My 2009 Monaco Covina is loaded with squeaks and rattles. Dodge/Mercedes 3500 chassis, Class C, 24 ft., V-6 diesel, one slider. Beautiful rig, supposed to be a luxury class C, but all the squeaks and rattles take the fun out of RVing for me.
Have been doing a lot of research online about the quietest class C's on the road, and Lazy Daze name comes up over and over again as one of the quietest RV's on road. I'm getting serious about buying a 24 ft. Lazy Daze with twin beds in rear, and selling my Monaco Covina.
My fear is that I'd run into the same thing again with a Lazy Daze. I've had my rig inspected by all kinds of mechanics, and they all say the same thing. "Nothing wrong with this RV, all RV's rattle and squeak. Nothing to fix. Just turn up the radio and enjoy the ride."
So my question is: Do all Lazy Daze rattle and squeak too, or are they much quieter most other class C's? I'm not talking about rattle of dishes, things in cabinets, shelves, refrigerator, closets, etc. I'm talking about the rig itself and the way all the components and parts have been put together.
Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Our Lazy Daze is typically very quiet driving down the road. When my wife hears a rattle, she gets up and often finds a couple of beer bottles rattling against each other and wraps them in towels, or a drawer not pushed all the way in. The typical quiet ride of the Lazy Daze makes any rattles noticeable and annoying. They are always caused by the loaded contents rattling against each other and she rectifies the situation.
Thanks Blueox25. That's music to my ears. Also, the sound of beer bottles rattling together is not always a bad thing, right? ;)
I agree, I can identify and silence the cargo that is rattling. If I forget to pull up the kitchen blind it will rattle. I do have a small squeak above the passenger door between the cab and the overhead. A quick squirt of silicone spray behind the carpet and it will be silenced.
I have not noticed any rig rattles or squeeks in my 2001 twin king. You will love having a Lazy Daze.
Add some lithium grease to the guidebolts on the entry door every blue moon for the only “squeak” that has ever popped up on Ruby.
Overbuilt Sherman tanks on the road them thar Lazy Daze is!
We just turned 72000 miles on our 2011 midbath. The rattle factor depends mostly on the road surface. Obviously, when you hit rough pavement or holes in the road, you will have bangs, rattles, squeaks. But, on a nice stretch of pavement, it's quiet.
My 2016 has no rattles on normal roads. That's one reason I bought it. I do use small hand towels to wrap and cover any items that are prone to making noise. Frank
My 2003 doesn't have rattles or squeaks except when a drawer slithers out, the screen door isn't closed separately from the entry door, or the overcab vent lid isn't tightly secured. Everything is still tight (a lot more so than I am!) after 15 years and 110k miles.
One of the reasons for "body squeaks" is that the frame bolts may need tightening; this is a maintenance job that needs to be done periodically. There are many references to the procedure in the forum archives, the Companion, and Larry's project pages; a search will bring up the resources. (The bolts on the holding tanks and step should be tightened at the same time.) Other "squeaks" may be due to causes other than body integrity issues.
Yes, there can be some thumping and banging, but that's usually due to road conditions, as pointed out in a previous post.
Thanks to ALL who have responded to my initial question about intensity of squeaks, rattles and "bangs" in your LD rides. Your responses confirm that LD is top quality RV. Just great that you're all there to share info and help each other on this website.
Hope to become an owner myself. Seeking newer 24 ft., twin bed in rear, and have posted ad in classified section of this website.
If it's meant to be, it will happen, right? Thanks again.
Hope to become an owner myself. Seeking newer 24 ft., twin bed in rear, and have posted ad in classified section of this website. If it's meant to be, it will happen, right? Thanks again.
Before time gets away from us, I'd like to welcome you to this LD neighborhood. In a short time, I think you see that Members of this Forum have an exceptional amount of knowledge and experience regarding all things related to LD from 1966 to the present. And as importantly, Members are very generous about helping. Best of luck in your search.
You ALL have been just great. Clearly there's a real sense of community among Lazy Daze owners and/or admirers, and a warm welcoming for newbies like me.
One of the things I appreciate a great deal is the website guideline prohibiting political discussions. What a breath of fresh air that is! Visiting your website is sort of like taking a vacation to a really good place. You have something special going on here. Glad I joined.
Good roads no rattles except the drip pan in the stove which we remove when traveling but even it's barely there except on rough roads.
