Truma trumatic heater rattles

We test drove our NuevoII yesterday and weren't entirely happy about the noise from the rear living area while on the move, a few of the rattles seemed to be coming from the trumatic heater and I'm wondering does anyone have any suggestions to quieten or dampen the noise, is it normal for these to rattle this way? MrsCC was in the back searching for the rattling culprits as I drove and this was the main area for concern.

Dear CC
The front cover on these heaters are held in place by 2 wire clips at the top, try removing thee front by pulling it towards you and lifting it off then bend the clips very slightly upwards. Altenatively I have heard of people putting 1 or 2 screws to hold the case to the woodwork.

All the Truma heaters do it ! (including ours) Murphs suggestion is the acknowledged way of sorting.

The good news is they dont rattle on smooth roads, only unmaintained roads in Cheshire

Thanks for the tips and advice Murph & Roli

Already thinking of lots of fixes for sources of rattles, think the bottom drop down door on the cooker could be another culprit and the removable floor in the wardrobe could be another area of question. We only drove a few miles and the rattles were quite annoying, when we first got our Trident we had rattles but these were all fixed and she runs silently now, so confident (hopefully) most can be fixed over time

Dear CC,

Dont forget to change your picture if you do buy the Neuvo.

roli wrote:All the Truma heaters do it ! (including ours) Murphs suggestion is the acknowledged way of sorting.

The good news is they dont rattle on smooth roads, only unmaintained roads in Cheshire

And Surrey, we always know when we are nearing home

murph wrote: Dear CC,

Dont forget to change your picture if you do buy the Neuvo.

We have bought our NuevoII murph, the dealers just have the servicing and a few snags that we found to take care of before we can collect it and bring it home, will be changing my avatar once we are in full ownership (MrsCC will be changing hers too!)

Hopefully we will be able to work on the rattles...... With regards roads, we always swear about our local roads being bad but visiting other parts of the country has made us realise they really are not so bad, think the worst road ever for us was on the way to the Cotswolds, cant remember the exact road off hand but blimey talk about rough

Hi CC'

Glad you have your new AS i'm sure you will sort out all the rattles .... I think we're getting there

Brian

Hi Brian.. you think this day and age they would be able to produce something fit for the purpose wouldn't you? surely it could be manufactured as not to rattle in transit Will try the tips mentioned, read also somewhere else that the thermostat inside the fire is prone to rattling, quite like the idea of additional screws to give a more secure fix and a little persuasion of the fins etc, any other tips from other users welcome

I was just about driven up the wall with the rattles and banging in the Clubman when we first got it - I've put a few posts up about sorting blinds and cupboard rattles and bending the clips sorted the fire too. I also had to eventually fit extra mounting brackets and plates to attach the fridge/cupboard/tambour door unit to the body shell - the whole lot was visibly moving about 6mm! Really not impressed by the "behind the scenes" of AS build assembly!

Another source of banging was the fridge - barely secured by 4 screws and not secured at the back at all! I made up a crude but effective mounting block to allow the rear of the fridge to rest on and surrounded it with thick rubber strips to cushion it.

I finally have a 'home that is reasonably quiet on today's badly maintained roads. Hope you get your new 'home sorted CC - a bit of time and patience will get you there..................

CruizingComet wrote:Hi Brian.. you think this day and age they would be able to produce something fit for the purpose wouldn't you? surely it could be manufactured as not to rattle in transit Will try the tips mentioned, read also somewhere else that the thermostat inside the fire is prone to rattling, quite like the idea of additional screws to give a more secure fix and a little persuasion of the fins etc, any other tips from other users welcome

Hi CC,

All us 'Clubman' type owners seem to have the same problems ...... i'm going to take out 'shares' in the sticky foam company

I dont think 'Truma' realise that their heaters are fitted in M/homes as well as Caravans, where they can't be heard !!

(Monday morning moan over )

Brian

Deckies mention of sticky tape brings a thought to mind, double sided sticky tape might be a better solution than screws.

Auto Sleeper, put two black headed screws in our at the top, cured most of the rattleing, still get some on really rough roads.
Pete

Thanks for all the advice, not sold on the sticky tape solution TBH would much sooner use screws as this just seems more permanent.... Pete do you have a pic showing the location of the screws? Where exactly did Auto-Sleeper position the screws just for reference, you say the top am I correct in presuming the corners? Why don't they do this from new

Dont forget you have to take the cover off ocasionally to replace the battery located in a plastic box at right bottom.

