Is your motorhome more noisy than a trip to Boise?

[Mike and Cha]

Originally Posted by FreedomDream

We have a diesel pusher and can have conversations at normal levels while driving which is not the case in a front engine gasser. When parked, however, a heavy rain can be deafening which is the case in any RV.

Not sure what gas MH you drove, or any at all and are just going off the normal gas vs diesel debates that regularly appear on IRV2, but all gas models are not alike. When we drive ours on the flats there is very little engine noise at all, and even when climbing a grade you can still carry on a conversation at normal levels.

I think the real question though had nothing to do with engine noise but more on how much you would expect rattle type and other interior noises in the MH while driving. You will get noise on any MH, I think the level or amount depends on the quality build of the MH, and the amount of insulation used in the build. Ours is fairly quiet, we have had some squeaks an rattles that were easily found and fixed. No matter what MH you drive, there are a lot of rough roads out there and things are going to rattle loose occasionally. A lot of times the noise comes from things you pack/store in your MH, and simple readjusting of things will eliminate a lot of rattles and squeaks.

[Scarab0088]

To the OP - yes, RV interior noises are very easy to address if you are handy, IMHO...typical noises are:
-Rattle from cabinet door(s) and drawer faces...felt pads on the corners.
-Rattling pots/pans...small towel placed between them to stop metal to metal contact.
-Drawers filled with metal flatware...get a padded drawer insert for flatware.
-Window blind rattles...place rubber pads on the blind bar.
-Squeeking cabinet frame...squirt some talc power in the joint.

Our front engine gas (8.1L) and the rubber roof are rather quiet. But, I would guess a less insulated engine cover and/or hard (fiberglass) roof could mean more noise. The dog house can always get better insulation.

For us, there has always been a fix for any annoying noise. Half the battle is finding the source.

Safe travels

[Siesta]

My experience with a FRED is that the diesel is not exactly a quiet motor but I actually like the sound of the older diesels. What I would call 'noise' is when the engine fan comes on going up a hill, as its rather like a jet taking off.


I did have one elusive sound that was an annoying large clacking near the house entry door, and I tried everything to subdue it (stuffing towels and whatnot, thinking it was the door mechanism or the inner screen door). Nothing worked. Then I finally discovered it was actually the door glass in its frame, and the insulating/mount foam had been baked by the Arizona sun so much, that it didn't provide any cushion.

[WyoFree]

Thank you all for your comments. I was speaking more from the "stuff noise" than the "engine noise". And I also know that a high end quality coach, especially in a gasser will make a difference as well.

Another thing I've found out while lurking around the forum. Many comments about gassers are based on coaches 5 - 10 years ago and gassers, especially the high end of Newmar and Tuffin have changes things dramatically from the engine noise and heat aspect.

But as I said earlier, I'm really not talking about engine noise in regard to this thread!

[UAV]

I have owned both a FE Gasser and a Diesel and yes, the Diesel is more quiet.

Also, I am in Denver and driving the roads of Colorado a lot which means I have to drive over a lot of roads and, more significantly, expansion joints in bridges that are rough due to the constant freeze and thaw. Many can be very brutal, actually.

That being said, I am a squeak/noise freak so I try to eliminate them all. My best solution so far seems to be to use pieces of foam I keep in the rig, cut to size for what ever is needed. Seems to eliminate a lot of the rattles and the coach is amazingly quiet most of the time.

(I keep what I get packaging wise from shipments from Amazon, etc. and reuse the foam...good stuff!)

[mrt_1111]

Originally Posted by UAV

I have owned both a FE Gasser and a Diesel and yes, the Diesel is more quiet.

Also, I am in Denver and driving the roads of Colorado a lot which means I have to drive over a lot of roads and, more significantly, expansion joints in bridges that are rough due to the constant freeze and thaw. Many can be very brutal, actually.

That being said, I am a squeak/noise freak so I try to eliminate them all. My best solution so far seems to be to use pieces of foam I keep in the rig, cut to size for what ever is needed. Seems to eliminate a lot of the rattles and the coach is amazingly quiet most of the time.

(I keep what I get packaging wise from shipments from Amazon, etc. and reuse the foam...good stuff!)

I do know what you mean by brutal, I been thinking about installing a rear view mirror so I can see if a cabinet fell off. How the weather in Denver? I was supposed to go to torrington wy today. Decided to wait to much snow in Colorado Springs.

[rapid rick]

[QUOTE=UAV;3045781]



That being said, I am a squeak/noise freak so I try to eliminate them all. My best solution so far seems to be to use pieces of foam I keep in the rig, cut to size for what ever is needed. Seems to eliminate a lot of the rattles and the coach is amazingly quiet most of the time



I am also a noise /rattle/squeak freak.... drives me nuts. I use sticky backed felt pads,all different sizes,on small rattles works great.I have insulated complete basement area,from front to back, I insulated cab floor and doghouse,every sound that I hear I track down and silence it. Now the coach has gone from similar to driving an AMC hornet or gremlin to a Cadillac.It takes a lot of work,depending on the unit,but it's worth it.

