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Old 04-22-2019, 10:46 AM   #1
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Lots of rattles in my 2019 Dutch Star 4018

I am new to driving a motor home and would like to find out if the noises I am experiencing are normal. Seems to be an inordinate amount of rattles when driving on not perfectly paved roads. When investing this much in a new 2019 Dutch Star 4018 I thought the ride would be a little smoother. I don't really know what I should be expecting, but it's nothing like driving a car as far as noise goes. We took our first trip this last weekend and once setup in the RV park the experience was incredible. Just wondering what others think is normal. I am guessing a lot of the noise is do to the three slide outs bumping up and down.
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Old 04-22-2019, 11:05 AM   #2
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This may sound weird, but we were told to make sure you “slam” the entry door. That actually made a difference. If you just “close” it, it squeaks and rattles. But if you shut it hard....quiet.
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Old 04-22-2019, 11:16 AM   #3
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We have owned 3 new Newmar's (2 LA and Essex) and have had to spent some time putting rubber cushions in places like window shades, cabinet doors, etc. Each time traveling for the first couple weeks would have Teri check were that noise was coming from and then keep a list to fix the rattles. Buy a package with many rubber cushions so you have different sizes for the different areas.
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Old 04-22-2019, 11:19 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ianschneider View Post
This may sound weird, but we were told to make sure you “slam” the entry door. That actually made a difference. If you just “close” it, it squeaks and rattles. But if you shut it hard....quiet.
You are right about the entry door. It does squeak if not slammed hard. I figured that one out, but it is not part of the assortment of rattles when traveling on pavement that is not perfectly smooth.
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Old 04-22-2019, 11:20 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tom chelbana View Post
We have owned 3 new Newmar's (2 LA and Essex) and have had to spent some time putting rubber cushions in places like window shades, cabinet doors, etc. Each time traveling for the first couple weeks would have Teri check were that noise was coming from and then keep a list to fix the rattles. Buy a package with many rubber cushions so you have different sizes for the different areas.
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Great suggestion. I will give it a try.
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Old 04-22-2019, 11:27 AM   #6
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First thing to do is to try to identify where are the noises are coming from.

We had a few in our coach which were fixed under warranty but the most came from dishes, pots, etc that we filled the cupboards and drawer. Subsequently we added waffle shelf liner. We put shelf liner between our dishes and pots that sit together. A cushion is thrown on top of cups and glasses to keep them from rattling together. The glass turntable is removed from the microwave. Cushioning is put between anything that can rattle, the tops of old socks are placed around liquor bottles.

IMO anything that rattles is causing unnecessary, premature wear.

We are very quiet on smooth road. On roads with transverse cracking all bets are off.

What are your tire pressures at? Getting your coach 4 corner weights and inflating tires from the tire manufacturers inflation charts will soften the ride if you have not already done that.
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Old 04-22-2019, 11:35 AM   #7
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It took us a good 6 months to eliminate all the rattles and squeaks on our 4018 DS. The worst squeaks were coming from the Windows, mostly the passenger cabin window. It took multiple tests until we finally silenced them. I used gaffer tape around the inside of the window openings ( after you take out the frame). The problem was the Styrofoam rubbing against the window frame.
In addition we used lots of felt patches all over. It's s trial and error process to find these.
Our coach is very quiet now.
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Old 04-22-2019, 04:11 PM   #8
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You need to pack your cabinets. If you have a lot of space things will rattle. Fill the excess with rolls of paper towels or toilet paper. Use the 'slip-stop' product as a cabinet liner. On a safe road with minimal travel have someone investigate where the noise is coming from as you drive. Sliding doors have a habit of rattling if you have them. Honestly, we didn't have noise from rattles.... just the nice purr from the engine back there!
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Old 04-22-2019, 04:19 PM   #9
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To start, your front door has two locking positions. When at a campground and going in and out, just close the door. After closing, from the outside, take a look at it. You'll see it's not flush with the door frame. The door is actually designed this way. The second lock position is when the door is closed firmly. I like to stand inside place one hand on the door frame at the height of the latch and then firmly close the door. This helps to keep the door frame from flexing. If you were to look at the outside, you would see the door is now flush with the frame.

Second.....your front shades can make a lot of noise, they'll chatter on a rough road. One way to keep them quiet is to make sure they're lowered to the same position, this makes them fill the trough and are less likely to bang around.

Things like the microwave turntable can jump up and down and make an occasional noise. We use a silicone mat inside ours for cooking. When travelling, I place the mat under the turn table.

Your slides should be pretty quiet while traveling, since they have locks. On a really tough bounce or pot hole, I've heard my FWS slide jump up, which is pretty loud.

When we travel, noises and rattles make me CRAZY. When I hear a new rattle or noise, I have my wife hunt it down. Soon you'll chase them down. Keep in mind, this is a house going down the road on a truck chassis, not a Honda Civic with a ton of insulation.

You'll eventually get it quiet enough that it won't bother you. If not, turn the radio up.
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Old 04-23-2019, 07:53 AM   #10
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Thanks for all the suggestions.

Jared
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Old 04-23-2019, 08:02 AM   #11
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X2 what Don said. Our first few runs were a series of adjustments of stuff in our cabinets mainly. After getting everything quiet in those areas we still had a squeak in the window (non-opening) next to the passenger chair. During an initial factory warranty visit they removed the window, used a different sealer, and re-installed it. Now we are noise free going down the road.
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Old 04-23-2019, 08:03 AM   #12
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Like others have said, many squeaks and rattles to track down and deal with. We have a very annoying rattle behind the driver in the slide cylinder that we can only get rid of with a spring clamp. Packing also matters, when we went from a 5th wheel to our first motorhome, I thought the whole coach was falling apart. You are now traveling with your "stuff", instead of pulling it around. Good Luck
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Old 04-23-2019, 09:15 AM   #13
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"Hawkeye".....I eliminated that cylinder rattle with a simple fix. The cylinder is designed to be free moving at the top and consequently rattles on certain roads. I took a piece of rubber hose, about the size of windshield washer hose, inserted a tie wrap inside the hose, wrapped it around the gap at the top of the cylinder where it attaches and tightened the tie wrap. It centers the cylinder and prevents it from moving back and forth without affecting operation.
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Old 04-23-2019, 11:28 AM   #14
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I took a video of some of mine, i.e. my driver's side MCD shade sounded like a machine gun. They added a bracket and secured it better. The front two shades can also be a problem, sometimes lowering them slightly will help.

However, you may have TIRE issues such as out of round (need runouts checked) and two of my tires were actually so out of round they were replaced.

The first year was nearly painful with identifying issues and then of course getting them fixed, all normal shake down I'm sure but I can tell you it's such a joy now with all of that stuff taken care of, noises, rattles, tires, etc.
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