The heater was rattling in our Nuevo II EK which was driving us mad when I parked up I removed the front cover to reveal the inner workings , here in lay the problem. The Electric Element has a small bracket between the upper coils which had worked loose ,it fits between the coils and is screwed to the back plate .its a bit of a fiddle to set back in position , but when fitted in its position the rattle is iliminated .

Thanks for all the tips guys... the rattling fire is one of the items we have put on the snag list to be looked at so hoping this is corrected when we collect, but at least if it still isn't 100% I'll be able to have a look myself now I have a few pointers

CruizingComet wrote:Thanks for all the advice, not sold on the sticky tape solution TBH would much sooner use screws as this just seems more permanent.... Pete do you have a pic showing the location of the screws? Where exactly did Auto-Sleeper position the screws just for reference, you say the top am I correct in presuming the corners? Why don't they do this from new

Hi Sorry for the late reply, Don't have a picture, and never seem able to upload when I do.

The two screws were placed on the beveled edge near the top of the fire, at an angle so that they fit flush.
Pete

Hi CC
Another method to hide the screws. I put the 2 screws through the flange on the inside top of the heater. With the cover removed drill two holes of a suitable size close to the outside edge, put the cover back, and with a fairly long magnetic screwdriver install the screws between the fins. I didnt need them on this van, bending the clips was sufficient to kill noise on all but the very worst roads.

Although the rattles and squeaks are better than previously discussed the fire still has an annoying squeak so think I may have to consider the screw option, it's mainly on the left top corner... only concern is if anyone needs to work on it at some point and I forget to tell them it's screwed, knowing how heavy handed some people can be "potentially" they could cause considerable damage to the fire and the units where it's attached to the wall if they were to try and pull it off as normal, wonder if some of those small velcro coins could possibly hold it enough to silence the squeaks? but then they might well be affected by the heat from the fire back to the screw option I think

I started this reply before --then it disappeared, wish the rattles in our nuevo would. To quieten the heater push 2.5m cable plastic insulation over the pathetic "wire gizmos that Tinny cover fits over and on. Obtain a few inches of Fireproof asbestos like cord fold it into a bundle wrap in oven foil to be extra sure !! stuff it between the "fins and the element no screwing necessary Autosleeper say it can be adjusted --the gap, it rattles less but louder on Irish roads, due to the Euro I guess. These heaters are so ancient I suggest they are no longer fit for purpose only in trailed vans. At the 40000 plus price tag, time we stopped purchasing this deteriorating build quality. come back Charles ! kick some A s..s Nuevosleeper.

I don't see the issue of the rattling fires down to Auto-Sleeper so much but rather Truma... they design and manufacture these things and AS can only fit what is available to them. Our fire rattles very little now compared to when we first got it, there is still a little movement in the top left corner which results in more of a squeak than a rattle but it's still equally annoying, will get it sorted but it's way better than when we first drove it!

Hi campers, seeing all the posts over-rattles-tyre pressures etc: am I out of order to suggest we as "buyers" do not complain enough. We who have always used "campers" (40 + yrs ) know how these vehicles have improved, therefore is'nt it time the experienced builders developed their own "fittings" especially heating units. Trauma will keep producing this antiquated tinny unit cheaply so long as Those builders such as Autosleeper put up with the complaints which must be the case since the service staff and dealers- suggest remidies. But in my opinion these vehicles should be more stringently inspected, and driven several miles as their pre delivery routine-- by the supplying dealer, I collected my Nuevo from Spinney I'm sure it was barely " run". As a mechanical person and based 90 miles away I have sorted most of the squeaks like rubbing cables on plastic, cupboard catches rattle(buttons) , Microwave bounced--stronger re fix, Refrigerator never worked, hence dealer never tried it overnight, should'nt that be part of a P.D. ? surely so , as in our case we were off to Scotland 4 days on Splendid Thetford service rep? replaced it at my home. Its all golden sand and sunshine at the Shows !! beware... see my previous comment. Nuevosleeper.

I've been grumbling on a few times about AS build quality re. rattles etc. Certainly mine is 8 years old but it really should have been better assembled IMO.

Hi All,

Our truma only rattles under the very worst conditions, but that is only because when we first got it I had a fiddle with the wire clips, and bent them untill the rattles stopped, and it isnt screwed, trial and error methods solved the problem.


Brian