2008 MB, fulltiming since November, 2008. Over 70 K miles. I have rattles and squeaks which are, without exception, due to stuff in my cabinets rattling. But for my cabinet contents, my LD would be rattle and squeak free.
Ken F in WY
Let me add my voice (keeping in mind this is a self selection experiment)...... if I or we hear anything that rattles or makes a sound DW gets up and checks. Generally its something we, generally me, forget to secure in its quiet mode. The biggest noise maker is the door. If we lock it securely (dead bolt engage) then the only noice we hear is engine and wind noice.
Oh once and awhile I do hear DW screaming when I exceed 100 miles an hour........
Our LD was silent as a tomb. Then I got hearing aids and started noticing all sorts of sounds. But as others have pointed out, it is rarely the LD making the noise - usually it is "stuff," and that is something we have control over.
When I hear annoying noises, I send someone (there are always at least 2 of us, typically 4 or 5) to track it down and do something about it, if possible. And it almost always is possible. The exhaust flap over the kitchen fan was the only challenge - it rattled. It turned out it somehow slipped inside the frame when it is supposed to be outside. Easy fix, once we made a serious effort to figure it out. We always have a can of WD-40, velcro and some superglue with us. If padding doesn't do the trick, one of those usually does. But we've rarely had to resort to them.
So yes, the LD is pretty darn quiet.
My 2005 Jayco 25' Class C (24SS) doesn't rattle or squeak either, but the contents often do: dishes, bottles in the fridge, blinds, etc. The stove used to rattle until I replaced the rubber bits on the grate that the pans sit on, and the entry door latch needs a thin film of heavy grease periodically. My 1998 24' Maverick by Georgie Boy was the same way, so I suggest the lesson is it's generally not the motorhome that makes the noise, but the things loaded in it or attached to it that every Class C motorhome built on the E350/E450 Chassis will have.
We did have a motorhome that was quieter than either Class C: a 1994 Falcon Class B, built on a 19' Ford Van (not a cutaway). It had a softer ride, and that seemed to make a big difference in the noise it generated; also, it was more streamlined and had doors and windows that closed like those on a car or van, and not like the sliding windows entry doors on Class C's, so less wind noise.
The number one thing that rattles on a motorhome is the slide outs….LD does not have this problem.
all of Lazy Daze slide outs do not rattle....lol
The number one thing that rattles on a motorhome is the slide outs….LD does not have this problem.
I see that you recently joined this Forum and so welcome. I think you're finding that this Neighborhood is a great resource for about anything related to the world of RVs and LDs to include everything from soup to nuts. I hope your plans regarding your LD search and pending trip are successful. Please keep us updated as you move forward.
Our old 1983 LD was rattle free when we sold it. It was 20 year old and with 110,000 miles.
We thought is was noisy until we empied it, all the noise was our stuff .
Same amount of mile on our 2003 LD and no rattle or squeeks.
Larry
Jerry,
You said, “The number one thing that rattles on a motorhome is the slide outs....LD does not have this problem.
all of Lazy Daze slide outs do not rattle....lol”
Just for fun I’ll post these pics of the “only” LD slide out that may rattle.
Kent
The number one thing that rattles on a motorhome is the slide outs….LD does not have this problem,
The slide on our 2005 Jayco 24SS has not been a noise problem (or any problem), so it's not universally true; instead, the noises come from all the other things mentioned. In fact, the major noise on the two class C's we've owned came from ...
-Road noise: a good, smooth surface is almost silent compared to a rougher or pebbly textured surface, which makes the tires "sing"
-Wind noise: The angular shape of most Class C units, including LD, produces a lot wind noise.
With a smooth road surface and a 20 mph tail wind, they were both almost as quiet as a modern car; the reverse situation made conversation almost impossible.
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My 2009 Monaco Covina is loaded with squeaks and rattles. Dodge/Mercedes 3500 chassis, Class C, 24 ft., V-6 diesel, one slider. Beautiful rig, supposed to be a luxury class C, but all the squeaks and rattles take the fun out of RVing for me.
What do the owners groups for Covinas and similar Sprinter chassis motorhomes have to say? Perhaps others have the solved the problems you have.
