diff --git a/system_tests/system_test.go b/system_tests/system_test.go
index 35642e517..06e37ac06 100644
--- a/system_tests/system_test.go
+++ b/system_tests/system_test.go
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ import (
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"golang.org/x/mod/semver"
 	"io/ioutil"
-	"os"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -318,13 +318,15 @@ CONSOLE_LOG=new`
 
 		BeforeEach(func() {
 			// volume expansion is not supported in kinD which is use in github action
-			if os.Getenv("SUPPORT_VOLUME_EXPANSION") == "false" {
-				Skip("SUPPORT_VOLUME_EXPANSION is set to false; skipping volume expansion test")
+			if !volumeExpansionSupported(ctx, clientSet) {
+				Skip("default storageClass does not support volume expansion; skipping volume expansion test")
 			}
 
+			oldCapacity, _ := k8sresource.ParseQuantity("10Gi")
+
 			cluster = newRabbitmqCluster(namespace, "resize-rabbit")
 			cluster.Spec.Persistence = rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqClusterPersistenceSpec{
-				StorageClassName: pointer.StringPtr(storageClassName),
+				Storage: &oldCapacity,
 			}
 			Expect(createRabbitmqCluster(ctx, rmqClusterClient, cluster)).To(Succeed())
 			waitForRabbitmqRunning(cluster)
@@ -393,8 +395,10 @@ CONSOLE_LOG=new`
 
 				// test https://github.com/rabbitmq/cluster-operator/issues/662 is fixed
 				By("clustering correctly")
-				if strings.Contains(cluster.Spec.Image, ":3.8.8") {
-					Skip(cluster.Spec.Image + " is known to not cluster consistently (fixed in v3.8.18)")
+				testRabbitmqVersion := "v" + runningRabbitmqVersion(cluster)
+				if semver.Compare(testRabbitmqVersion, "v3.8") >= 0 &&
+					semver.Compare(testRabbitmqVersion, "v3.8.18") < 0 {
+					Skip(testRabbitmqVersion + " is known to not cluster consistently (fixed in v3.8.18)")
 				}
 				rmqc, err := rabbithole.NewClient(fmt.Sprintf("http://%s:%s", hostname, port), username, password)
 				Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
diff --git a/system_tests/system_tests_suite_test.go b/system_tests/system_tests_suite_test.go
index 8c3663e3c..058f7f7e3 100644
--- a/system_tests/system_tests_suite_test.go
+++ b/system_tests/system_tests_suite_test.go
@@ -11,17 +11,14 @@ package system_tests
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"k8s.io/utils/pointer"
 	controllerruntime "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 	"testing"
 
-	storagev1 "k8s.io/api/storage/v1"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
 
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 	rabbitmqv1beta1 "github.com/rabbitmq/cluster-operator/api/v1beta1"
-	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	defaultscheme "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
@@ -56,21 +53,7 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
 
 	namespace = MustHaveEnv("NAMESPACE")
 
-	// Create or update the StorageClass used in persistence expansion test spec
-	storageClass := &storagev1.StorageClass{
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name: storageClassName,
-		},
-		Provisioner:          "kubernetes.io/gce-pd",
-		AllowVolumeExpansion: pointer.BoolPtr(true),
-	}
 	ctx := context.Background()
-	err = rmqClusterClient.Create(ctx, storageClass)
-	if apierrors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
-		Expect(rmqClusterClient.Update(ctx, storageClass)).To(Succeed())
-	} else {
-		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	}
 
 	Eventually(func() int32 {
 		operatorDeployment, err := clientSet.AppsV1().Deployments(namespace).Get(ctx, "rabbitmq-cluster-operator", metav1.GetOptions{})
diff --git a/system_tests/utils.go b/system_tests/utils.go
index 909b9b1ed..a03c77fc9 100644
--- a/system_tests/utils.go
+++ b/system_tests/utils.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	storagev1 "k8s.io/api/storage/v1"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
@@ -434,7 +435,6 @@ func newRabbitmqCluster(namespace, instanceName string) *rabbitmqv1beta1.Rabbitm
 }
 
 func overrideSecurityContextForOpenshift(cluster *rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqCluster) {
-
 	cluster.Spec.Override = rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqClusterOverrideSpec{
 		StatefulSet: &rabbitmqv1beta1.StatefulSet{
 			Spec: &rabbitmqv1beta1.StatefulSetSpec{
@@ -451,7 +451,6 @@ func overrideSecurityContextForOpenshift(cluster *rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqCluste
 			},
 		},
 	}
-
 }
 
 //the updateFn can change properties of the RabbitmqCluster CR
@@ -645,7 +644,18 @@ func hasFeatureEnabled(cluster *rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqCluster, featureFlagName
 	return false
 }
 
-// asserts an event with reason: "TLSError", occurs for the cluster in it's namespace
+func runningRabbitmqVersion(cluster *rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqCluster) string {
+	output, err := kubectlExec(cluster.Namespace,
+		statefulSetPodName(cluster, 0),
+		"rabbitmq",
+		"rabbitmqctl",
+		"version",
+	)
+	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+	return strings.TrimSpace(string(output))
+}
+
+// asserts an event with reason: "TLSError", occurs for the cluster in its namespace
 func assertTLSError(cluster *rabbitmqv1beta1.RabbitmqCluster) {
 	var err error
 
@@ -1069,3 +1079,31 @@ func pod(ctx context.Context, clientSet *kubernetes.Clientset, r *rabbitmqv1beta
 	}, 10).Should(Succeed())
 	return pod
 }
+
+func defaultStorageClass(ctx context.Context, clientSet *kubernetes.Clientset) *storagev1.StorageClass {
+	var storageClasses *storagev1.StorageClassList
+	defaultClassAnnotation := "storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class"
+	var err error
+	storageClasses, err = clientSet.StorageV1().StorageClasses().List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{})
+	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+	Expect(storageClasses.Items).NotTo(BeEmpty(), "expected at least 1 storageClass, but found 0")
+	for _, storageClass := range storageClasses.Items {
+		defaultClassAnnotationValue, ok := storageClass.ObjectMeta.Annotations[defaultClassAnnotation]
+		if !ok {
+			// StorageClass is not the default
+			continue
+		}
+		isDefaultClass, err := strconv.ParseBool(defaultClassAnnotationValue)
+		if err == nil && isDefaultClass {
+			return &storageClass
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func volumeExpansionSupported(ctx context.Context, clientSet *kubernetes.Clientset) bool {
+	clusterDefaultStorageClass := defaultStorageClass(ctx, clientSet)
+	Expect(clusterDefaultStorageClass).NotTo(BeNil(), "expected to find a default storageClass, but failed to find one")
+	return clusterDefaultStorageClass.AllowVolumeExpansion != nil &&
+		*clusterDefaultStorageClass.AllowVolumeExpansion == true
+}