I test drove my first motorhome today - Noisy

[praisetoGod]

The wife and I are looking at a small 35' diesel pusher. I've never driven a motorhome and I don't know what I expected, other than I thought it would be a lot quieter. Because the engine is in the back, I guess I expected to hear nothing but wind, but that wasn't the case. Of course our Louisiana roads are in poor condition, and this particular stretch of interstate was horrible (uneven and potholes), but still. Is your motorhome quite? Do you have to spend $300-$400K to get a quite ride?

[Mr_Mark1]

Bill, also, as I was a 'greeny' with my knowledge of a Prevost conversion, each conversion is built differently. The only thing really similar is that they use the Prevost chassis.

For instance, Marathon puts the generator radiator in the front behind the grill, Liberty puts the radiator in a side compartment that pulls air from under the coach, Millennium puts the radiator on the roof...... that's just the beginning of many differences.

Liberty uses Lithium battery technology whereas the other are mostly using AGM's (2 or 3 Li batteries vs. 8 or more AGM's). Liberty has perfected the air condition venting so that four 13,500 btu air units are plenty and will freeze you out. The others use four 15,000 btu units and you may not be able to use all depending on other electrical demands.... 50 amps are 50 amps (no stretching allowed, LOL).

MM.

[WILDEBILL308]

Mr.Mark wrote:
Don't assume that ALL upper end coaches are rattle free. My test drive of a new Prevost Marathon was very 'under whelming'. On this brand new coach there was a rattle behind the driver area that was very distracting.

You would think that the salesman would have corrected any problem before a test drive. Also, Marathon uses a particular driver's seat that you have to 'lock down' or you are up and down like a 'jack-in-the-box'...which I was.

Finally, the sales person locked down the seat so that I could keep my feet on the pedals. It was not a good sales presentation.

There was another Prevost converter showing at the same RV resort. What a difference on presentation. First, our converter uses a totally air/electric driver's seat that does not move to extremes as it doesn't require to be 'locked-down

A high end coach presentation is very important.

MM.

When they want you to spend that kind of money and they don't go through and fix the simple stuff or at least take it for a test run to see if there are any problems.
I bet you think Liberty Coach does a better job.
Bill

[Mr_Mark1]

Don't assume that ALL upper end coaches are rattle free. My test drive of a new Prevost Marathon was very 'under whelming'. On this brand new coach there was a rattle behind the driver area that was very distracting.

You would think that the salesman would have corrected any problem before a test drive. Also, Marathon uses a particular driver's seat that you have to 'lock down' or you are up and down like a 'jack-in-the-box'...which I was.

Finally, the sales person locked down the seat so that I could keep my feet on the pedals. It was not a good sales presentation.

There was another Prevost converter showing at the same RV resort. What a difference on presentation. First, our converter uses a totally air/electric driver's seat that does not move to extremes as it doesn't require to be 'locked-down

A high end coach presentation is very important.

MM.

[MrWizard]

An empty class a dp, no weight on the suspension, Tires at max pressure
Yeah..there are going to be some rattles
Put your stuff in there, fill the water, fuel, l.p., going to be a difference

[Jim_Norman]

The road you are one will make ALL the difference. On really bad roads, we get squeaks and rattles. This in our Tiffin, in out Gas Itascas not so, there the engine noise on top of all the rest is pretty loud. Now that said, 55 on a smooth road, the gassers were OK, at 65 on concrete as opposed to asphalt? Not so much. The Rear Engine Diesel is a definite winner.

[Mile_High]

praisetoGod wrote:

univmd wrote:
City airport shuttle buses are rear engine diesels. Was it louder than a city bus?

I've never ridden on a city bus so I don't know. Sorry if I've confused anyone, but the noises that I heard weren't engine related. The engine was very quite. I just want few rattles and a solid frame.

I'm going to go back next week aftrr they've tightened down the panel to the left of the driver, and test drive it again on a different stretch of road.

Ya, remember its empty too - so it takes the hits on the road a little harder, and things rattle. Our rattle was all the AV accessories on the metal shelves which went quiet when we got our AV devices installed, and some stuff in the drawers. We had one squeak on a slide, but I've never heard it again.