Another way I look at the quality of the LD as compared to other brands is what I experienced over the years owning six motorhomes since 1982. Each of these units I bought new sometimes picking them up at the factory as with our current 2010 RB. The first five included 3 class "C's," and two high end diesel pushers. With these first five units it took me at least a year to correct manufacturing faults with the coaches sometimes returning to the factory to do so. Not so with our LD. We have put over 100K miles in the last 8 years traveling all across North America towing a Honda CRV and now a Jeep Cherokee. We have had NO problems with the LD coach. We have had a few problems with some components (heat pump, microwave, door and water heater). Knock on wood, the Ford chassis has done quite well as I believe in doing preventive maintenance. We do store it inside (in Florida) which helps and exercise it monthly during that time. There is no other better built class "C" coach manufactured in North America.
Whenever I have a rattle, I find it's because I didn't properly work the pre-departure checklist.
Happens all to often. :(
We love our 2015 MB and it was great on the 11,300 mile trip across Canada we did last summer. The two things which do squeak (other than the things mentioned above) are the right side leaf spring under the coach and the screen on the right back window. I'm trying blue tape to secure the screen to the frame as suggested at our LD rondy last month to see if that helps with the screen issue. We're also trying Tri-flow foam lube on the spring. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
SilverFox
I just completed my first trip out of state some 1300 miles in a1988 MB with 59000 miles. I only heard the pot and pans rattle. No creaks nor groans except from the six beings on board.
The two things which do squeak (other than the things mentioned above) are the right side leaf spring under the coach
We're also trying Tri-flow foam lube on the spring. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
The leaf springs have plastic slider inserts, located on the ends of the leaves. They break and pop out.
A truck spring shop can replace them. The inserts are hard to find and next to impossible to replace yourself.
Oiliing the springs is a temporary fix, the oil will attract dirt dust, the noise will eventually return.
The noise doesn't hurt anything, turn the radio up higher.
Larry
Thanks, Larry. Hopefully the tri-flow will help some. I will report the results. Not quite ready to try the truck springs repair shop yet but good to know for later.
The Tri-Flow may be just a bit too light for that job! You might want to try Kwikee's 'Grease Gun in a Can'. It's also recommended for electric steps... Attn: Jim!
Amazon.com: Kwikee Products Co 905069000 Kwiklube Spray Grease 11 OZ: Automotive (https://www.amazon.com/Kwikee-Products-905069000-Kwiklube-Grease/dp/B000BGOI92)
About 4500 miles into my recent 9000 mile cross county, down the Atlantic seaboard, & back to CA trip, i figured out that the squeak i still haven't located somewhere around the door was at the frequency my hearing aids amplify. Fortunately, I have aids with multiple settings so I cured the squeak that way ;D
By far the roughest road i drove was the interstate interchange in downtown Indianapolis. There was no way to avoid the potholes & wide/deep cracks across the width of the lane and I was seriously worried that I was going to end up with severely damaged suspension or wheels. Now THAT was a noisy road!
In fact, by the time I reached Maryland i had started measuring roads (mostly interstates to my surprise) by the number of drawers that flew open. From eastern Iowa through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, the neck of West Virginia, & SW Pennsylvania i hit several 3s, a half dozen 4s, & 3 or 4 5-drawer stretches of interstate and major highways. I couldn't turn my hearing aids down that much.
Luckily, my travels through those states mostly took me on lower speed, better condition, & more scenic back roads & county roads.
Susie
Me thinks you could adjust the drawers. They should not be that sensitive to bumps.
What was your rating for I-95?
Sounds like you'll be coming back the southern tier. You won't have a chance to compare SR-99 thru the San Joaquin Valley.
Some rough roads are good. This one in Lancaster, CA is music to my ears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWpltgCReMU
Me thinks you could adjust the drawers. They should not be that sensitive to bumps.
Lazy Daze Inc eventually catches up with the latest gizmos and doodads, but for some reason it has not upgraded the drawer glides. They stink AFIAC. No amount of adjusting keeps mine in and I finally installed baby safety latches on the kitchen ones to keep them closed while traveling. A pox on them!
Chris
No amount of adjusting keeps mine in
Chris
Oh, I don't adjust ours. I have Dorothy for that.
Lazy Daze Inc eventually catches up with the latest gizmos and doodads, but for some reason it has not upgraded the drawer glides. They stink AFIAC. No amount of adjusting keeps mine in and I finally installed baby safety latches on the kitchen ones to keep them closed while traveling. A pox on them!
Chris
We're newer Lazy Daze owners and we had a couple of drawers on our 2016 TK that kept opening while driving. I read the LD manual and understood the recommended adjustments but when I took the offending drawers out, everything looked fine, nothing seemed out of order. However, they wouldn't stay closed.
