Dashboard

[CamJam1]

In trying to isolate some rattles, I was poking around in that little access panel on top of the instrument cluster. What I found was that one end of the sheet metal shelf that the fuses and relays are attached to was not even screwed down. It's supposed to be attached to a small strip of wood which is in turn attached to plywood, but whoever screwed it together at the factory missed the wood strip entirely so the screw was just hanging in thin air.

I would have expected this from my previous Fleetwood, but have found National quality to be better than that. I'm wondering if this was something Workhorse would have done?

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by CamJam1

I would have expected this from my previous Fleetwood, but have found National quality to be better than that. I'm wondering if this was something Workhorse would have done?

I don't believe that Workhorse supplied any portion of the coach's chassis made of ,or attached to wood .

[lenjen]

If that is the only rattle you have I am impressed! In time you will know the quality of your National vs other brands even with a few missed screws.

Enjoy your new ride.

[CamJam1]

I've been tackling them one by one. This is the last annoying rattle and it's still there, but only sometimes. Sounds like wood blocks knocking together.

[lenjen]

[QUOTE=CamJam1;6192824]I've been tackling them one by one. This is the last annoying rattle and it's still there, but only sometimes. Sounds like wood blocks knocking together. [/QUOTE

Just remembered...Before I bought my RV there was a wood-on-wood rubbing sound that was tracked to under the dash. In the pre-purchase inspection, it was found by looking from the front of the engine toward the upper driver's area, where two boards were rubbing. I believe the tech soaked the area between the boards with some type of oil.

[CamJam1]

[QUOTE=lenjen;6194044]

Originally Posted by CamJam1

I've been tackling them one by one. This is the last annoying rattle and it's still there, but only sometimes. Sounds like wood blocks knocking together. [/QUOTE

Just remembered...Before I bought my RV there was a wood-on-wood rubbing sound that was tracked to under the dash. In the pre-purchase inspection, it was found by looking from the front of the engine toward the upper driver's area, where two boards were rubbing. I believe the tech soaked the area between the boards with some type of oil.

Thanks for that tip. I'll check it out!

[FLRosebud]

Yeah, every 6 or 8 months I get up there and tighten screws. There always seems to be a few that work their way loose.

Al

[CamJam1]

I started the coach up yesterday to go buy propane, and while it was idling, I could clearly hear the rattle I've been chasing for a couple years. I seized the opportunity to walk around and listen to where it was coming from. It turned out to be in the ceiling, midway between and a little behind the driver and passenger seats. I took out the fluorescent light fixture just a few inches in front of where the noise seemed to be coming from, but I couldn't access the exact location due to all the styrofoam. The styrofoam seems to serve as a bit of a structural piece, so I was reluctant to break too much of it away for fear of what might happen next time I walk on the roof.

In any case, at that point there are wires running through channels in the styrofoam and I can see a few steel frame crossmembers. I found I could replicate the rattle at will by bumping the ceiling below it, but no amount of pressing on pieces anywhere would stop the rattle. It seems I would have to break a big piece of the styrofoam away to get to it. It just sounds like something inside a cavity in the styrofoam is not anchored down and is hitting against a metal crossmember. I recently had a similar noise underneath the coach, which turned out to be a place where a weld in the metal frame had broken away and the crossmember was floating around and banging against the rest of the steel frame whenever I hit bumps.

Do you think it would be safe to remove more styrofoam and perhaps replace it with spray insulation foam in a can?

[Sgt B]

LOL. Remember you are driving a house on wheels. Imagine putting your home on wheels and driving down the road at 60MPH. Wow, talk about rattles.
I do empathize with you though. Sometimes a pot, pan, or dish out of place in a cupboard drives me insane. I must stop and fix it. Wonder why that is? The very same reason why I have DPs, I want that noise behind me. When we downsized I decided to go with a gas. WOW! Had it eight months and went back to a DP

[CamJam1]

Lol, I think the reason I probably hear this rattle so well (when my wife doesn't) is because it's right above my hearing aids. I guess it would be easier to turn them down rather than tear the ceiling apart.

[CamJam1]

My rattle that sounded like it was coming from under the dash turned out the be the radio antenna rattling against the roof! It's an adjustable base antenna with a spring at the bottom. The antenna was tilted back and laying almost against the fiberglass roof, and would bang against the roof when the bumps were big enough. The tension in the spring would allow one bump to cause several "aftershocks" of the antenna slapping the roof.

Anyone with a National coach of similar vintage might want to check the positioning of this antenna, which is just behind the front cap.

I'm just glad that I didn't tear more Styrofoam out of the ceiling trying to find it! I got a brainstorm in the middle of the night to check the TV antenna to see if something was loose, forgetting that there's also a radio antenna up there.

[Desert Man]

Congratulations. One thing for me to eliminate noises was over inflated tires. Front end and tire shops put 120 pounds in all of the tires. I have 95 in the front and 90 in the back duals. Silence is golden until that hole in the road!