[grimmsgonewild]

Hi all,

I haven't driven vans in the past, so I'm unsure what is considered "normal" noise. My 2019 van has 2 sounds: 1) a small clicking sound (possibly something underneath?) and 2) and louder clanging sound (like a rubber is missing on the back door). On the smooth highway, only the small clicking sound is heard. But the clanging sound occurs while driving on normal roads in town.

I've just purchased the vehicle (2500, 159 wheelbase, 2019, 17,000 miles) so the mechanic at the dealership is going to assess. I swear I didn't hear these noises during test drives. Luckily it's still under bumper-to-bumper warranty as well.

But what is normal? I'm assuming insulation will ultimately help, but are cargo vans simply noisy? Is it a matter of readjusting expectations?

Thank you for any feedback and/or suggestions!

All the best,
Kelcey

 

[mtiberio]

there are many sounds. it comes down to your tolerance. clearly loose things need to be tidied up, but these vans creak a whole bunch.

 

[JohnnyRambles]

I'm assuming insulation will ultimately help, but are cargo vans simply noisy?

Yes, on both.

If the mechanic can't find anything wrong, I'd suggest having them (Or someone else) drive it around a back road while you walk around the back trying to isolate exactly where the noises may be coming from. The problem is these things are basically just a huge, welded (And glued) together sheet metal box. A sound can sound like it's in one spot, but be originating somewhere else. I nearly changed the rear end on one of my old cargo vans due to a grinding noise. The noise ended up being a spinning bar on the roof rack!

 

[RV8R]

We purchased a 3500 EXT new in 2018; the thing sounded like a tin can until we completed soundproofing around the rear wheel wells and especially the insulation. IIRC there were lost of snapping & clicking of the metal floor when flexing over non-smooth roads. We insulated with 1” XPS & 3/4” plywood n the floor. Once all the floor, wall, & ceiling insulation and panels were installed it was like night & day difference with the tin can road noises.

 

[Mcjoshin]

Hi all,

I haven't driven vans in the past, so I'm unsure what is considered "normal" noise. My 2019 van has 2 sounds: 1) a small clicking sound (possibly something underneath?) and 2) and louder clanging sound (like a rubber is missing on the back door). On the smooth highway, only the small clicking sound is heard. But the clanging sound occurs while driving on normal roads in town.

Hey Kelcey- I’m a new owner as well and the clanging of the rear door was terrible for me. I was about to pull my hair out. I made sure the rubber stopper was there because based on the sound I swore there must not be one, but sure enough it was there. I adjusted the doors thinking maybe the catches were too loose. Tightened them up to a point where they could get no tighter.... still clanging down the road. Just before I was about to purposefully crash the thing off the cliff, I had my father in law ride in the back while I drove and based on where the sounds were coming from we decided to hit the rear catches with some dry lube and magically the sound completely disappeared! After a 15 hour drive across the country it started coming back again a bit, so I need to see if there’s a more appropriate lubricant that lasts longer, but that was the issue for me. Might want to give that a shot.

 

[grimmsgonewild]

Mcjoshin, great tip! I'll give dry lube a try! Please keep me posted if you find something that last longer!

 

[RnR]

If there is a clanging noise, there is slop in the mechanism. Lubricating is a bandaid.
I have 12k mi on my 2019 and haven't exactly been easy on it. Aside from just the standard loud wind and road noise of an empty bare metal cargo van, I've never had any clanging noises that sounded like doors not closed all the way, no whining/whistling noises that sounded like failing pumps, etc.
I'm not sure what the causes are, just saying that any extra or odd noises are not normal and should be checked out, as they could lead to some type of failure.

 

[RnR]

I want to say a remember someone posting a while back that they replaced or flipped the plastic wedges near the door latches and that cleared up the slop in the doors.

 

[Mcjoshin]

I want to say a remember someone posting a while back that they replaced or flipped the plastic wedges near the door latches and that cleared up the slop in the doors.

I hear what you’re saying, but I would imagine the door latches require lubrications at some point no? Essentially all door latches/locks are lubricated. If they’re dry, like mine was, I would imagine that’s an issue. Are you saying you should never have to lubricate the moving metal parts in the rear door latches?

 

[MsNomer]

RnR is correct. There should be no noise in even an empty van except for road noise, wind noise and rocks thrown up. Granted, these three are magnified immensely, but there should be no squeaks, groans, whines, etc.

