JackGrimshaw Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 To those who have roof racks and haul ladders on a regular basis: Do you have "howling" at highway speeds? I'm not talking about a rattle.This is a very loud hum at speeds above 55 and is almost painful. I have tried different rack and ladder positions and also wraping binder strap once around a rung and rack(thinking the strap might be vibrating) but to no avail. 2016 LWB van with no insulation other than above seats.I'm wondering if the bare roof may be acting as a sounding board and amplifying vibrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beta Don Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 If it doesn't do it without the ladder up there, but it does when you strap on the ladder, I think you've found your culprit for sure. Maybe you could try swapping the ladder end for end - That should make it better . . . . or worse, but at least you'd know for sure it's the ladder causing the problem I had a little Mazda wagon that had roof crossbars which I very seldom used and just the front crossbar made an unusual noise that I wasn't at all happy with. The very next year on the same model, Mazda addressed the problem by adding little rubber 'spoilers' on the underside of the crossbar. When I complained to my dealer about the noise, they ordered and installed the newer model crossbar for me and while it didn't eliminate the problem entirely, it did lessen it to the point that nobody but me noticed it any longer Pretty much anything on the roof at freeway speeds is going to make some noise - Some of them more objectionable than others. All the more so in a vehicle with little or no insulation in the headliner , , , , or in your case, no headliner at all Don jrm223 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidparker Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 I have experienced the "rumble and howl" on a full sized transit with square ladder racks. It turned out to be air flow buffeting. To fix it we wrapped a rope around the front rack, leaving about 2 inches between loops. That broke up the air flow and eliminated the sound. Its pretty common on square racks. Just google it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_otmV9ius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackGrimshaw Posted November 16, 2019 Author Share Posted November 16, 2019 Thanks davidparker The rack is "squarish" and does make some noise empty at highway speeds.I'll try the rope trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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