This is one of the more comprehensively-commented historical threads on the Interstate camper van’s legendary loudness. Other threads have focused on specific noise mitigation measures for the roof fan, roof air conditioner, generator, etc. I myself published this a blog post titled
ROAD NOISE CONTROL IN AN AIRSTREAM INTERSTATE describing how we added custom carpet to the cab floor plus noise attenuation measures inside the cab doors.
We now have a new option for road noise mitigation - the
second-generation AirPods Pro, with their equally-legendary noise cancellation technology.
I used them extensively on a recent trip and I found that they cut down noise-related fatigue considerably. My ears are not ringing nearly as badly by the end of a long driving day.
My only concern is that certain rough road conditions seem to be capable of causing unintended low-frequency amplifications caused by sound wave peaks that seem to be lining up instead of cancelling out. I call these moments “punches” because it feels like getting punched in the ear. I find that placing a finger on the AirPod to steady it helps to dampen this effect, although if I am driving, I can only protect one ear at a time because my other hand is on the steering wheel (I have wondered whether tying a kerchief around my head like a babushka might achieve the same protective effect). This effect happens no matter which vehicle I am driving - it is as bad if not worse in my Sienna, and it even includes an annoying reverberation effect when I slam my driver’s side door, suggesting that the software / firmware is not properly interpreting the sound to be cancelled.
This is a subjective interpretation, but I also find that AirPods work better when they are delivering an audio stream as they were designed to do. You can take them out of their case, pop them in your ears, and they will noise-cancel even without anything playing. But they were optimized to perform that function while actively working. I have been a podcast junkie for years, but now I’m also an Audible junkie, in part because I need more content to support my noise cancellation.
Somewhat absurdly, AirPods also help with the conversation problem that the OP described in opening this thread several years ago. If your spouse is sitting next to you in the Interstate and you want to talk without excessively raising your voice, you can talk by phone if you both are wearing AirPods Pro. Conceptually it’s not that different from a pilot and a copilot sitting next to each other and wearing David Clark headsets.
Linear Mode
