1,500 miles and 2 months later... A Review

Richy · Mar 28, 2017

Just tried winding out the awning as mentioned above, but the knocking/ticking is still there and still driving me mad....

I've noticed if I drive round a roundabout it's worse which suggests to me that there might be some flexing or movement through the van causing the roof to move and make the noise.

I'm thinking of wasting my time and calling my VW service centre !!!!!

Wonder what p@sh they'll come away with as to what's going on with it....

Borris · Mar 28, 2017

Richy said:
Guys,
I know this might be slightly off topic, but does anyone else have an intermittent knocking/creeking noise from the drivers side, somewhere between the roof and the top of the drivers door.
I'm not sure if it's the rubber seals on the roof moving and making a creeping noise when the van is moving, but it starting to annoy me

Cheers Richy

Hello Richy,
I also have a 2016 Beach 150 manual. When I picked it up we also had an intermittent knocking from the same area that you are talking about. It turned out to be the middle knuckle joints on the awning extension arms. These knuckle joints are cushioned inside the awning cassette by two rubber pads on the back wall behind these joints. There are also two more underneath the joints. The first thing to check is are all four of these rubber pads still in place. They have a habit of becoming unstuck. If they have dropped off then the arms clatter against the awning cassette.
The second thing that I ended up doing was to follow advice posted on an earlier thread and adjust the awning arms. You can raise the centre knuckle joints slightly by adjusting the bolts found at the awning arm attachment hinges at the front and rear of the awning. On my Cali I tweeked the knuckle joints up slightly and that made all the difference.

Also the awnings can work loose over time causing them to rattle. So just wind it out and back again until firmly closed and that should stop any noise. Don't over do the pressure when closing as the awning gears are nylon and too much pressure can strip the gears.

Richy · Mar 28, 2017

If I get a dry day tomorrow I'll have a look, I found a post from last year that mentioned these rubber pads.

It's enough to turn you to drink

Skybird · Apr 10, 2017

Richy said:
Guys,
I know this might be slightly off topic, but does anyone else have an intermittent knocking/creeking noise from the drivers side, somewhere between the roof and the top of the drivers door.
I'm not sure if it's the rubber seals on the roof moving and making a creeping noise when the van is moving, but it starting to annoy me

Cheers Richy

I have the same but do not have an awning on my Cali. I sounds like there is something hanging or lose in the A pillar on the drivers side. its driving me mad

Richy · Apr 10, 2017

Skybird said:
I have the same but do not have an awning on my Cali. I sounds like there is something hanging or lose in the A pillar on the drivers side. its driving me mad

VW are going to have a look at it tomorrow, if they uncover anything I'll let you you know.

Erbster · Apr 10, 2017

My awning seems to work loose. When recently retracted it doesn't rattle, but after a couple of hours driving starts to rattle and needs "nipping up" with the handle. Presumably this is because the "roll" becomes a bit slacker with prolonged vibration.

Charles

hirsty · Apr 11, 2017

Erbster said:
My awning seems to work loose. When recently retracted it doesn't rattle, but after a couple of hours driving starts to rattle and needs "nipping up" with the handle. Presumably this is because the "roll" becomes a bit slacker with prolonged vibration.

I bought some cheap velcro straps from eBay to keep mine secured, only take seconds to undo in the rare event I roll out the awning.

hirsty · Apr 11, 2017

Richy said:
VW are going to have a look at it tomorrow, if they uncover anything I'll let you you know.

@Richy - it might sound daft, but pop the wiper blanking plug & ping this aluminium box in the centre, it was the source of an infuriating rattle in my T6 Beach. Everyone who got in could hear it & had a different idea as to the location of the noise - the windscreen throws the sound all over the place!

Richy · Apr 22, 2017

Thanks again for the advice,

Our van was in at VW who did hear the clunk but were unable to locate it and suggested it might need to go to the body shop to be investigated further.

That'll have to wait till the cold weather comes again, as I'm going to enjoy the summer with it, just need to crank up the tunes when driving