Underbelly plastic sheeting purpose?

[BretR574]

I have a 2017 Forest River Salem 27REIS. The piney squirrels have invaded the plastic underbelly sheeting. I can hear them moving around underneath and sometimes hear them chewing on the flooring. I'm considering removing it to prevent the squirrels from having someplace to dwell now that the temps have dropped. Last fall I crawled under and patched all the holes I could find they had chewed in the plastic but am trying to avoid doing that again as it's time consuming and seems endless until the real cold settles in.
Does this plastic sheeting serve any real purpose other than some insulation to help in colder temps?

[bikendan]

Moved thread to the Salem sub-forum since some enclosed underbellies can be for heating the holding tanks by the furnace and some don't.

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[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by BretR574

Does this plastic sheeting serve any real purpose other than some insulation to help in colder temps?

I think that it helps keep water off the bottom of the rig. Perhaps you could staple something like 'hardware cloth screen' over the plastic.

[mmartin_tdc]

It also helps air flow during travel to MINORLY improve towing MPG.

[Oaklevel]

If you remove the under belly you may have to tie up some of the wiring. The squirrels may chew up the wiring if nothing is done.

[Capacitor]

Isn’t there insulation above the chloroplast ?

[BretR574]

That's the major concern I have with them crawling around under there. Last year they chewed the wires for the tank sensors. Not a huge deal but afraid they'll chew something more important.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Capacitor

Isn’t there insulation above the chloroplast ?

Some units yes others no.
Some have a layer of Reflectix type insulation.

[{Tpc}]

If the plastic isn't there, the next attempt by them might be into the trailer?

I'd yank it all down to clean and repair underneath and then put it back up, and fix any damaged spots. But must be some kind of repellant they don't like so Id put that in there, and around the outside of the trailer.

Knowing myself, I'd probably seal the whole thing off as well as I could with some strong sealer, even if it meant harder to work with in the future.