[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by FreedomDream

We have a diesel pusher and can have conversations at normal levels while driving which is not the case in a front engine gasser. When parked, however, a heavy rain can be deafening which is the case in any RV.

Thats horse crap! My guess is you've never driven a quality gas coach (possibly no gas coach). I think you simply drank the koolaid and just bought a diesel. Yes - rear diesel has less engine noise up front. I'm sure a rear engine gas would be equally as quiet. I think we can all agree on that. No argument. I'm tired of that debate. But, we also are able to carry on normal conversations quite easily in my coach. The engine is extremely quiet, and the only engine noise that is bothersome at all is when the viscous cooling fan kicks in, which usually doesn't last long. Yes, on a grade or when passing (which is very rarely) I can hear the engine. But its no worse than my truck or any other gas powered vehicle. Its really quite well insulated, as others have attested to here as well. So, I suggest you go for a drive in a quality gas coach. I suspect you will be quite surprised that you are entirely wrong.

Now, my coach does have its share of squeaks and rattles when hitting bumps. I suspect some of the cabinetry is talking and I think some of the plastic in the dashboard is talking. I plan to try and quieten some of it down this season hopefully. And once in a while, something falls over and goes crash. We've gotten used to it.
jt

[CampDaven]

It is the level of build and the chassis. With 10 airbags and shocks and a tag axle, and drawers and doors that won't open while moving, I hear a bit of tire noise on course pavement, and one dang door squeek that is my current QUEST to DEFEAT.
On another note, I had a FRED that was very quiet due to great doghouse stuffings. Miss that one.
OTOH, my Wrangler's tires are noisier than the 2 gassers I had! But it's much quieter in sand and rocks and mud.
Off topic: had a 59 Pontiac wagon that was REAL noisy. But it had a nice rust hole in the floor of the back seat for draining the cooler!
Oh...haven't made a trip to Boise yet. Are all the roads rumble strips?
So, go figger!


Dave and Nola, RV Mutants

[mojoracing]

I am a nutcase when it comes to squeaks and rattles. I must hunt them down and eliminate them. Our Bounder is ridiculously silent. Yes you can hear the engine but you can carry on a normal conversation. The only time it gets annoying is when it use to downshift and the rpms shot up while climbing a hill. I have fixed that with the installation of a 5 star tune. It know cruises down the highway at a very low rpm and no more annoying downshifts. As far as squeaks and rattles, I had one from the table which i managed to fix and other than that the coach is silent. We do not do anything special to keep our dishes and things muffled either. I am actually amazed and super happy as to how quiet it actually is. Most of the time it just feels like its floating along. Once in a while on a super rough road or series of potholes you of course will here some rattling but other than that I have been kept sane. Thank god because Im the type that will pull over immediately to hunt down a noise. I think part of the reason things in the cabinets are so quiet is that Fleetwood lines the cabinets and shelves with carpeting. As far as heavy rain goes, I love the soft sound it makes on the roof especially when going to sleep at night. The heavier the better, bring it on!

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by FreedomDream

When parked, however, a heavy rain can be deafening which is the case in any RV.

Our last Dutch Star ('02) and this Country Coach are very quiet in the rain. It can start raining and we usually don't know it till we look out the windows.

[chunker]

Have had 2 motorhomes, a 15 Vista 36Y and the current 07 Horizon. Besides the obvious deafening engine noise when trying to climb a hill in the Vista, the driver side front slide sounded like 10 pounds of popcorn popping. I tried wiping the seals, silicone and lithium spray and the only thing that seemed to work was rain. If it sat out with the slide open during a rain, then it was significantly quieter until things dried out, then back to the constant popping. My Horizon has developed a bit of door squeak. I have applied some silicone spray and wiped the excess off so we'll see how that works next week when I drive it.

Having the engine 30+ feet behind certainly helps but so does design. Motorhomes by design are noisy. It's a big box with things attached that have wind noise. But manufactures can certain put more effort into reducing some of that noise if they wanted to. I dumped the Vista after a few months partly because of noise and partly because of dismal performance and handling.

[mike brez]

My almost 20 year coach is very quiet.

[WyoFree]

If I learned nothing else from this thread I've learned that "Quality Build Matters"! Not that a quality build means "No Noise & No Trouble", but it means you have a better chance!

There have been numerous times that me and others have made reference to the Newmar Canyon Star and Tiffin Allegro are the two "Top of the Line Gas Coaches". And I've not seen a single time where someone has argued that. Or even said you should also include this brand or that brand to the list.

What I get from that is Newmar and Tiffin are a good place to start if you want the chance of a good non-noisy gas motorhome! Or at least maybe one with fewer items to fix and a better chance of them staying that way!

If I'm going off the reservation here, please don't hesitate to fit me with corrective moccasins.