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kstockwe

Sound deadening

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Has anyone added sound deadening to doors or the driver/passenger cabin floor on the Sprinter and if so, was it helpful?  There is lots of information out for sound deadening on Sprinter vans but mostly those are for empty cargo vans, not Pleasureway or Roadtrek type “built out” campers where only the front cabin is addressable.  I have not pulled off the panels yet but rather doubt these conversions address this aspect.

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I installed these in many cars over the years, in doors and under carpeting, they do work well. Rsbilledwards might be able to chime in for another product recommendation. As mentioned I would start with the cab area, then move back, you might find yourself removing drawers for access and reaching around blind corners for installation. Sprinters don't come with much for sound deadening from the factory in the cab area, not a bad idea to do some improvements up there for a more peaceful ride. 

https://www.amazon.com/Evercoat-116-Q-Pads-Sound-Deadener/dp/B000P70UP8

 

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Joe.  Have decided to try some in my door panels.  Might cut enough noise in Jeep to hear myself think!

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Carl, I pulled the cab interior in our C put that stuff everywhere installed new carpet. Huge difference! Also cut down on interior heat from the engine.

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Thankfully, interior heat in coach is not from engine, it's from "Modern day", big windows!  In toad, I have a lot of road noise, at anything over 50 mph!  When I'm off road, it never happens.  I don't do the Baja 500 or 1,000 anymore...leave that to younger kidneys! :wacko:

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Carl, 

I think Joe meant from the dog house when he had a Class "C".

One of the reason some of the older cars were so quite was that they were under coated. I remember taking the door panels off of several cars and painting the inside of the door with undercoating. Black gueie paint that was really thick, but it helped to deaden the road noise. Back to Archie, "Ah those were the Days".

Herman

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Not so much as the dog house in a Gas Coach but still the cover (not removable) is still protruding into the cab. Had several Vans and if you leaned your leg against the box it would be very warm. Good in the winter, bad in the summer.

Herman

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Herman,  I got a lot of heat from the floor via the exhaust system Y pipe and catalytic converter was under the cab.  It would get so hot that if you weren't wearing sneakers you couldn't put your feet down. DW refused to ride in the passenger seat it was so bad.  I have read complaints from other class C owners that have the same problem.

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No disrespect to either Class B or Class C coaches. But Manufacturers begin both with the plainest units available and then build on them. Those units had absolutely zero insulation and possibly no heat shields over the catalytic converters and mufflers. In other words they made a silk purse out of a sow's ear and they do make some nice looking vehicles. 

Herman

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Since I posed this question I went ahead and added 80mm Noico sound deadening to my front doors, sliding door, behind a few drawers, under the driver and passenger foot wells and to the rear doors.  I also changed out the door speakers since the panels were off, but that is besides the point.  I had downloaded a decibel app to my phone and had measurements taken at various locations inside the van while cruising at 70 mph on an interstate highway.  I got before and after measurements and the result shows a 2-3 decibel reduction pretty much throughout the cabin.  While a phone app may not be accurate I assume it would be precise, so that represents roughly a halving of the noise level I believe.  Still not as quiet as a Lexus but an improvement!

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One of the secrets high-end cars like Lexus and Mercedes use to keep their cabins quiet is thicker glass. Used to be common in American cars as well. Mostly gone now on all but the very expensive cars. When everyone started trying to up the MPG on vehicles, weight reduction became a big issue. Thinner glass weighs less, so that's what they went with.

Since many Class B and Class C rigs start with utility chassis, I'd doubt that they were manufactured with glass thick enough in the cabs to offer much in the way of sound reduction. Insulation and deadening materials will help, but can't overcome some things.

All that said, since decibels are not linear, a 2-3 decibel reduction is quite substantial.

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On 3/4/2018 at 8:02 AM, hermanmullins said:

No disrespect to either Class B or Class C coaches. But Manufacturers begin both with the plainest units available and then build on them. Those units had absolutely zero insulation and possibly no heat shields over the catalytic converters and mufflers. In other words they made a silk purse out of a sow's ear and they do make some nice looking vehicles. 

Herman

LOL, Really?  A Class B or C cutaway chassis is a fully operable vehicle before the coach conversion.   Zero insulation?  That isn't the case with any Class C I've owned or even seen.  Believe it or not they do have insulation and sound deadening, not always enough :rolleyes: , but it is installed in the cab unit.  No heat shields?  Now that is a potential safety issue...show me some examples.  Better yet show DOT and NHTSA, I'm sure they would be very interested.    Just where are you getting your info?  

On 2/22/2018 at 7:46 PM, kstockwe said:

Has anyone added sound deadening to doors or the driver/passenger cabin floor on the Sprinter and if so, was it helpful?  There is lots of information out for sound deadening on Sprinter vans but mostly those are for empty cargo vans, not Pleasureway or Roadtrek type “built out” campers where only the front cabin is addressable.  I have not pulled off the panels yet but rather doubt these conversions address this aspect.

The best addition I've made to any Class C chassis, as far as sound deadening, is a full cab Lloyds carpet mat.  They reduce sound, floor heat, and look a lot better than the rubber mats installed in most units.   The Lloyds mat made a huge difference in the M-B Sprinter based unit we owned.  See their website Here.

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Wayne.

Herman was referring to older units, not the once that have come out today.  There has been a lot of changes made over the past 30+  years, mostly positive!  My first coach was a 1967 Winnebago Class A, new..$8,300.  Compared to the insulation of today, I would not even want to step back into a 67'!  Same applies to all Class coaches, including yours...the first Class C or modified C and today's, are 2 different animals.

So, please do not take it as a personal attack...:)

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Mine was a 98' and Coachmen stripped all sound deading material that Ford had installed at the factory. Why...who knows? 

I reinstalled it and additional huge difference and a drastic heat reduction.

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We had a 1999 Minnie Winnie class C on the Ford chassis and it had no insulation in the cab floor.  The carpet was glued directly to the metal floor.  The engine dog house had a thin metal heat shield.  I pulled the seats and all of the carpet.  I ordered a 1/2" thick fiber heat insulation with a foil backing, high temperature spray adhesive and foil tape to better insulate the chassis.  I added it to the floor and reinstalled the carpet.  I lined the engine cover with the insulation and sealed the edges with the foil tape.  I added insulation to the firewall everywhere I could reach on the inside.

I made an big difference in the heat and sound.

Ken

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On 3/18/2018 at 7:05 AM, manholt said:

So, please do not take it as a personal attack...:)

I didn't take it personal...:)    I just see too many comments here on the FMCA forum that needs to be "clarified".  So in this case the take away is that 20 to 30 years ago some Class B / C chassis either didn't have any OEM sound deadening installed or the coach builder removed it.  I don't doubt those statements at all.   However to make a blanket statement that implies all current Class B / C units are like that is not correct. 

It is ultimately the coach builder's responsibility to handle insulation and sound deadening for the entire unit.  I suspect the biggest problem in both the Class B and C is the chassis weight limitation.  Closely followed by the products price point.  If the manufacture skimps on padding it saves weight...and money.   When I get tired of it and add Lloyds carpets, or Dynamat, I'm the one losing rated cargo carrying capacity...and money.  That works out pretty darn well for the manufacture. :rolleyes:

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Wayne.

Yep, bottom line is the consumer bears the burden, on most anything!  A friends father, explained it best & he was a manufacturer of Toilets!  "We build our products to the same expectations, that we want, when we, have to buy a product"!  Some where, along the line, that part was thrown out, for the benefit of profit.

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