Quiet That Annoying Stove-Top Rattle!

Lots Of Stray Noise Capability!

    If you are like me, silence while driving down the road is golden! When you own an RV, every squeak, rattle and little noise can drive you crazy. It's not that you can completely silence every one of them, but it's comforting to actually KNOW what causes them and whether something is going to break if it continues. I had one REALLY irritating rattle while driving. It wasn't constant, but only at certain speeds over specific types of road surface. Maddening! I finally had a passenger with me on an extended trip that could walk around in the living space and locate where it was coming from while in motion. Needless to say, it was found! Now...what to do about it!

The White Snake!

When I first bought my rig, I noticed the four burner stove had a long piece of white cotton cloth "snaked" around all the burners and piled up at one corner. I figured it was to keep the large white cover in place and rattle free while traveling. Nope. Now I know it was actually to stop the grates themselves from rattling against the stainless steel stove-top. The way stove-tops are put together is a bit odd. (Perhaps yours is different, but I've seen this design a lot in RV's) They push the burner grates through a slot in the stainless steel surface and then bend a tab slightly to lock it in. This definitely stops them from falling out. However, over time, they can (and will) loosen up and the grates themselves move about in the slots. Creating, what else(?) an annoying rattle!

If you remove the two (maybe more for yours!) screws holding down the top of the stove, you can lift it up and see the tabs. While it is up, it's a great time to clean out all the spilled food and dirt that's gotten under here ALSO check the manifold and valves for gas leaks! (Sniff or Soapy Water in a spray bottle works great!) I took a pair of large and flat ended pliers to the tabs and ever so slightly twisted them a bit further until the grate was really locked down again. No rattle. Mission accomplished!

The picture shows another stove diagram, but you can see the tiny tabs on the burner grates at the top...near the "2" in a circle.

It may not last, but at least I know what causes this noise and how to fix it. Now on to the annoying shake and rattle by the door....I think it maybe be the bottom of the metal blind mounted inside a frame on the door....maybe not. For my sanity (what's left of it anyway...) I WILL find it!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com