Creaks, Squeaks, and Rattles

Squeaks :- may be from a cause that can be found and dealt with.

Rattles :- Likely to be able to be suppressed by packing techniques especially the classic coming from the galley area and/or the grill-pan.

Creaks are a different matter altogether and arise from the nature of the construction of a coachbuilt or A class whereby the sides roof and rear panels are thin and relatively flimsy and are glued onto the structure in a mechanised process which takes minutes. 

My solution :-buy a vehicle with a body structure designed to be robust and rigid. Its called a panel van and the resultant motor caravan to give it its Sunday name is a panel van conversion

Ultimately all LV's of whatever flavour are big boxes given to echoes that magnify any sound. They are never going to provide the degree of sophisticated comfort available in a car. We are, after all, driving a "van". An easy solution is just to turn the radio up a bit more. 

I’m not sure I completely agree with that, CY. Yes, they are commercial vehicles but MHs are insulated and sound does not echo around as it would in a bare panel van. Coachbuilts are definitely boxier and more prone to being noisy than PVCs, as BVM has detailed. 

As for comfort, although we all have different ideas of what is comfortable, commercial vehicle seats are designed to withstand more use than those in, say, an uncomfortable town car. There’s cab air con and heating and all you might find in a car except a vanity mirror😂😂😂

CY you are right about the comparative sophistication levels of cars especially newer ones. I keep my cars for about 6 years but have recently changed and the advances in that short time are acoustically splendid not to mention the engine performance which surpasses the once holy grail territory of 100bhp per litre. 

So we should indeed tailor our expectations to respect the "delivery van" heritage of our LVs. 

BUT

1. Delivery vans are designed to cope with annual mileages of 100k per annum and/or stop start urban deliveries all day every day so are built to be robust and

2. It is possible to built a LV which has no conversion noise (but does have higher engine, transmission and road noise than a car). I have one.  It is also the case that the van manufacturers have made efforts to make the van more car like, for example by improving the sound insulation under the bonnet. 

(drafted before but not "clicked" until after Tinwheelers post above !)

A car and a commercial vehicle which is what most RV's are based on can't really be compared in terms of Noise Vibration and Harshness. as they are different animals. Body creaks are down to the conversion construction and rattles generally from build and contents.

What was that old song? Oh yeah, 'Shake, rattle and roll'. 

I think that most of mine that may not have been there when the vehicle left the factory, were created by the previous owner having driven it around for two years, and 6000 miles, with 80psi all round tyre pressures. As I said earlier, it was a real 'bone shaker'. At those excessive pressures, it's wonder it didn't shake itself to bits.

In our MH we found it was the microwave and the oven that made the most noise. This was resolved buy putting a couple of wedges under the microwave and a bit of kitchen towel in the door before closing. The oven was just as easy by using a bit of soft matting (that you line shelves with) under the sides of the oven shelf. The grill pan I made a small cloth bag for, this held the wire grill, handle and tray. 

The remis blinds in the cab needed a small piece of cardboard wedged under the outer casing. After these measures were made we could ignore the rest of the little noises and could hold a conversation without shouting.

We had a Chausson which had a lot of 'road chatter' I spent hours fixing things and used yards of rubber matting. We now own a Dethleff and it is beautifully quiet.  

My brother has a Dethleff, and I've never heard him complain.

Expensive, but I guess you get what you pay for.