Rain noise

[strux]

Is anyone else struggling to sleep in their FWCs when its raining out? We live in the PNW and camp throughout the winter. That time of year rain is almost a guarantee. On nights when the rain is light, I can get away with earplugs, but when it's heavier it sounds like someone firing a machine gun inside. I've tried camping under a canopy of trees as well, but this can actually make things worse as the rain drops accumulate on the branches/leaves and increase in size. I would love to hear any suggestions/modification from the community here as the situation has me considering selling the camper.

Thanks in advance for any help with this!

 

[K7MDL]

You could throw a tarp over the top at night, would soften the rain drop impact and thus make it much quieter. After a few minutes I get used to it and helps mego to sleep. I have an aluminum roof on my house also.

 

[rotti]

Ahh...the FWC rain melody.
Doesn't really bother me, kind of lulls me to sleep but then again I'm in the Rockies and rain is seldom seen occurance. What does get my attention is when it stops and then I'm thinking snow.

 

[MuleHawk]

We kind of like it but hail on the other hand is brutal on our roofs...


www.mulehawk.com

 

[strux]

You could throw a tarp over the top at night, would soften the rain drop impact and thus make it much quieter.

I have considered this, but I guess I'd like something permanent since it's such a common occurrence.

Doesn't really bother me, kind of lulls me to sleep but then again I'm in the Rockies and rain is seldom seen occurance.

This actually makes me wonder if our campers are constructed differently or something. When there is a good rain coming down, I can't imagine how anyone could get lulled to sleep by the noise in mine. I am by no means a light sleeper and I have been kept awake even with the aid of earplugs and barley pops.

MuleHawk, that is intense. I will definitely be looking for cover ASAP if I get caught in hail after seeing that pic.

 

[strux]

I wonder if anyone has tried using Dynamat on the underside of the roof? It would be a PITA to install, but seems like FJ community has had some luck with it.

 

[Lefty315]

I'm not sure you'll change much. I have an Arctic Fox, which has a fairly thick roof, and even a light rain sounds loud. Early on I've decided not to go out hunting because of the rain noise. I thought it was really coming down. When I opened the door the rain was fairly light. As someone suggested, maybe a tarp with some kind of ridge pole? I know that's not very convenient and less portable but that may help.

 

[longhorn1]

Never bothered us. For us it is soothing and falling asleep is easy. 2014 Grandby, single piece roof.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

A thought.Is there a difference between the FWC smooth one sheet roof and the original ATC style?
Don't camp in the rain that much but when we have the sound doesn't bother us that much,just fall asleep.
Frank

 

[strux]

Yeah, ours is a 2015 FWC Fleet so it has the single sheet roof. It is impressively loud.

 

[Vic Harder]

I wonder if anyone has tried using Dynamat on the underside of the roof? It would be a PITA to install, but seems like FJ community has had some luck with it.

Dynamat is incredibly heavy. I wonder if the sound difference is in the insulation used? Are some years insulated with batting and others with rigid insulation?

 

[K7MDL]

I had a Grandby with the old roof style and soft insualtion, now have the Hawk with the one piece and solid foam insualtion panels. I feel the one piece is louder, maybe more tinny sounding, but either are plenty noisy. The roof of my aluminum body F150 is impressively noisy in hail and heavy rain parked. Goes away when moving though mostly.

So there is an idea. Instead of parking to sleep, one person drives while the other sleeps. Horizontal rain is quieter. .

 

[2tallDA]

Yeah,I think we're stuck with it.
My Northstar TC800 has a heavy plywood roof and I get it.

 

[craig333]

Sleep right through it unless it downpour kind of rain. Other noises bother me much more.

 

[takesiteasy]

After years of sleeping in a tent in the rain, the camper seems so secure that the rain noise is not an issue- we happily fall asleep knowing we aren't going to wake up in a puddle.

 

[N'kwala]

Spend a lot of my camping time in the Northwest, get a lot of rain. Never really bothered.

Hail, on the other hand, is rather disruptive. Fortunately it's infrequent.

 

[camelracer]

Can someone please explain what this phenomena called rain is? I just don't understand.

 

[PaulT]

It's just sunshine that has experienced a phase change. In Oregon, it's called liquid sunshine.
No worries. Completely normal, although rather noisy at times. Just the pitter-patter of little drops.

Paul

 

[BFH4N]

Guess I'm lucky -- I doesn't bother me. My house has a metal roof, so I get it at home, too.

 

[billharr]

Spend Saturday night at Blue Mounds SP in MN. Weather warning in place came in at 1:00 am and kept up for over an hour. Checked radar on phone all red on the screen. Not sure how anyone could sleep through that. Roof was so loud we could not hear the thunder. 10 inch deep bucket was full to overflowing in the morning.