How do you handle any rattling between the doors in the E-D & C-B Suites?

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Way2Kewl

Service Attendant
Joined
Sep 29, 2019
Messages
131
Location
Dallas
How do you handle any rattling between the doors in the E-D & C-B Suites?


Probably the most frustrating expectation if you’re in Rooms E, D, C, or B is that the sliding Suite door is going to rattle. In the past I’ve used Duck Tape and paper coffee cup strips but I can never get it to completely stop. This last trip I took some small dense foam wedgesand they worked best so far but still rattled some.

Now on the last Eagle trip I ended up with the last room available and it was the dreaded “A” layout but I was amazed how peaceful this room was. There were no rattles and I never heard a peep from room B. I’ve always preferred room layout for E thru B over A due to the extra space by the chair but the quietness of A had a lot of value. Mind you I do travel alone and sat on the couch rather than the more confined chair space .

I’d love to see them replace the sliding Suite doors with a solid wall like between A and B for all the rooms and eliminate the largest noise factor. From what I’ve seen the Suites are rarely sold.

It would be great to hear of any best results objects to use...
 
How do you handle any rattling between the doors in the E-D & C-B Suites?


Probably the most frustrating expectation if you’re in Rooms E, D, C, or B is that the sliding Suite door is going to rattle. In the past I’ve used Duck Tape and paper coffee cup strips but I can never get it to completely stop. This last trip I took some small dense foam wedgesand they worked best so far but still rattled some.

Now on the last Eagle trip I ended up with the last room available and it was the dreaded “A” layout but I was amazed how peaceful this room was. There were no rattles and I never heard a peep from room B. I’ve always preferred room layout for E thru B over A due to the extra space by the chair but the quietness of A had a lot of value. Mind you I do travel alone and sat on the couch rather than the more confined chair space .

I’d love to see them replace the sliding Suite doors with a solid wall like between A and B for all the rooms and eliminate the largest noise factor. From what I’ve seen the Suites are rarely sold.

It would be great to hear of any best results objects to use...

I always carry some rubber door stoppers to deal with rattles.
 
I stuff Amtrak brochures and magazines in between. Works great because they can be forced in as the flatten out somewhat but they then exert pressure so absorb the movement of the metal parts against each other.
 
I carry some wood shims and tape in a small bag that also has a few tools. I will say that this summer that all three bedrooms never experienced the dreaded door rattle, which is what I found in 2018. Maybe I have just been lucky recently or maybe these cars have been through Beech Grove and they made a change that eliminates the rattling.
 
Wooden carpenters shims (about $2.00 for 20 of them at any lumber store, even some hardware stores, too) work the best for me. I used to use towels and/or face cloths, then graduated to rubber door stops, but I've left several behind some years ago, so I've graduated to shims, instead. I even give them to the SCAs to use instead of coat hangers.

I use 'gaffers tape' instead of duct tape, too. Gaffers tape sticks very well and leaves zero residue. I've even used it to keep the side window curtain (over the sink or steps in Superliners) completely closed. Surprisingly, the latest round of 'quick trip through the shop' on 3 of the past 6 roomettes I've been in during the past 2 weeks had NO velcro on the edge away from the door. Somebody is out to save a penny here and there.
 
On our latest trip we had a couple of rattles we experienced the first was in a roomette on an SL1 and the other was when we actually used the suite door on a SL2, of which the door also didn’t want to stay open. Both rattles and the disobedient door were fixed with a rubber door stopper.
 
Wooden carpenters shims (about $2.00 for 20 of them at any lumber store, even some hardware stores, too) work the best for me. I used to use towels and/or face cloths, then graduated to rubber door stops, but I've left several behind some years ago, so I've graduated to shims, instead. I even give them to the SCAs to use instead of coat hangers.

I use 'gaffers tape' instead of duct tape, too. Gaffers tape sticks very well and leaves zero residue. I've even used it to keep the side window curtain (over the sink or steps in Superliners) completely closed. Surprisingly, the latest round of 'quick trip through the shop' on 3 of the past 6 roomettes I've been in during the past 2 weeks had NO velcro on the edge away from the door. Somebody is out to save a penny here and there.

I suggested leukotape, but I think your suggestion of gaffers tape is even better. Duct tape is not the best solution.
 
Rattles are part of a train ride in the sleeper cars. All of the above work. Best for me are rubber door stop, towels or a magazine for doors between rooms. Doors to the rooms rattle also so thats another challenge.
 
I would most likely put my BT headset/earbuds on, turn on some tunes and any rattling of the doors would go unnoticed and I wouldn't have to go to any extra lengths to quiet the doors.
 
Wooden carpenters shims (about $2.00 for 20 of them at any lumber store, even some hardware stores, too) work the best for me. I used to use towels and/or face cloths, then graduated to rubber door stops, but I've left several behind some years ago, so I've graduated to shims, instead. I even give them to the SCAs to use instead of coat hangers.
IMO that's the best solution but I buy those tapered shims in the plastic variety available at Home Depot. For the doors on cabinets we use the bubble wrap and some gaffers tape. We shouldn't have to be doing these things but the equipment is old, worn and replacement of equipment especially on the Superliners seems far off. AFAIK, even the Viewliner Sleepers on order for over five years haven't been delivered
 
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