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Old 01-27-2018, 11:07 PM   #1
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Model: Challenger 37YT
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THOR #10421
Insulating/sound deadening doghouse

I've read a few posts about adding insulation/sound deadening to the doghouse and this was a plan I've had since buying my MH. Today I decided to pull the doghouse to see how things looked and make sure how much material I'll need, etc. Well, I was initially surprised with what I found, until I remembered the lack of quality and common sense approach that goes into constructing these things!

What I found was about a 1/8" thick (and I'm being VERY generous with the measurement!) piece of insulating material which was haphazardly glued to the underside of the pretty thin, plastic doghouse. I was surprised because I thought there would at least be a 3/8" to 1/2" thick piece of insulating material with some heft to it to keep heat, sound, etc. out. Pics attached (notice how neat and straight the gasket is glued to the doghouse!). I realize they're probably trying to save as much weight as they can using very frail and flimsy materials but I've figured out, if they would just clean up all the saw dust, loose screws/bolts, fasteners, staples, double vinyl flooring(!!), trash, debris, etc., they'd save a TON of weight!

I'm going to use Dynamat to cover the inside of the doghouse and as much of the firewall, under dash areas as I can get to. The engine noise isn't deafening but with the very little material they used, I expect to see a marked improvement with the Dynamat.

Oh, and one other issue I ran into, I've noticed there seems to be a lot of cold air on the floor when driving, but I didn't think much of it because I know it's hard to seal every nook and cranny airtight. I noticed where the doghouse mates to the drivers side under the dash, there's a panel which is what supports the dash and should be secured to the firewall but there's a gap and the two mating surfaces aren't screwed together. They did spray some insulating foam in there, except they didn't quite fill it all the way and you could see daylight through the gap. Oh well, I'll drill some holes and put a couple screws in it so it doesn't vibrate and rattle like it does now.....
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Old 06-04-2018, 03:23 PM   #2
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THOR #6782
How did it go

How did you make out with the Dynamat and are you pleased with the results. Thermal and Sound?
Where did you purchase your supplies?
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Old 06-04-2018, 04:51 PM   #3
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THOR #11130
I read so much if this when shopping for new MH. This is one of my top 5 reason to go with the 550 chassis opposed to a truck cab manufacturered by a motor home company. They build it by the same standards as they do the coach body.
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Old 06-04-2018, 07:43 PM   #4
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I used Dynamat and Noico sound deadening on the doghouse and above the transmission and the Noico under both seats. Notice a slight decrease in noise and the doghouse no longer burns my need. I would probably do it again but didn't get the results I was hoping for. Good luck.
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Old 06-04-2018, 08:50 PM   #5
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The dog house on our RV is made of fiberglass and had No insulation of any kind underneath, none, nada, just bare fiberglass. We went nuts with the Dynamat everywhere we could get to, including the wheel wells. It made a huge difference, we can even hear the radio now.
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Old 06-07-2018, 02:50 AM   #6
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THOR #9288
Dog house noise

Well the thought came acros to me that the bride was saying at tomes the front end had a bit more noise than she wanted and said do something about the noise...so after thinking about it i left her at the first rest area and have not went back yet it's been 5 years now traveling with just me and the dog and all that noise has gone and i figured out the noise was about my driving in the first place...ha!
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Old 06-07-2018, 09:39 AM   #7
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I used DynaMat and DynaLiner on the inside of our doghouse, made a Big difference! Factory liner was a joke with huge gaps in what little insulation there was, doghouse would get hot to the touch when driving. After the insulation was applied now there is NO heat from the doghouse and sound was significantly reduced while driving. This is an upgrade I would definitely do again!!!

