorhome?

 

In my own case, I think I have the answer and it’s scary, because I think I enjoy doing all these things!

 

Ok send the men round in white coats and I’ll go quietly. :-(

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