 

[RnR]

Of course moving parts have to be lubricated. Like hinges for example.
But if the pin in a hinge is worn and there's slop, causing the metal parts to bang around and make noise, that's a different issue.
If there's enough movement in the back doors that they are making a clanging sound when driving, something is out of adjustment. Lubricating whatever is rubbing or banging may quite the noise temporarily, but something needs to be adjusted to stop the movement.

 

[Mcjoshin]

Of course moving parts have to be lubricated. Like hinges for example.
But if the pin in a hinge is worn and there's slop, causing the metal parts to bang around and make noise, that's a different issue.
If there's enough movement in the back doors that they are making a clanging sound when driving, something is out of adjustment. Lubricating whatever is rubbing or banging may quite the noise temporarily, but something needs to be adjusted to stop the movement.

Clanging/banging isn’t really the right description for mine, more like rattling but even that isn’t totally right lol... It’s almost like a creaking when going over bumpy roads that is then amplified by big empty metal box. Door is nice and tight in terms of the latch, especially after I adjusted it.

I’ll have to check it out more, but at least in mine (20k miles) it wasn’t so much slop as it was just dry metal parts rubbing on each other with very little/no lubrication while going over bumpy roads. I’ll have to get back there and watch as my wife drives to see if I can actually spot any play.

 

[kmessinger]

I drive my wife crazy putting her in the back to find the mystery noises as we drive along. Take a friend for a drive and hopefully you can pinpoint the noise.

 

[RnR]

I'll have to remember that trick the next time we're driving and my wife is extra chatty.
"Honey, would you be a peach and go sit in back and listen for noises for an hour or 2? Thanks"

 

[Mcjoshin]

I'll have to remember that trick the next time we're driving and my wife is extra chatty.
"Honey, would you be a peach and go sit in back and listen for noises for an hour or 2? Thanks"

LOL!!!

 

[h1k3rb]

That type of request rarely ends well.

 

[2much2c]

My van squeaked and moaned when I drove it off the dealer’s lot. After my build the polyiso and plywood helped mute outside noise and somewhat increased structural integrity. But, those blasted rear cargo doors. They would make a loud thudding noise whenever I hit a bump. I fiddled with all of the adjustment brackets on the doors. What fixed it was lowering the brackets that hit the bottom pads attached to the van.

 

[promaster]

But what is normal? I'm assuming insulation will ultimately help, but are cargo vans simply noisy? Is it a matter of readjusting expectations?

Hi Kelcey,
I have the clicking too. I haven't been able to figure out what it is but it doesn't seem to be doing any harm (yet). No idea about the other noise.

As for general noise, though some disagree with its use, I think that the noise dampening mats were one of the best things I've done for the van. It all but eliminated normal road and wind noise. The other noise improvement was a homemade insulated cover for my MaxxAir fan.

I've met people who told me they can't have a normal conversation or listen to an audiobook while they're driving because of the noise. My van is quieter than any car I've owned.

Please post if your mechanic figures out the clicking noise.

Ben
Boulder, CO

 

[uralwrench]

When mine was new it was your basic tin can that magnified all road and wind and rain noise. 100 sq ft of sound insulation all over the walls, roof and rear wheel wells helped immensely. Then high density carpet padding and commercial carpet on the floor and thermal insulation on walls and roof and paneling. Goes down the road quiet as my my wife's mid sized car now. But on freezing days I do notice the rear doors and hatch will squeak as it goes down the road. (Twisting and bending I assume) That goes away from 40 F and up. I'm careful to lube all hinges and cables and moving bits every couple months. I consider it good enough.

 

[J. Gordon Beattie Jr.]

My van squeaked and moaned when I drove it off the dealer’s lot. After my build the polyiso and plywood helped mute outside noise and somewhat increased structural integrity. But, those blasted rear cargo doors. They would make a loud thudding noise whenever I hit a bump. I fiddled with all of the adjustment brackets on the doors. What fixed it was lowering the brackets that hit the bottom pads attached to the van.

I loaded the open spaces in the rear doors and other places where I couldn't glue 1 inch polyiso board with polyester fiber fill from a local craft store on sale. It breathes and is a great sound deadener. My rear doors make a dull clunking sound when I close them. The tin sound is gone. Gotta do the slider and the opposing wall when it gets cooler!
The polyester fill is great gap filler.