Chausson X550 rattles

[newbiehmn]

Hi everyone,
We have bought the Chausson X550. Being new to motor homes we felt it was small and agile enough for us - 180bhp auto. Indeed the engine is great and the layout sort of works. Upgraded the bed with a topper as not much cushioning for older bones!
However, we are so disappointed with the overall creaks, squeaks and general crashes over bumps and even over little less new and less smooth roads. A short journey of an our from one overnight stay to another was torturous. Is this true of al MHs? I’m not talking about forgetting to wrap up cutlery or leaving a door unfastened. This sounds like structural movement that creaks and cracks.
Please don’t tell us to turn the radio on or use earbuds, these are loud crunches and we’re considering jacking the whole thing in.
Help!

 

[Neil S]

Tyres pressures are probably to high
Michelin camper recommend 80psi at the rear
I reduced ours to 68psi and the difference in ride quality was noticeable

 

[Guigsy]

It's a commercial vehicle with a ladder chassis, leaf springs and a plastic box on the back. It's never going to ride as quietly as a modern car. Yes, it's crashy on potholes no matter what.

As Neil said, tyres can make a big difference. You've probably got Michelin Agilis Camper "CP" tyres at 80psi (on the rear) that are renowned for being about as forgiving as concrete. You can reduce the pressures. Many (including myself) switched to van "C" marked tyres and using the manufacturer's recommend pressures for my axle weight, reduced my pressures to 50psi and got a much nicer ride. It's still not good, but it's far more manageable.

I've added a bit of sound/thermal insulation to the dash (and the doors on my previous van) which also helped reduce the noise a bit.

If you've got money to throw at it, full air suspension (where the entire suspension is replaced) gives a nice improvement again... for £9k! But it still only brings it up to Vauxhall Nova levels of road rattle.

 

[Burge]

It's a Motorhome & Welcome, I went round our 1st Van Eldiss Accordo with sticky foam tabs you can buy from B&M (Furniture tabs u put under chair legs & the like) & positioned them all around the areas that creaked & rattled, cupboards, doors did the job but took a while, now on the Burstner harmony we have now not had to apply hardly any as Build Quality is so much better .You'll get used to it so dont give in yet.

 

[Orion]

If you've got money to throw at it, full air suspension (where the entire suspension is replaced) gives a nice improvement again... for £9k! But it still only brings it up to Vauxhall Nova levels of road rattle.

Rear air only can also assist in making a difference to ride quality and less crashing over potholes etc., annd around £500 DIY or plus fitting.

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[Guigsy]

Rear air only can also assist in making a difference to ride quality and less crashing over potholes etc., annd around £500 DIY or plus fitting.

To be clear, that'd be semi air which replaces the bump stops/spring assistors. The leaf springs remain. I had semi air on the rear of my previous van. It improved handling, but it only helped with ride quality on the really big potholes.

 

[Mohawk Mo]

As Burge said, cushion as many doors, lockers etc as you can, it will help. My OH hates rattles in the MH and replaced the rubber seals on the internal cupboard doors which was inexpensive and made a difference. Stick with it, the adventures to come will be worth a rattle!

 

[Solly24]

I’m a bit late to this thread as I haven’t had my X550 for very long. A lot of rattles in this vehicle are due to the fact that the shelves are sitting on dowels which means that any road imperfections cause the shelves to jump on the dowels and make rattles. I solved all the rattles by attaching small bearers between the dowels and screws the shelves to the bearers. Doesn’t take long and the improvement is dramatic. I also stuck furniture leg pads to the door jambs of the two internal doors and that stopped any creaks/rattles there. The bottom shelf in the fridge is another culprit and I stuck pads to that as well. Finally, don’t leave the grill pan in the oven!

In my time I have had a Pilote, 2 A Class Hymers and have to say that after these minor modifications the X550 is quieter than any of those.

As mentioned above tyre pressure is crucial, mine was delivered with 80psi all round, far too much pressure, especially on the rear axle as there is not much weight on the rear axle of this motorhome.