Resolving An Irritating Squeak In Cabinet Above The Cab

Five years ago during a multi-week cross country trip to the north-west and back, the cabinet above the driver developed a irritable squeak when driving.  While driving with that cabinet door open, I was able to grab the base of the cabinet above with my right hand and put some of my body weight on it which stopped the squeaking.

Once back home I called Kermit the owner of Phoenix USA at the time, to pick his brain on what might be going on.  After his first recommended attempt at a diagnosis yielded nothing, he suggested I bring in our PC and have them take care of it for me.  To avoid a special trip, I asked him if I could do it myself and so he told me what to do which completely eliminated the squeak.  It has been five years since I fixed it and the squeak has not returned.  If it does return, I should be able to remedy it by simply tighten the screws Kermit had me add.

The process is simply adding four screws through the upper cabinet floor into the steel Ford van roof.  To be proactive, I did the same in the cabinet above the passenger.

Here are the required tools and screws I decided to use for the project.  Six screws are pictured but I decided to add four per side for a total of eight screws.


Here is the van roof I screwed into.


Here is where the four screws on each side go, distance between screws is not critical.  I placed the fourth screw near the cabinet corner as extra assurance where I thought it might be needed most.  You want to measure three inches in from the cabinet face to assure you hit the van roof steel.  I first drilled tiny pilot holes to make sure I hit steel below.  There is an air gap between cabinet floor and steel roof of at least one half inch.  The cabinet floor material is very thin wood.  Adding four screws distributes the clamping stress across the entire length of the cabinet so the cabinet floor does not get distorted.  I taped threads into the steel roof and used flat head machine screws.  The cabinet floor is soft enough wood for the flat head to sink itself into the wood without pre-countersinking the hole.

Thanks Ron!

 

I apologize if I am "picking at an old wound', but I'm curious as to how this is now. Is it still quiet? And, are there any additional thoughts on it?


I've noticed in the last month I have a new noise above the passenger seat. It started as an occasional squeak and then an occasional metallic scratch. But, after completing another 1000 mile to get home it is now a metal on metal grating sound when I'm on a rough road (it's completely silent on a smooth road) . I think a metal bolt is sliding back and forth through a metal hole.  As if a bolt is loose and it now has more slack to slide across the threads. TBH I'm picturing a bolt with a loose nut sliding up and down through a hole in the cab roof.


This weekend or the next I plan to take off the headliner and see what's moving and hopefully fix this. From the outside I don't see any cracks or evidence of movement.... But maybe the cab is not flexing in the right direction while parked.


I had planned on rebuilding the cap area anyway (got several ideas to incorporate!). I even found a TV mount I like that brings the TV down to eye level. So, I guess this is my signal to start this project.


Anyway, interested if there is any additional insight as your solution has had time to bake.


Thanks, Larry

Larry,

The remedy continues to be effective.  Those squeaks have NOT returned.  Admittedly, since replacing our front coil springs with softer ones (DETAILS HERE) and also reducing the front tire pressure to better match the load, the ride has been softer which naturally contributes to more quiet B+ area cabinetry.  Before changing front coil springs, the thrashing up front was significant, though squeak-less since this fix/remedy was applied.

I totally understand.. When I drive thru Louisiana or Oklahoma and it seems like every screw in  the entire RV backs out halfway.


Thanks for the quick reply.

I totally understand.. When I drive thru Louisiana or Oklahoma and it seems like every screw in the entire RV backs out halfway.


Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, it felt like that, sitting in the front seats in our 2007 2350.  After the change in front coil springs & tire pressure, and naturally a wheel alignment afterward, our driving experience greatly improved.

We noticed it also with our microwave oven's perimeter vented shroud.  The 6 mounting wood screws used to back out all the time.  I replaced the wood screws with machine screws and spiked "T" nuts which greatly helped through making everything much tighter.  Between that change along with the springs, the microwave oven is so much more stable.  You can read about our microwave oven saga by CLICKING HERE.