Yet another mouse question from a newbie..

[johnsonbl]

So my family and purchased a Rockwood 2306 this summer (new) and it's now in storage and yes, you guessed it, we have mice. I've crawled all over under that thing and the only way for these little $&#**$ to get in is between the gray and black liquid tanks and the floor of the trailer itself. There is about a 1.5 inch gap between both and I can see in just enough to see that there is absolutely no insulation/caulk/foam sealing the holes where the drainage/vent pipes go up through the floor. But of course, since the tanks are like 4 feet wide there is no way for me to get anything in there to seal the holes myself.

I ask you, the experienced and wise RV community, should this be something that is A) sealed by the manufacturer or B) my responsibility and I'm SOL?

I've contacted my dealer and they of course state that this isn't something that would be covered under warranty. I'd appreciate any advice before I go and either start chewing butt or tearing my trailer apart.

Thanks.

Sincerely,

Pestered in Iowa City

[SaskCampers]

First welcome to the forum, there are many knowledgeable people here who can answer many of your questions.

Now to the mouse issue, don't forget if the head of a pencil fits so will a mouse. So I suspect you probably have more places than that for the little critters to get in. As to the gaps being a warranty thing, I would say not. We have gaps on our new FR and had lots more on our old Sunny Brook unit. You basicly have 2 choices IMO, fill the gaps with expanding foam yourself or use measures to prevent the little critters from getting to the gaps. I chose the latter as we have to deal with them around our acerage anyway in the house, quonset and garage. Our Rural municipality provides all landowers with bait to get rid of most all rodents including mice, we just have to purchase bait stations and we use the granular bait stations. We just keep an eye on the bait and fill as necessary, haven't been bothered for the last few years since we started putting them out.

Bait Stations, Rodent Control, Rodent Traps, Skunk Traps, Raccoon Traps, Live Traps

[buzzards27]

I filled a few entry points on my rig a while back. I used a coarse plastic air filter, cutting pieces roughly to size, and pushing them into any gaps I found. I then used expandable foam into and around the air filter.

I didn't need it, but you might hunt up a longer tube and/or tubing for those cans of spray foam to extend your reach into those hard to reach spots. Seems like those tubes they supply with the cans are seldom long enough.

Then again, maybe the right foam injected onto the top of the tank(s) will expand up just enough to close up the gaps around the drain pipes.

[smilin joe]

It is almost impossible to keep them from finding some small place to get in (IMHO).

After finding mouse droppings in our camper last year I plugged in a couple electronic rodent repellers. They did the job, no more signs of any mice.

This may or may not work for you depending on whether or not you can be plugged into shore power. Fortunatly we keep ours plugged in since it sits beside the house.

Hope you find a solution.

Joe

[daverain]

We have been using about 30 bounce dryer sheets distributed around the inside of the camper for the last 10 years, the little buggers don't like the smell or the chemical makeup of it, it really works. Don't forget to put sheets in all the cabinets, storage areas, etc.
Dave and Rainy

[MotocrossCamper]

I have lived on a farm my whole life and the only thing that I have found that really works is to load up on farm cat's and park your RV on a paved or rocked surface away from any buildings and use a cover. I used to store mine inside and have tried every suggestion on earth and I still had mice. Since I started parking it outside with a cover I have had none.

If you are going to store it inside or somewhere where you continue to get mice, my best advice is to use the electonic devices and put a tall trash can by the counter with a little amount of peanut butter in the bottom, the mice will do a swan dive in the trash can and then they can't get out. This at least eliminates the problem of having to search your camper for the smelly dead mouse. You can put poison in the bottom of the trash can if you want, but sometimes that makes a nasty mess when they die.

[ayotte]

We live on a farm and I have always stored our camper in a machine shed. I have used a product called (cab fresh) purchase it at machine dealers in Canada. It smells nice and seems to keep the mice out. Have used it in all my machinery cabs and truck cabs in storage and don't seem to have a problem.