# Stopping things rattling and moving



## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi there

The van is now mostly loaded up, but it's quite annoying when things rattle and move about.

The main culprits seem to be the cupboard with all the plastic glasses and mugs, and the cupboard with the plates. 

What approach do you have to this problem?

If you have bought any of that matting stuff, where did you get it? I went to B&Q to look for "woven plastic matting" and they looked at me like I wanted to buy a Martian.


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## Ian-rapido (Mar 24, 2009)

We use the matting that you mention, got it from the pound shop, there was enough to line the glovebox and 8 overhead lockers. 

SWMBO made some small foam filled cushions from left over curtain material and foam from and old pillow, each one is about 3inches square, that we wedge between all the plates and glasses. We also wedge one under the cooker lid and one in the oven door.

Works brilliantly and no more rattles 

Ian


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## Melly (Jul 5, 2007)

We put our bath towels in there and works a treat.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

If you have a carpet shop nearby go in and buy a metre or so of the non-slip matting used to stop rugs slipping. It's a lot cheaper than even the Poundshop rolls and comes in bigger bits- useful for lining lockers.

I made a whole set of circular mats from quilted material and use them to stuff between things. I've also got a set of thin mousemats- freebies from a conference: thank you Rolls Royce Aero.

Between our plates I've got a set of the foam polystyrene circular trays that pizzas and so come packed on.

Years ago I was invited in to an RV owned by a full-timing couple. The wife had made cloth draw-string bags for just about everything and I did the same for many of the more rattly items like saucepans. I used to take the fabric and handsew them while away. It meant I could people watch and keep my hands busy ! I got the fabric from our local market. It's offcuts of polycotton from a bed linen firm so is a huge selection of bright and cheerful patterns. They've been a real asset as we can find anything now by looking for the bag...providing they got put away in the right place in the first place.

G


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## JLO (Sep 27, 2006)

I wedge everything into cupboards so that the stuff has no room to move about, plus we use the plastic matting stuff, if there is a cupboard with a bit of room in where stuff can move I usually fill the gaps up with kitchen towels, etc. The biggest problem we had was with the cooker, so the grill pan is wrapped in a tea towel, also put a tea towel over the hob and then put the glass lid down on it to stop the rattling.


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## Fairportgoer (Jun 24, 2008)

Bubble Wrap works a treat


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## JLO (Sep 27, 2006)

Great never thought of using bubble wrap, our only problem is...........the dog is scared of bubble wrap (you couldn't make it up)


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## Jennifer (Mar 24, 2009)

I too use a tea towel for the grill pan, but, for my glasses and mugs, I designed my own holders. These are pieces of boards about half inch thick, which is cut to the size of the cupboards, and then circular holes cut out, into which stands the mugs and glasses, leaving space between each therefore no rattles whatsoever from the crockery or glassware. I thought I was quite cleaver with that!!!! 

The melamine plates and bowls stand on a rack in another cupboard. 

Jenny


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## CaGreg (Mar 28, 2007)

I love our rattles, it means we are on our way! I even love when something falls open on the first bend. I just want to jump up and down saying 'yippeee'. Still the same nearly four years later.

Can't wait for 'rattle and roll' on Friday night!!!!!!!

Ca


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

CaGreg said:


> ! I even love when something falls open on the first bend


First locker that opened on our first MH trip contained a big jar of Marmite. That taught us to make sure things were properly shut !

G


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

towels socks undies (unused) :lol: 

dave p


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## Freddiebooks (Aug 9, 2008)

towels socks undies (used) 

Freddiebooks


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## JLO (Sep 27, 2006)

First locker which opened on our first trip was the one with the pans in, nearly caused the dog to have a heart attack.


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## goldi (Feb 4, 2009)

Morning all, 



This is an ongoing battle with me , last week I made a rack for salt and pepper to sit in to stop them bouncing about, the matting I got from makro about £ 3 roll only to see it somewhere else at much less tea towels for the hob cover and thrown over everything else.

I also think the susspension on the x250 does not help.


norm


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## chrisdougie (Apr 1, 2009)

Hi
Go to poundland i got some anti slip matting and it works a treat it comes in 1 metre rolls


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

We put cushions in the rattly cupboards. I think we bought our non slip matting from Wilkos. It works very well on flat surfaces and is good for under and in the grill pan and for the hob.

JohnW


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I use non slip matting between plates and under sauce pans etc. The left over bits I cut up and use in the food cupboards to stuff between tins, jars etc., Alan.


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## midlifecrisismil (Sep 27, 2009)

Tesco - car non slip matting £5.00 for large piece then cut it to fit cupboards and shelves.

Also use it in lockers - works a treat.

Milly


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

I lined the locker shelves with German made Non Slip Mat called *d-c-fix*. I think I bought that in Lidl. It is a lot better/stickier than the cheap equivalent I found in the Pound shop. 8)

I also use the red rubber bands kindly supplied regularly by the Royal Mail to stop bottles and cans rattling. Thanks, Postie! 

SD


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## MaxandPaddy (Mar 18, 2006)

Turn up the music on the CD :lol: !

Val


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

On the inside face of all doors and lockers I put one or more strips of window/door self adhesive foam draught excluder. Choosing the position so that glasses tins etc hit that rather than the door. On some I did the same at the rear of the cupboards.

Otherwise the items sit on non slip matting and where appropriate are tight fits. A tea towel rests on top of the cutlery.

