Creaking Noise from Bodywork Robbing us of Sleep!

[Martin Wilde]

Hi. 

I am new to Caravaning and this forum, so I hope I am posting to the correct forum.

We are currently on holiday in southern Devon and our 2007 Bailey Ranger 620 /6 has developed an extremely annoying creaking noise when the wind blows against the back of the Molded body when we are in bed. 

At first I thought it was the headboard becoming loose from the wall, as it was detaching on one side, so I bought a tube of mastik to stick it back, but unfortunately the noise continues. 

My wife thinks that the Rear exterior Molded shell has become delaminated in a small patch from the other side of the headboard.

If push against the headboard with my fists the creaking noise stops for about 2 minutes. But then it slowly starts up again. It sounds like we are on an old wooded ship from a bygone era. 

We fall asleep through sheer exhaustion every night due to a bad night's sleep the night before (and having 4 young active boys). 

The noise isn't noticeable during the day but on a nighttime its very irritating, as it wakes us up between 2 - 5 am 😫😓

I wondered how the Caravan is constructed? 

I take it that there's an inner & outer layer of 4- 6 mm ply with insulation In between? Then how thick would the outer shell be? 

Has anyone else had this issue & been able to get over it? 

This is a bit of a drastic measure....... but I did wonder about screwing from the exterior into the headboard with a 15 - 20 mm screw and covering the screw head with some Dow and corning caravan mastik. That way I would pull all the layers together and stop any movement & creaking. 

We bought the Caravan last year and it happened a few nights then but it has now got considerably worse. 

It's 12 years old and we intend to keep it long-term so any advice is very much appreciated. 🙏🙏

Thank you for your help. 😊👍

Regards Martin 

 

 

 

 

[Benny65]

Not sure about Baileys, but on some other manufacturers, the rear panel consists of the interior wall board, a frame of 70mm wide pine around the edge with a couple of cross braces, with the spaces between containing foam insulation. All glued onto the wall board. The back panel is then fixed to the van with adhesive and possible screwed under the awning rail on a van of your age, although not so much nowadays.

The back panels are not normally adhered to the rear internal panel. 

I can see no reason why you couldn't screw through if you seal correctly as bike racks are fixed  this way. You have no residual warranty to worry about on a 2007 van

I would use stainless steel screws and plastic washer/covers and fill the pilot hole with sealant first

Edited August 7, 2019 by Benny65
spell check

[Mr Plodd]

First off I would try winding the rear steadies down a couple more “turns” that might just put enough movement into the caravan to prevent the noise. It might not work but it’s easy enough to try! 

 

Andy

[Dannyp]

25 minutes ago, Mr Plodd said:

First off I would try winding the rear steadies down a couple more “turns” that might just put enough movement into the caravan to prevent the noise. It might not work but it’s easy enough to try! 

 

Andy

Good call, or slacken them off a bit if they are too tight and twisting the van.

 

 

[Martin Wilde]

Thanks for the information, I really appreciate your imput. 

I am also emailing Bailey to see if they can help. 

Regards Martin 👍😊