Isata 5 Upgrade from Isata 3 - Cab Noise

[milkman55]

So I have had the Isata 3 now for two years and thinking of ordering the Isata 5 30FW for delivery next year once the 2020 chassis is available.

My question is geared towards others who have either owned an Isata 3 and then bought the Isata 5 or at least have been in an Isata 3 on the highway.

My DW is not particularly happy with the amount of road noise we get in the Isata 3 Sprinter chassis and has been lobbying for a short DP where there would be no front engine. I just wondered if the Isata 5 cab noise was more, less or about the same as the Isata 3 at 65 mph which is how fast I drive pulling the toad.

On the Isata 3, I actually think almost all the noise is wind and road vibration as I can hardly hear the engine myself. Her hearing is more sensitive than mine (I wear hearing aids).

I know the DP will still have road noise as would any truck chassis, but the Isata 3 is the first RV for us, so no experience with other chassis.

[caseymyers]

Congrats you'll get the new cab from RAM, nice looking rig. Ask BC for photos...

P.S. no more noise than a RAM pickup.

[bratbros]

I had a brand X with a Sprinter chassis for a short time, and traded it off for an I5 30 FW. The 30 FW is much quieter in my opinion and has a much better ride. My brother has an Itasca class A and he drove my coach a few months ago and the first thing he said was, "Damn this is quiet!" Then he said, "This SOB has got some power!"

[acoxFL]

Having owned 2 smaller Tiffin DPs (Breeze 28BR and RED 33AA) I find my current ‘19 Isata 3 is about the same noise level, especially if you ever run the generator while driving as it’s right in front of the DP cab. And even without the generator both of my DPs had very annoying wind noise issues that were never resolved, but I have none of that in my I3. In theory the typical DP cab should be quieter than a front engine, but in practice I’ve been underwhelmed. I think I’ll use a dB noise meter app on my phone to get some data points to help confirm or deny that.

[mlmay12]

Originally Posted by milkman55

So I have had the Isata 3 now for two years and thinking of ordering the Isata 5 30FW for delivery next year once the 2020 chassis is available.

My question is geared towards others who have either owned an Isata 3 and then bought the Isata 5 or at least have been in an Isata 3 on the highway.

My DW is not particularly happy with the amount of road noise we get in the Isata 3 Sprinter chassis and has been lobbying for a short DP where there would be no front engine. I just wondered if the Isata 5 cab noise was more, less or about the same as the Isata 3 at 65 mph which is how fast I drive pulling the toad.

On the Isata 3, I actually think almost all the noise is wind and road vibration as I can hardly hear the engine myself. Her hearing is more sensitive than mine (I wear hearing aids).

I know the DP will still have road noise as would any truck chassis, but the Isata 3 is the first RV for us, so no experience with other chassis.

I have a 2016 Isata 3FW almost 3 years old. When first bought it had an annoying wind noise and a constant squeak. I had a friend drive on the freeway while I roamed around listening and pushing/pulling and touching everything. I narrowed it down to the coach door seal. I verified this by stuffing some folded up paper towells where I saw light coming through. I tried multiple sealants and nothing helped but made a big mess.

I finally removed the entire rubber seal from the inside of the door, cleaned the surface with denatured alcohol and applied a new seal of material shown below from Amazon. It is thicker and wider and noise was almost completely gone and has not come back. Not saying you have the same cause. I get a little noise from the big ball sticking out above our heads (forward cap) but not too bad.


Trim-Lok Rubber Seal EPDM Closed Cell Sponge Rubber with BT (3M) High Strength Tape System, D Shape, Height 0.562 inch, Width 0.75 inch

[milkman55]

Thanks for the suggestion. I had found discussion over on Sprinter-Source.com about the seals. Some were adding a second seal and some replacing existing seal. I found the D seal you used on Amazon and may give it a try.

I already put Noico noise reduction film on my doors when I upgraded the speakers. I was thinking about pulling up the floor and adding the Noico. I think i will try using paper towel filler in my doors and see if that makes a difference before I replace the moulding.

[Bill Davis]

Originally Posted by milkman55

Thanks for the suggestion. I had found discussion over on Sprinter-Source.com about the seals. Some were adding a second seal and some replacing existing seal. I found the D seal you used on Amazon and may give it a try.

I already put Noico noise reduction film on my doors when I upgraded the speakers. I was thinking about pulling up the floor and adding the Noico. I think i will try using paper towel filler in my doors and see if that makes a difference before I replace the moulding.

Did the Noico help with the noise reduction?

[milkman55]

Originally Posted by Bill Davis

Did the Noico help with the noise reduction?

Hard to tell if just Noico in the door panels made a difference. I did that because I was already inside the door to upgrade the speakers. I need to take some decibel reading to see what the before and after looks like. I will do that before I rework the door seals. It seems to me most of the sound is coming from the door frames.