>See also beginning of this blog<

One cause of rattles is too high tyre pressures but don't reduce them just to stop rattles they have more important reasons to be at the right pressure. Worth checking though many tyres are over inflated


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

stay on the drive :lol: 
dave p


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Small Non-slip mats are also useful for mugs/glasses on the table when you cannot be bu**ered to use the levellers, or en-route on a quick brew-stop and far from level.

The poster with the board with cut-outs for glasses etc. has the solution that boats use- but that is more to prevent breakages in a Force 8 gale. Disadvantage is that replacements have to match the original holes. 

For my plates (non-plastic) I have fitted wooden racks, like the old (pre-plastic era) draining board racks. Not very space efficient but, being solo, space is not a problem

Geoff


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## short-stick (Jul 23, 2007)

Expanding foam... no more rattles.


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## vardy (Sep 1, 2006)

Bang right about the tyres! - I got advised to put 50 in all round by guy at ATS who had had the same van.

The only thing that rattles now is me.


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## Eisbaer (May 1, 2005)

We use rolls of kitchen paper towels to wedge everything tight in our cupboards and wrap tea towels around the grill and all pots and pans. 
We lined the under-seat storage compartments with matting (sold by Lidl a while back as boot-liner for your car) and this helps to keep the rattling of wine bottles down too.
Synthetic woven non-slip material is sold by Halfords. It's intended as lining for tool trays but works a treat in your cupboards too. 
A cautionary tale: Never carelessly leave your guitar in the alcove while driving. Mine fell down and almost nutted my partner, took a lump out of the table and frightened the crap out of me too! There must be a song in there somewhere.....


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## StanDup (Sep 12, 2008)

If you get into Lidl or Aldi (especially abroad), the fruit is protected in expanding, nylon sleeves that we use to fit over cups, mugs and glasses.

Motorhome shops in Germany sell them....... for about Euro5. In Lidl/Aldi they are free.


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## ramos (Nov 1, 2008)

Yes packing things tight is the best way to travel and We no longer put any heavy items or glass bottles or tins in locker over the glass top oven. Last year a sauce bottle fell out and the explosion was frightening. The millions of bits of glass went everywhere we were always finding bits in unusual places.


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## Otto-de-froste (May 20, 2005)

Eisbaer said:


> A cautionary tale: Never carelessly leave your guitar in the alcove while driving. Mine fell down and almost nutted my partner, took a lump out of the table and frightened the crap out of me too! There must be a song in there somewhere.....


Never leave your accordion on the rear parcel shelf of your car in the back streets of Sheffield either

My mate did, and went back to his car the next day to find a smashed rear window................................................
and two accordions :?


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## ingram (May 12, 2005)

We have used that non-slip material that is often sold at motorhome shows, pound shops and many other places. We have used different brands, some seem to be better quality than others. They do prevent items from slipping but, most annoyingly the matting always sticks better to the 'items' than to the shelves, so that when you lift the items the material comes with it!

Wrong type of shelves?

Harvey


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

I forgot to add this, found on another thread on this topic:-

rubber band round each set of cutlery, cooking utensils etc. - stops each item rattling against the others, and a bit of non-slip in each tray compartment

Geoff


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

We must be very second class motorhoming citizens. :roll: 

We can't be bothered with any of the wonderfully inventive suggestions on this thread.

The van is only marginally more noisy than when we brought it home completely empty, so it seems like a self-defeating endeavour to me! :roll: 

The sink lid gets a tea towel under it and the grill pan is in a little felt bag, but other than that I aim to miss the potholes and we just put up with it.  

Idle - or what!! 8O :lol: 

Dave


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## Zube (May 27, 2008)

Zebedee said:


> We must be very second class motorhoming citizens. :roll:
> 
> We can't be bothered with any of the wonderfully inventive suggestions on this thread.
> 
> ...


Yes Dave very idle - get Sian to start sewing little bags for her pans straightway :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

well so far , as some people have said, it's not really a big issue

there are moment when one hears a clatter or a swish, and one thinks "oh ****, what's the problem now"

I went to Halfords as someone suggested and bought some kind of rubber matting, but it was actually quite expensive! 

I had previously been to a "pound shop" and bought a shower mat, which I used for the shower floor etc, and this would be ideal for stopping things moving about.

I also have some clips that I had previously bought in B&Q or somewhere like that, to fix some musical instruments ( eg rainsticks) to the wall and I figure I could fix things like wine glass to the wall with those, once I have completely filled the van, and each place has its special place.

The biggest problem is the plates. I like the sponge ideas that some have put forward, and actually, one thing I have bought is those individual tissue packets, which can act as little "tuckers in" but also, in due couse, be useful in themselves. They are particularly useful in the toiletries cupboards, as are toilet rolls in various amounts of undress. 

I guess I'll just work on it.

I am v excited having bought a grand remoska in Lakeland today, and also have been gifted a table top gas barbecue and courtesy of a good old fashioned calor gas place, have got the little "thingy" to attach it easily to the gas bbq place in the van.

Just as well, as we are catering for 8 this weekend.

If anyone is planning to be at Norman's Bay, C&CC this weekend, do say hello, especially as I have reluctant campers with me.

Heather (and Chloe woof woof)


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## Friant (Feb 10, 2008)

I use cupboard keepers in all my lockers and even the fridge, they are just like extending curtain poles really.

http://www.smartoutdoors.biz/Tensionpole_Cupboard_keepers.html

Easy to drop down to the bottom of the cupboard when you arrive.Needless to say I found these after I've put 2 huge dents in the table and smashed a bottle of vinegar!


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