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Old 06-07-2018, 02:58 PM   #8
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THOR #3156
Amazon delivered my dynamat yesterday. Will be doing this mod next friday
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Old 06-07-2018, 03:45 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by halfprice View Post
Amazon delivered my dynamat yesterday. Will be doing this mod next friday
Please let us know what differences you have before and after.
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Old 06-07-2018, 05:30 PM   #10
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I finally finished my Vegas rebuild and my wife and I took it for a drive last night. Doing 75 mph on the freeway we were literally whispering to each other with no problems! The interior noise is eerily quiet, on the same level as our Cadillac CTS-V. It only took 4 months worth of work though. lol.

We were remembering driving our '73 Tioga on it's first trip about 35 years ago. The previous owner had put glass packs on it and it had vinyl flooring with pretty much no sound deadening, plus being aluminum sided with lots of sharp bumpy edges that make tons of wind noise. We had to yell to each other in the cab going 55mph! Imagine basically open exhaust at full load with the engine screaming at 3000rpm. It was brutal.

Adding any sound proofing to these RV's will be worth it. They're much better than they used to be, but still have tons of room for improvement. Work on sealing off any leaks and use foam or carpet in addition to dynamat or noico. Those are more for vibration than sound. On the inside of my Vegas engine cover I used a layer of dynamat, then a layer of foil covered foam. On the outside I carpeted the whole cover, and entire cab and rest of the inside actually. There's not much better than carpet for sound control, just think of how loud your house is when you take out carpet and put in hardwood floors.

I went to the extreme of course, but also ended up with extreme results. The inside noise level in our Vegas is insanely quiet from the cab to the back. I like it. Sure makes driving it more enjoyable.
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Old 06-07-2018, 05:46 PM   #11
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THOR #10907
Here's a few links to the best priced stuff to use...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(This Stuff is awesome but it's showing not available right now. I just ordered some a few weeks ago. Look for something similar I guess.)...https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I sprayed the entire inside of the front cap and underneath of the coach with this stuff...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 06-08-2018, 12:05 AM   #12
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THOR #9701
Thank you for your post! You really did take it to the extreme, but I admire your diligence. Very curious as to what you did with the spray foamed areas. Surely you have pictures that you will post at some point? I was also wondering if you filled the A-pillars along with the cap with the foam product? How is the expansion when filling cavities with that stuff?



WE have used dynamat products everywhere that was accessible under the hood and in the engine cover area of our '18 Vegas and that has made quite a big difference in the road noise. Thanks again for your updates!
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Old 08-23-2018, 10:47 AM   #13
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THOR #2757
Not in the "doghouse" anymore!!! Lol

Completed the installation of the doghouse insulation. Took "Windy" out for a short drive and the engine noise was lower. I may insulate the area underneath the Captain's chairs at a later date.

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Old 08-23-2018, 01:08 PM   #14
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THOR #12231
Great. Yep - this was one of the first mod I did to my Axis.

If a little is good more is better? LOL. I have like 3 layers under the dash/firewall - No joke. Much quieter that factory.

Within the first month I insulated the dog house and under the dash / fire wall, added front sway bar, rear track arm, safety steering stabilizer.

The mods just dont end. LOL (esp when your read this forum every day!)
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:30 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Long & Winding road View Post
Great. Yep - this was one of the first mod I did to my Axis.

If a little is good more is better? LOL. I have like 3 layers under the dash/firewall - No joke. Much quieter that factory.

Within the first month I insulated the dog house and under the dash / fire wall, added front sway bar, rear track arm, safety steering stabilizer.

The mods just dont end. LOL (esp when your read this forum every day!)
Right, the mods just keep going. Now, if we could do something about that road noise.
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Old 08-23-2018, 11:44 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K9Piper View Post
Well the thought came acros to me that the bride was saying at tomes the front end had a bit more noise than she wanted and said do something about the noise...so after thinking about it i left her at the first rest area and have not went back yet it's been 5 years now traveling with just me and the dog and all that noise has gone and i figured out the noise was about my driving in the first place...ha!

There's a guy who did something about the noise. (This method comes with serious consequences, don't try this yourself!)
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:00 AM   #17
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Yeah, I would stick with the noise rather than resort to that fix.
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