BT Cruiser cabover noise fixed!

[TippleUnduly]

I have had an annoying graunching noise in the cab ceiling of my BT Cruiser for quite a while. Tore apart the wall adjoining the cab and tightened every screw and bolt I could find to no avail. GulfStream (Thank you!) advised that there are 4 bolts in the cab roof that join the fiberglas cabover to the steel cab roof and these needed to be tightened.

Pulling down the headliner exposed these bolts, but one would not tighten. I had to expose the upper end to get a wrench on both ends. This entailed moving aside the bottom cupboard enclosure AND cutting a hole in the particleboard floor to expose the bolt's top. I then tightened it and the noise was reduced.

As long as the area was exposed, I enlarged the hole and installed yet another large bolt. Quite a job in tight quarters, but the noise was furthered reduced! I am a happy guy!

[kvnj]

I know I'm really late in replying to this post, but haven't been on in a while. We just had our 2007 BT Cruiser 5291 overhead noise repaired. Basically they removed the tv in the overhead area and the headliner above the seats, had one man underneath in the cab and one above and they tightened up all of the bolts. They were all loose. What a difference!! We can actually drive it in peace now without having to turn up the stereo in an attempt to drown out the noise. It was horrendous before, and now we really don't hear anything. Ahhhhh... sweet relief.... :B

[ron_dittmer]

After 7 years and 20 some odd thousand miles, our rig developed a banging sound in the B+ cap area. Per our manufacture recommendation I screwed down the over-head cabinet bottoms to the Ford steel roof which completely eliminated the noise.

Reference: Ford Steel Roof, Cut In Preparation For Easy Pass-Thru


Tools & Materials Used (4 Screws Per Side)


Where The Screws Went On Each Side
This Cabinet Is Directly Above The Driver's Head

[quietjake]

Gents:

I certainly appreciate the willingness to share experience in repair of the 213.

"RV" or "Arvey" is becoming ever more personalized as little touches make it even more pleasant.

I finished my 'overhead foam pad rack' finished, and it looks virtually factory original.

I do have digital photos I'd share, as the format for the cabinet slat brackets are adaptable to other uses than bedding.

Due to repeated miseries with such as imageshack/photowhatever/etc I refuse to use any more of the image hosting sites, I am at a loss on how to post a sample.

Currently am looking for a 2" wide, 12" long piano hinge to mount a swing up shelf. The accessory shelf we bought came with a 1.2" wide piano hinge, too narrow to use where we want. Trying to preserve the vinyl trim edging below the sink/drawer area while installing the folding shelf. The too-narrow hinge requires removing permanently a 12" section. I'm sure I can mount from below with just a mild trim on the lower edge with 2" wide hinge. Maybe I'll have to get a couple separate hinges instead of the piano hinge style.

[burlmart]

Repair Report

We took it to a city park and most of the noise overhead was relieved, but I see I need to do a better job attaching all the cabinetry to the ceiling 3/8" plywood sheet. They ran the white vinyl rubber sheet between this interface. It squeaks w/ hi frequency vibrations.

Still have some loud "lumber jostling" on bumps and now wonder if it is coming from the chassis.

The fixes I did were a big move for the better, but the search may still be on.


Not a part of this OP, but what would a bad shock on a chevy express sound like? I am leary to think it is a shock, as the noise has been w/ us since new.

[TippleUnduly]

Just checked on my old posting to rid the cab of annoying noise. Made me feel good that it inspired a few others to attack the same problem in their rigs. When I reseal everything back up I'm going to make attachments easily removeable. I just know this racket will come back after a few years of travel and it will be good to know how to fix it more easily next time! ...Warm weather here in NJ is giving us the travel bug.

[tpi]

Must be a common thing with class Cs. That was the one defect I took my Lazy Daze back to factory for. Irritating sound right over my head. They fixed it quickly while I waited -evidently it wasn't too difficult.

[burlmart]

purduepete2 wrote:
I still have some noise coming from the drivers side post area. Is there something behind this post cover that can be tightened?

Directly behind the drivers' head and tucked behind what I call the flanking panel (with screws hidden by buttons)both Cheeze1 and I discovered a rolled up coil of wire just hanging from bottom side of plywood cabover deck. I left mine for now.

[burlmart]

Glad to see this thread pop up again. It was you guys that finally got me to act on my 9 years of R-Vision noise. The two links below are from my old stomping ground in the "B+ Motorhomes" thread. I noted a time or two in the posts that I was forgetting someone who recently brought the cabover noise up -- so thanks a bunch.

My fix is not quite like the BT Cruiser. Happy to answer any questions. We haven't had it out to test, yet, but I will make it a point to report back.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/157894/gotomsg/27691610.cfm#27691610

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/157894/gotomsg/27699242.cfm#27699242

[purduepete2]

Bill,

Thanks for your post and tip on reducing overhead cab noise in the BT Cruiser. I have a 2007 Model 5291 BT Cruiser on a Ford E450 chassis with that same irritating noise. I removed the head liner and found five large bolt heads across the front of the cab. I had to remove the TV to get a wrench on the lock nuts but everyone of these bolts was loose. We tightened them all and it reduced the cab squeak enormously. I still have some noise coming from the drivers side post area. Is there something behind this post cover that can be tightened?

Thanks again for your tip to reduce this annoying noise.

Pete

[TippleUnduly]

I see both of the responders drive Chevys. So do I. If you have this noise problem, pulling down the back edge of the headliner, after pulling out a pair of plastic push-in headliner retainers, is not that difficult. The pleasure of having that graunching sound gone is "priceless"! Try it!

[MobileBasset]

And you are a persistent guy!!

[burlmart]

Come do my Trail Lite.