Looking to buy but very noisy is it just me.

[desmondo]

Hi I am looking to buy and test drove my 1st motor home, a Bessacar412 3 years old low mileage. I expected some driving noise but I thought the cabin noise, particularly the doors was excessive and quite draining on a short drive. No way I could live with that. As a newbie with no experience is this the norm? I was very surprised that for the cost the noise insulation seemed so low. Ta

 

[TheBig1]

its a builders van with expensive plastic bits screwed to it, not a luxury car

 

[Ernesto]

When we hired our first motorhome, I thought exactly the same....which is one of the reasons we bought a panel van conversion

They seem to have more structural rigidity being a steel van with holes cut in it, rather than a chassis with a plastic living area added to it.

 

[mitzimad]

im not sure ive ever noticed the doors being noisy how do you mean exactly?

 

[M-J]

We found ours (2012 Bessacarr) noisy when we first got it but spent a little time going round the motorhome wiggling everything and adjusting hinges and door latches. The front cab blinds rattled a lot, the dealer investigated and found they had never been fitted correctly (double sided sticky pads still had the cover on one side) Then a few felt or rubber pads added here and there made it much quieter.

On our last trip we were about as fully loaded as we will ever be and the MH was lovely and quiet, this was the first time every cupboard and shelf had something in/on it. (Shelving is very thin and I assume bounces when nothing on it in cupboards)

Worst offenders for us before the tweaks were shower doors and both the bathroom and wardrobe door keeps had never been adjusted.

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[Speve]

We are on our second Hymer A class and both have been quiet really pleasant drives?

 

[The Dudess]

It will be quieter when you have stuff in the cupboards. Line each cupboard with this stuff
Amazon product ASIN B004HL15M0
Put a tea towel under your hob cover. If you have a oven take the grill pan out, wrap it in something and store it in cupboard. If you have a microwave take the glass plate out and store it and wrap your crockery in paper kitchen towels or something similar.

A MH will never be as quiet as a car but every little helps.

 

[desmondo]

im not sure ive ever noticed the doors being noisy how do you mean exactly?

The door was so noisy and vibrating that I stopped the van to check the door was fully closed, which it was. Nothing seemed loose, maybe just not fitted well.

 

[M-J]

As The Dudess said, the microwave plate and also the oven shelves/pan can be noisy We wrap our pan/tray in a towel and put in back in the oven which then stops the shelves rattling too. Just have to remember the towel is in there ?

 

[M-J]

The door was so noisy and vibrating that I stopped the van to check the door was fully closed, which it was. Nothing seemed loose, maybe just not fitted well.

Which door?

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[Onemanandhisdog]

Drive another one and see if it's the same, sounds a bit of a lemon that one!

 

[desmondo]

Which door?

Drivers door

 

[M-J]

Drivers door

Was more likely to be the frame for the blind rather than the actual van door.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

“They all do that Sir”
We bought our 2011 Bessacarr E450 new and it was very noisy. I spent the three years we owned it sorting out rattles and creaking.
The fire and the oven were the main culprits, designed for use in caravans so noise when moving wasn’t an issue.
When we sold it I thought I’d got it as quiet as it could be. Our current Hymer is a lot quieter but there’s still work to be done.

 

[Enword]

WHAT we had a 90s Merc 407D race van back in the day that made a hammer drill seem quiet
Motorhome wise we learnt to pack stuff in a manner that stops stuff rattling & keeps things quieter but its never going to be a Lexus

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[gus-lopez]

Can't here rattles as the engine noise over powers everything. The new sat nav hadn't a volume loud enough to be heard.Whereas in this van I can actually here it.

 

[Ingwe]

As others have posted, when packed and after checking things like the oven shelves etc the van is much quieter. When I took ours for its MOT earlier this year, it was completely empty and was hugely more noisy then when we set off on a trip. We can listen to Radio 4 reception permitting (given the pisspoor aerial) on normal volume levels.

 

[TheBig1]

you can fit sound deadening material to the outer skin inside the doors, but the very nature of vans makes them a noisy drive

 

[Lenny HB]

Try an A Class they are so much quieter, ours was fairly quiet, we have recently had full air suspension fitted very quiet now, don't need to turn the radio up at 70.

 

[desmondo]

Thanks for all the replies very helpful. I appreciate the tips, the back end noise I was not so bothered about as it was empty, the front end however a different story. The dealer will try to sort it so we will see on next test. Ta

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[Diabalo]

I lined our underseat lockers with closed cell foam exercise mats, Aldis/Lidles do them from time to time, cheap as chips. It made a big difference.

 

[bigtwin]

If all tyres were pumped up to 80 psi (as some are wont to do), that wouldn’t help.

Ian

 

[WillH]

The blind frame in our door was secured with Robertson head screws, and it was loose. I replaced the screws with s/s self tappers a size up. No rattle from the door anymore.

 

[pappajohn]

Thanks for all the replies very helpful. I appreciate the tips, the back end noise I was not so bothered about as it was empty, the front end however a different story. The dealer will try to sort it so we will see on next test. Ta

Why not test drive a different van on the same base vehicle to see if its normal noise or a fault on the one you drove.
At least that will confirm one way or the other.

 

[peterc10]

I find our Hymer A class is exceptionally quiet............. when I am not wearing my hearing aids

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[Onemanandhisdog]

Why not test drive a different van on the same base vehicle to see if its normal noise or a fault on the one you drove.
At least that will confirm one way or the other.

As I suggested in post #11

 

[138go]

Certainly down to the quality of the conversion. Lot of cheaper ones echo with the hard walls and ceilings. The A Class variations are much quieter. All MHs are built on commercial chassis and I don't think they bother with how noisy they are You will also find that letting the tyre pressures down at the front reduces some of the noise.

 

[Clarky]

Our first Motorhome was a Swift ( who make Bessacarr) and I used to round the van fitting little rubber wedges everywhere before each trip.
Roof lights, door frame and just about everything rattled.

Richard

 

[pappajohn]

As I suggested in post #11

Sorry, missed that.

 

[Reallyretired]

Our A class on Mercedes chassis is a lot quieter than the Fiat based one it replaced, particularly in regard to engine noise. On a smooth road its lovely, all hell breaks loose on our normal corrugated and potholed surfaces though.