I was getting frustrated and about to take drastic measures, but then had the realization that all the other drawers in our LD were staying shut just fine. So, I decided to investigate much more closely and took one "good" and "bad" drawer out to inspect them. I used a powerful flashlight and a magnifying glass and a small ruler and looked at the runners and catches to try to find some difference.
It turned out that the "bad" drawers had catches (the small piece of metal that stops the drawers from opening) that were barely lower than the "good" drawers. This is what they tell you to check and fix in the LD manual. But, the difference was only about 1/32 of an inch - no way I could see any difference between the good and bad, but I could measure it. Then, by bending the catches up that tiny bit, the drawers starting working just like all the others.
It was a complete disconnect to me that such a tiny difference would make one drawer work and another not work. Because when I operated the drawers they had a significant mechanical clunk when they lock shut. So, I expected that I would see a catch that was obviously bent down when I inspected the bad drawer. But, in our LD it was almost impossible to see the problem. So, it was a very fine/delicate adjustment that made all the difference.
Maybe this will work for you, Chris - and anyone else with this issue.
Happy travels,
Jim & Deb
Santa Cruz, CA
24' 2016 TK
We're newer Lazy Daze owners and we had a couple of drawers on our 2016 TK that kept opening while driving. I read the LD manual and understood the recommended adjustments but when I took the offending drawers out, everything looked fine, nothing seemed out of order. However, they wouldn't stay closed.
I was getting frustrated and about to take drastic measures, but then had the realization that all the other drawers in our LD were staying shut just fine. So, I decided to investigate much more closely and took one "good" and "bad" drawer out to inspect them. I used a powerful flashlight and a magnifying glass and a small ruler and looked at the runners and catches to try to find some difference.
It turned out that the "bad" drawers had catches (the small piece of metal that stops the drawers from opening) that were barely lower than the "good" drawers. This is what they tell you to check and fix in the LD manual. But, the difference was only about 1/32 of an inch - no way I could see any difference between the good and bad, but I could measure it. Then, by bending the catches up that tiny bit, the drawers starting working just like all the others.
It was a complete disconnect to me that such a tiny difference would make one drawer work and another not work. Because when I operated the drawers they had a significant mechanical clunk when they lock shut. So, I expected that I would see a catch that was obviously bent down when I inspected the bad drawer. But, in our LD it was almost impossible to see the problem. So, it was a very fine/delicate adjustment that made all the difference.
Maybe this will work for you, Chris - and anyone else with this issue.
Happy travels,
Jim & Deb
Santa Cruz, CA
24' 2016 TK
Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try and keep hoping.
Chris
I hope its safe to assume based on these concerns I dont need to regret my decision buying a MB as am in my final couple of months before delivery. I will admit i am a worry wart. I have a friend who recently purchased SOB new and it is a real nice looking rig but it has a lot of rattles and other issues. Him and his wife really like it but they are a little frustrated about trying to get everything working like they would expect.
I hope its safe to assume based on these concerns I dont need to regret my decision buying a MB as am in my final couple of months before delivery. I will admit i am a worry wart. I have a friend who recently purchased SOB new and it is a real nice looking rig but it has a lot of rattles and other issues. Him and his wife really like it but they are a little frustrated about trying to get everything working like they would expect.
In the 18 years I've been a member of this forum, I don't recall anyone canceling an order because of "rattle" concerns or drawers that open when driving. In fact, I don't recall anyone ever canceling an order even though I'm sure that has happened due to illness or financial reasons. Although I am biased, I seriously doubt you can buy a better built class C manufactured in this country. I happen not to like the drawers but I can live with them considering the potential for overall shoddy workmanship (now more than ever) in other brands. Lazy Dazes are built to last more than two years.
Chris (stepping off soapbox)
Randy, if you don't like your new LD, in the first two months or so, I will bet you can sell it in two days for what you paid for it.
If it's red contact me.
Chris, more than 2 years, as noted here in the past 30 to 40-year-old LD's are preferred for the mobile homeless in LA.
As always I appreciate your guys vast knowledge in this forum. My wife and I looked at many different units in different places and visited Montclair twice. And it always came back to the LD. Our last visit we both basically determined it was an LD or no class C at all based on the qualities we had seen through the different manufactures. Again thanks for your guys input. I value it a lot.
Randy