Rattle on a new Beach

[Borris]

Thanks Hirsty,
I like your idea about the velcro straps around the awning.

Having now made some adjustments to the awning arms, the awning rattle now seems to be resolved. I eventually traced this noise to the arms knocking against the casing,

However, on a separate note, the awning role has worked slighly loose on one occasion recently and that also caused a different rattle. I had to tighten it with the handle. I am keeping my fingers crossed. If it unwinds/becomes loose again I think I will try your velcro idea.

The main rattle high up in the back persists however that too seems to be getting less noticable. I don't know why. Still no idea what is causing that one despite several attempts to trace it.

 

[Richard]

We possibly had the same rattles on our new beach. The scissors mechanism rattling in the awning casing was cured by adding extra 5mm thick rubber foam ( self adhesive, on roll, bought from a yacht chandlery) where the original foam is located inside the casing. (The original foam had detached) Our rattle high up in the rear was caused by the roof lining rattling against the roof structure, this was fixed with a sheet of soft rubber carpet underlay cut to match the small rear top bed mattress and extending about 6 inches under the main top bed roof mattress. Hope this helps.......

 

[Borris]

We possibly had the same rattles on our new beach. The scissors mechanism rattling in the awning casing was cured by adding extra 5mm thick rubber foam ( self adhesive, on roll, bought from a yacht chandlery) where the original foam is located inside the casing. (The original foam had detached) Our rattle high up in the rear was caused by the roof lining rattling against the roof structure, this was fixed with a sheet of soft rubber carpet underlay cut to match the small rear top bed mattress and extending about 6 inches under the main top bed roof mattress. Hope this helps.......

Thanks Richard,
I will give your solution a try. The rear high up rattle is certainly coming from that area so fingers crossed.
Best wishes.

 

[Hotel California]

Thanks Richard,
I will give your solution a try. The rear high up rattle is certainly coming from that area so fingers crossed.
Best wishes.

Hmmmm.....anyone seen this...?

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/ratlling-noise-from-awning-a-thing-to-check.14698/

 

[Richard]

Hotel California's link to the picture of the detached rubber scissor arm support inside the awning casing shows exactly the same problem as we had, ie one rubber pad detached.................

 

[Hotel California]

Hotel California's link to the picture of the detached rubber scissor arm support inside the awning casing shows exactly the same problem as we had, ie one rubber pad detached.................

I re-glued them but think they wil come back of at some time , something to put on the frequent-to-checklist

 

[Martyn]

Thanks Hirsty,
I like your idea about the velcro straps around the awning.

Having now made some adjustments to the awning arms, the awning rattle now seems to be resolved. I eventually traced this noise to the arms knocking against the casing,

However, on a separate note, the awning role has worked slighly loose on one occasion recently and that also caused a different rattle. I had to tighten it with the handle. I am keeping my fingers crossed. If it unwinds/becomes loose again I think I will try your velcro idea.

The main rattle high up in the back persists however that too seems to be getting less noticable. I don't know why. Still no idea what is causing that one despite several attempts to trace it.

I am still struggling with the rattle in my Cali. I think I've discounted it coming from any part of the roof mechanism and am convinced (still) that it's coming from the awning. I've tried shoving foam inside the awning housing, wrapping the arms in microfiber towels etc but it still seems to be there - really frustrating!

The funny thing about it is that the rattle seems to "warm up", what I mean is that we can begin a journey and it hardly occurs, but as we drive on and time progresses, it gets worse and louder. Drives me mad. I will try cutting up some foam strips and putting them inside the housing, I will also try some Velcro strips to wrap around the exterior of the awning but I don't really think this is the problem. If anyone has any advice to offer, you might make a very stressed Cali owner happy!

Martyn

 

[Richy]

I am still struggling with the rattle in my Cali. I think I've discounted it coming from any part of the roof mechanism and am convinced (still) that it's coming from the awning. I've tried shoving foam inside the awning housing, wrapping the arms in microfiber towels etc but it still seems to be there - really frustrating!

The funny thing about it is that the rattle seems to "warm up", what I mean is that we can begin a journey and it hardly occurs, but as we drive on and time progresses, it gets worse and louder. Drives me mad. I will try cutting up some foam strips and putting them inside the housing, I will also try some Velcro strips to wrap around the exterior of the awning but I don't really think this is the problem. If anyone has any advice to offer, you might make a very stressed Cali owner happy!

Martyn

Hi there
I found an intermitant rattle on the drivers side of our van,
It was in the top section of the door pillar where the safety belt height adjuster is located..
Not sure if this helps....

 

[Richard]

I am still struggling with the rattle in my Cali. I think I've discounted it coming from any part of the roof mechanism and am convinced (still) that it's coming from the awning. I've tried shoving foam inside the awning housing, wrapping the arms in microfiber towels etc but it still seems to be there - really frustrating!

The funny thing about it is that the rattle seems to "warm up", what I mean is that we can begin a journey and it hardly occurs, but as we drive on and time progresses, it gets worse and louder. Drives me mad. I will try cutting up some foam strips and putting them inside the housing, I will also try some Velcro strips to wrap around the exterior of the awning but I don't really think this is the problem. If anyone has any advice to offer, you might make a very stressed Cali owner happy!

Martyn

How about taking the awning off to check if its the source of your rattle, it takes max about 30 minutes to remove and replace it.

 

[Martyn]

That might be the answer Richard. Just take off the end cap, loosen the bolts and slide it off, is that correct?

 

[Grittzio]

We just returned our 2015 Cali for some snagging, we bought an ex demo, main complaint was what I thought was a rattle coming form the door, anyway turns out was coming from the awning, VW told me they could sort it with a mod, collected Cali next day and they had completely replaced the awning with new.

