Is anyone else getting a whistle from their OEM side ladder? I start hearing it around 30 mph if the windows are down and above 65-70mph with the windows up.

To test if the gap between the ladder and the vehicle was the culprit, I used masking tape to seal the front of the ladder. And success! The whistle vanished. Thinking airflow was the issue, I tried weather-stripping foam to the back of the ladder but placed it a few inches back from the front to conceal it. Unfortunately, this made the whistling much worse. This leads me to believe the whistling maybe be caused by airflow getting into some parts of the ladder itself.

My next step is to fully remove the ladder and try to place the weatherstripping foam flush with the front. Has anyone else noticed this or have a solution? Or does anyone know if different versions of the ladder were made with potentially a different design? I really like the look of it but can't stand the whistling.

 

Tape around the fixed pane of the rear door and retest for the whistle. The fixed windows are breaking loose from their attachments and the whistle is from air escaping out of the cab around the window seal. Both sides of mine have had replacement windows installed. I thought it was the ladder forever. Mine is now 100% no whistle at any speed.

 

Were your rear side windows replaced or the back window? Apologies if I mis read your post, it was a little confusing to me. I am curious about this as I have not heard of this issue. What year do you have?

 

No whistle on my 110 w/ factory ladder on the left rear (drivers side).

 

Sounds like this is referring to the fixed pan on the rear door vs the larger back window.

I can give this a try and see. After you were aware of this could visibly see where it was breaking loose? Could you hear it when the windows were closed at lower speeds?

 

Yes, fixed pane of rear doors. One was done before I bought my 110 used. I couldn't figure out why the window tint was missing. The whistle on the ladder side was unbearable. Was there at low speeds but awful the faster I drove. Found a small thread on here referencing this and checked my truck out. Sure enough if I press the window toward the door, the glass would move. I put electrical tape (1strip wide) around 3 sides, drove it and noise gone. Called dealer and they replaced under warranty. Now 2 windows with no tint but NO noise so I'm happy. I think there are studs glued to the window that allows glass to bolt to the door. The glue is breaking loose from the glass.

 

2020 110, and yes, rear side doors. I could almost make it whistle with high AC fan speed . But pressure difference while driving made the whistle as air escaped out of the gap created by the loose glass.

I WOULD HAVE BET MONEY IT WAS THE LADDER BUT, NO.

 

Huh, I just briefly checked the window on that side and it didn't seem to move at all. I will have to do some tests with tape now. Thanks

 

OneTen, any update? I'm curious.

 

Sort of.

I've done a ton of tests and the best solution is taping the window area between the back driver side door and the rear back window which removes the whistle. If you notice in the picture the grey plate sticks out on the bottom and does not sit 100% flush. It's pretty solid when I press on it but if I open the door and pull out it moves ever so slightly. This might explain why I only hear it at higher speeds.

Long story short, I am thinking it might be the same problem that you mentioned with that fixed panel. I have an extended warranty so hopefully this is covered.