The engine cover on our Ford F53 based 2002 Fleetwood is fiberglass covered by carpet. It's not that it's loud but we have to shout while traveling at speed to talk to one another. I'm thinking there's a better way.Home Depot isn't much help - this might cost some money . . . . Thermo-tec offers two products that might quiet down the cabin. One is a Super Sonic Acoustical Mat and the other is a Cool It Mat.http://www.thermotec.com/products/category/2/sound-and-heat-barriers.htmlThe acoustical mat is 70 mils thick and somewhat flexible. How can something so thin be very effective? The Cool It Mat is rigid and would have to be cut and formed in. Thermo-tec doesn't offer any sound suppression numbers. Amazon carries the Thermo-tec products. This seems to keep the cost (relatively) low. Has anyone done any work suppressing engine noise from getting into the cabin or worked with these two (or similar) products?Best,- bob

In another life, I worked with quieting down the cabs on ag tractors. When I wanted to quiet down the engine noise in my MH, I used the following two things.First, http://www.b-quiet.com/ultimate.htmlI then covered that with, http://www.b-quiet.com/hliner.htmlNo problem hearing the DW now. At normal cruising speeds, you don't hear the engine. Above 3500 rpm, you hear it, but still quite quiet.

I think the newer MHs on the F53 chassis use the material to deaden some of the noise. Still noisy pulling steep grades.

I put a sound deadening mat inside the doghouse cover on my '99 Ford F53. It made a barely noticeable difference

In order to help identify the source of the noise, next trip, throw a quilt over the hump area and see if that helps.

Find a local big truck shop that does spray on foam insulation for engine compartments. Or check out the marinas. And here is some stuff I ran across:http://thermotec.shptron.com/p/48-x-72-1-sided-thermo?pp=8It is material that some of the high end coaches use in the engine compartments and generator compartments.

Shhhh! Quiet that Motor - Ford F53 | Good Sam Community

Wavery
Explorer
Jun 05, 2013
When we bought our coach in February, it was so loud in the passenger area that we could hardly talk to each other. One time, I realized that there was air getting past the engine cover so I spent a lot of time re-aligning the thing. Once it was properly aligned, we can hardly hear the engine and can talk to each other.

Just sayin'........ you might want to double-check the cover alignment before you spend a lot of time & $ on sound-proofing.
BrianinMichigan
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Daboo wrote:
On our Winnebago, the back of the dash board that contains all the instruments was bare metal or al...I sprayed the part under the hood with the rubber undercoating ..it helped a lot..the doghouse I covered with a sound dampening material and it helps, but when those two electric cooling fans come on, I don't believe there is a material that will quite the noise those things make...

Funny thing, I barely hear my electric fans but when that clutched fan kicks in I feel like I'm driving a jet.
Sloop343
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
This is not a cheap method, but... after I upgraded my '08 Winny F-53 MH with custom tuning from 5Star Tuning, there was a very noticeable difference in the amount of engine noise. The RV was much quieter under all driving conditions (towing or not, hill climbing). I even noticed the engine does not run as hot when I'm towing. I also got the additional benefit of slightly better gas mileage (calculated over two years to be .4 mpg/6% increase while towing and .6 mpg/9% increase not towing). But like I said, this is a costly method... and it was completely worth it to me!
cbr46
Explorer
May 31, 2013
Speaking of fans . . . . the furnace fan sounds like a tornado when it comes on :E Fortunately I shouldn't need it again until November.

I was going to use the rubber undercoating on another project until I realized how messy that stuff is, and I would have been spraying upside down with very little clearance (under a cargo trailer). I might give that a try depending how easy it'll be to cover things that shouldn't get coated.

Thanks for the tips! (no need to stop) :C

Best,
- c bob
Daboo
Explorer
May 31, 2013
On our Winnebago, the back of the dash board that contains all the instruments was bare metal or al...I sprayed the part under the hood with the rubber undercoating ..it helped a lot..the doghouse I covered with a sound dampening material and it helps, but when those two electric cooling fans come on, I don't believe there is a material that will quite the noise those things make...
Nick-B
Explorer
May 31, 2013
I'm with Eric and David. I used the "cheap" foil faced stuff and it did a fine job of cutting back on the roar. E-Z to put on and cheap compared to some of the hi-tech products out there. Got mine thru JCW.
MustangGT
Explorer
May 23, 2013
Roxul type insulation isn't available at the home centers here in the deep south USA. Only pink fiberglass and the various hard foam sheets; white, blue etc. Also the shiny bubble wrap kind of stuff for home attics.
i have heard several folks use the shiny stuff to reflect heat from their RV windows, but securing that fragile stuff under the hood would be iffy. And it is electrically conductive.
The sticky, tarry, shiny sheets seem like the best bet to reject heat and sound in an exposed area.
slumberguy
Explorer
May 23, 2013
Do this...go to home despot, buy roxul brand insulation, for two by four wall thickness, and pop your doghouse, and tuck it in...my southy took two pieces four foot long, trimmed..pop back on doghouse cover, chat happily away...note, try to make sure it doesnt impede airflow around your plug wires, especially he rear ones, as they will get baked more quickly...but hoo boy, it makes it some kinda quiet...
topflite51
Explorer
May 23, 2013
427435 wrote:
Brian in Michigan wrote:
topflite51 wrote:
I used THIS MATERIAL on our 460 V8. It works fairly well.

That's the best price I've seen. How heavy is it and how thick is it?

Considering the effort involved, this is not the place to cheap out on the material. The material I posted about is material similar to what was used in quieting off-highway cabs.

What effort? Took less than 1 hr to install on engine cover (1 piece). As I said it works well and it is easy to work with. As to being cheap, yes it is. But I must say just because you paid more money for a product does not always translate into that product being any better than something else. Product is not heavy and is approximately 1/4 in thick. Others have used the product and are pleased with the results they have achieved with it. Of course there will be those that will call it junk, as there is with everything else out there.
WILDEBILL308
Explorer II
May 23, 2013
The best way to quiet that motor noise is to move the motor to the back of the coach.:B:B
Bill