 

[Hotel California]

Lucky you....

 

[snowy55]

Our awning has rattled from new.
I've tried various bits o f foam and rags in between what I thought were the offending parts and then a couple of weekends ago I was looking at it again and noticed all the internal parts were loose in the case.

I tighten up the 2 x 13mm nyloc nuts at each end and its been silent ever since.

 

[Teejay]

Same issue, I have two rattles on a new T6 Beach.

The first rattle is a metallic noise that appears to be coming from the area in the rear, on the passenger side, behind the trim below the pillar between the living area and the boot (maybe I should add a picture). It sounds like a metallic tapping in the wing behind the trim but I doubt that's the real cause. It's difficult to pin it down to a specific spot and I'm wondering if the sound is being transmitted by something in the roof. I've read about cut hose on the scissor joints (as above post) but I don't seem to have anything like that on the vehicle. Where should it be and what does it look like - does anyone have a photo?

Hi
Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have what sounds like a similar.

 

[Richard]

Teejay, I had this problem on my 2015 T6 Beach which occurred 3 months after we bought it, the dealer removed the side panelling round the nearside wheel arch and the noise disappeared, before re assembling the panels the dealer re-secured a loose wiring harness. Getting the panels off is not a diy job in my opinion on a beach, never mind an Ocean. Very pleased with the dealers resolve to cure this problem for us. It sounds as if ours may not be the only T6 affected.

 

[X4 VWC]

Hi
Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have what sounds like a similar.

I returned the Beach to the dealer after a couple of weeks, due to a few issues. Dealer was amazing. Aside from the issues, we realised the Beach wasn't right for us, and an Ocean would be a better fit. Richard's post sounds encouraging and the noise did sound like a cable loose inside the paneling, so that may be it.

 

[Borris]

We collected our new seven seat Beach on the 1st June and very nice it is too. However from day one there has been an annoying rattle coming from somewhere high up in the back of the vehicle. So far I have ruled out the awning and the upstairs bed and have driven the vehicle with various blinds down to see if it disappears but all to no avail. My wife has even travelled in the back to try and trace the source but with no luck.
If you have a Beach and have experienced a rattle coming from somewhere high up in the back can you give me some more ideas as to what might be causing it?
I know that asking for the possble cause of such a non specific rattle is a very long shot but it is starting to really get on my nerves and any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Finally, after nearly a year of suffering this rattle, yesterday my eldest son located the source. It turned out to be the rear window blind. This rattle has persisted despite repeated attempts to find it's source. It only seems to do it when we go over a bump which given the apalling state of the roads in the south east, is all of the time.

We were on an Easter holiday day out with three of our grand children and he sat in the back. After finding out that it was the blind, I drove along with it up and....... silence. Well silence from the blind rattle at least. He and the kids bickered and squabbled all the way to the seaside. I insisted he sat in the front on the way back and Mrs B was relegated to the rear to calm down the little toads.

To cure this rattle I intend to stick some of those clear domed stick on bobbly cushiony thingummy bobs to the blind handle section.

Mrs B now says she can hear a sort of buzzing noise from the light fitting behind her left ear. I suggested tinnitus and instantly received a sort of stinging sensation to my left ear.

 

[Teejay]

A relief to finally track it down. Like many noises that are not supposed to be there drive me insane.

 

[Richy]

I've had to give up and consult VW regarding the clunking/knock from room above the drivers towards the A pillar,
2 Engineers both heard it but suggested I leave it with them to figure out the root cause.

Thumbs up to VW for their help so far

 

[Richard]

I've had to give up and consult VW regarding the clunking/knock from room above the drivers towards the A pillar,
2 Engineers both heard it but suggested I leave it with them to figure out the root cause.

Thumbs up to VW for their help so far

Hi Richy, we had a T5.5 Ocean with a similar clunk, try pulling on the grab handle above the drivers door, does this reduce the noise? If it does it may be the same problem, we never did get to the bottom of it and after three visits to the dealer complained to VW who replaced the vehicle.

 

[Richy]

Hope it doesn't come to that

cause I love ma van p

 

[hirsty]

I had the bonnet seal off & the wiper blanking plugs out under the bonnet the other day - my offender was a square aluminium looking box (presumably part of the wiper mechanism) which is suspended midair & gives an intermittent dash rattle.

Now temporarily stopped with use of a wedged in folded plastic bag!

 

[flying banana]

I reckon it's the awning legs. mine does the same. some strategically placed tape in the awning tube shuts it up.

 

[pjm-84]

I hate rattles but accept it with the Cali.

The one that really annoys me is the dash rattle, typically when cold, that comes and goes at random. Dealer reckons its the roof control console after I commented on the lack of rattles on the T6 Kombi he lent me. Wife thinks I'm insane when I give the dash a whack now and then.

On the plus side the rattle over my head has gone following further readjustment of the side door. Bonus

 

[Stoneybroke]

I've had to give up and consult VW regarding the clunking/knock from room above the drivers towards the A pillar,
2 Engineers both heard it but suggested I leave it with them to figure out the root cause.

Thumbs up to VW for their help so far

I have something very similar, which had appeared after eight months of ownership - infuriating!
We have no awning, so it's not that, but the noise is a tap-tap, almost tap-creak, above the driver's head (RHD), sometimes over bumps, sometimes just to annoy me!
Had the roof up, everything secure, been driving around with my hand on at various positions through the open hatch, but all secure, it definitely send to be inside the space betwixt the are where the light switch is, and the lower roof lining.
@Richy did VW trace your rattle?