[praisetoGod]

univmd wrote:
City airport shuttle buses are rear engine diesels. Was it louder than a city bus?

I've never ridden on a city bus so I don't know. Sorry if I've confused anyone, but the noises that I heard weren't engine related. The engine was very quite. I just want few rattles and a solid frame.

I'm going to go back next week aftrr they've tightened down the panel to the left of the driver, and test drive it again on a different stretch of road.

[Bill_Satellite]

We Cant Wait wrote:
As to the 3rd noise being frame noise I'd suspect that the dealer has the tire pressure set at the max. as shown on the side wall of the tire. Once you buy any unit get it weighed, then go to the tire makers chart for the appropriate air pressure i.e. our max tire pressure on the tire is 120psi, according to my weighs I run 100 in the front and 90 in the rears, this is according to the tire makers chart.

My personal recommendation is that you get that coach weighed BEFORE you buy and not after. There are a number of coaches that are already overweight and you need to avoid this disaster. Additionally, you would be able to check the weight at each tire (not just front and read axles) to see if you have a weight issue on any one tire. Finally, you could have the dealer adjust the tire pressure (if appropriate) and see how the coach rides with the proper tire inflation. Any dealer not willing to do all of this should be left asking "Where'd he go"?

[Mondooker]

Yes 2gypsies, how right you are!

[2gypsies1]

Rattles can, most likely, be found and corrected. It's not a diesel issue. Any motorhome can have rattles.

When folks talk about the quietness of diesels they mean the engine placement difference, not a silverware drawer rattle. 🙂

[univmd]

City airport shuttle buses are rear engine diesels. Was it louder than a city bus?

[WILDEBILL308]

praisetoGod wrote:
We are looking at a Fleetwood Pace Arrow on a Freightliner chassis. One thing that really attracted us to this model is the drop down queen bed above the driver area. It has bunk beds too. We have 4 kids so it has enough sleeping space so that I can leave the dining table for dining, and the sofa for sitting, without having to pick up bedding. The drop down queen bed is motorized and has 4 chains, one on each corner. The chain is surrounded by a metal plate and on the bad road was vibrating against the metal casing. The dealer said there wasn't anything they could do about it, and suggested putting a piece of foam in it while traveling (there is in open slit in the middle of the metal casing exposing the chain).

The second noise was the console to the left of the driver where you shift from neutral to drive/reverse. They found something loose and said that can be tightened.

The third noise I'd say was the frame and that came on the hard bumps in the road. I test drove this on a super rough stretch of interstate and for this noise I'm guessing that was the problem.

My dad has a Fleetwood, and while I haven't ridden in his, I've heard that Fleetwood makes a quality product.

You realey need to go drive a couple gas coaches and re read my previous post. ALL the complaints you have registered have NOTHING to do with it being a diesel pusher. You need to get some more experience.
Bill

[DrewE]

praisetoGod wrote:
The noises were rattles. No issues with noise from the diesel engine in back. I heard that motorhomes were slow to accelerate, but I was surprised by the amount of power.

The key to rattles is locating them and then getting whatever is moving (and rattling) to not move and bang against something anymore. It's pretty much a given that rough enough roads will make for audible rattles, if only from the silverware drawer and the pots and pans and their lids, etc.

Rattles I've found have included window blinds/curtains, the aforementioned kitchenware, slightly open windows, interior that had some looseness when closed (fixed with adhesive felt dots), and probably a bunch of other things I'm forgetting. The most common seem to be kitchenware and various household goods.

[sonora]

Mondooker wrote:
Weight and wheelbase dictate ride and balance in any vehicle. Especially a large bodied product like a motorhome. The other component that settles things down even more is a Tag Axle, that that's an entire different story.

I drove a Thor Palazzo that had a loose dash and you'd start praying because with every bump you thought life as you know it was over! And the salesman knew it and still had me drive it without a word of caution. Strange!

He hoped you had hearing loss. :B

[Mondooker]

Weight and wheelbase dictate ride and balance in any vehicle. Especially a large bodied product like a motorhome. The other component that settles things down even more is a Tag Axle, that that's an entire different story.

I drove a Thor Palazzo that had a loose dash and you'd start praying because with every bump you thought life as you know it was over! And the salesman knew it and still had me drive it without a word of caution. Strange!