Mice wrecking havoc

[wonka]

"Exactly.....

 

[Dee_Jay]

hi, we have camped for years and years with many different units over the years. I have owned two Citations (5th wheels)both with slideouts and never ever have I had a mouse in any unit that we have owned. They were all sealed off nicely at the factory. We have now purchased a heartland big country 3450ts and after having had it only a week found mice in it. Hubby found a mice nest in the front where the batteries are. So now we are fighting to seal it up and all the other places they are getting in. I have been told that they dont seal it in the front because if you use a generator in there it needs to be vented. They sure could have done that differently and sealed at least some of that up but they didnt. I feel that there is no quality control with these units as there are so many things that have to be fixed in them. I saw ours at a show and fell in love with it. Of course all the lights were on there and now I know why. Its so dark in there that you need the lights on to see anything, due to the fact that there is only one small window by the stove. I miss my skylights that I have had in previous units. The tv has been mounted as far to the left as they could mount it and none of the controls are accesible. There are so many things that need to be corrected they are too numerous to mention. Im not sure that I would consider buying from heartland again. It all looks good till you get up front and personal. Sorry I dont mean to be negative but all these things add up to not being a happy camper and heartland should know by now that the best advertisement in the world is word of mouth.......

 

[Chainsaw]

hi, we have camped for years and years with many different units over the years. I have owned two Citations (5th wheels)both with slideouts and never ever have I had a mouse in any unit that we have owned. They were all sealed off nicely at the factory. We have now purchased a heartland big country 3450ts and after having had it only a week found mice in it. Hubby found a mice nest in the front where the batteries are. So now we are fighting to seal it up and all the other places they are getting in. I have been told that they dont seal it in the front because if you use a generator in there it needs to be vented. They sure could have done that differently and sealed at least some of that up but they didnt. I feel that there is no quality control with these units as there are so many things that have to be fixed in them. I saw ours at a show and fell in love with it. Of course all the lights were on there and now I know why. Its so dark in there that you need the lights on to see anything, due to the fact that there is only one small window by the stove. I miss my skylights that I have had in previous units. The tv has been mounted as far to the left as they could mount it and none of the controls are accesible. There are so many things that need to be corrected they are too numerous to mention. Im not sure that I would consider buying from heartland again. It all looks good till you get up front and personal. Sorry I dont mean to be negative but all these things add up to not being a happy camper and heartland should know by now that the best advertisement in the world is word of mouth.......

Prior to our Landmark we had the trailers you mentioned, with the skylights, we loved it. we had the 26 ft 5er and the 32 TKS We loved that too. Prior to buying I spent many months on this site. The selling feature is the customer service, something I did not get at general coach ( out of Oliver BC).

We had the same kind of problems mice etc, we blew up tires like they were going out of style on both trailers. The GC trailers came with under rated axels etc and no CS.

what I am getting at is I had citation but made an informed move to heatland due to CS and product. I can send you the pictures I took of the Citation and the mouse entry points I sent to General coach to no avail.

when I get a trailer I do my own prevent procedures and leave a little something for the critters.

Don't be too hasty to condemn, I live in Saskatchewan, mouse infested.

Enjoy your trailer, open the blinds see the thread from when I was asking about sky lights, this was before we purchased, we love light but still purchased.

 

[DRGalligher]

Chainsaw - very nice response and I agree.

 

[DRGalligher]

Ok. DH and I just finished crawling around under our 2011 3055RL BH and didn't find very many places that were not sealed with expanding foam from the factory. We took out the drawer under the oven and checked the pipe that runs from the sink and it too was sealed. The pipe that runs under the cabinet too was also sealed. We noticed that some of the expanding foam that was sprayed around the main propane pipe had gaps so we resprayed the foam. Found a couple of areas where the underbelly seal was gapping so we sealed that too. DH placed metal screen around the vent that carries heated air to the basement and he place a wad of steel wool in the hole between the battery compartment and basement (the one that you stick the handle into should you have to manually bring the landing gear up). He also attached metal screen behind the fresh air intake under the fridge. We are ready for an extended FS campground trip so we'll see how all this does.

 

[Birchwood]

The corregated plastic underbelly on the Heartland RVs have openings between the screw holes
so I am not surprised of rodent intrusion in your coach.If you are in such an area where there is
long grass etc its quite possibe for this to occur.The corregated plastic is not the best for sealing
your RV but it is good for accessibility of internal parts in the under carriage.I just replaced a holding
tank and accessibiliy to the tank was easy.

 

[powerj]

So far our new bh32ti is a quality nightmare and I can see that the mice issue will be a biggie. Thanks for the tips everyone.

 

[JohnDar]

During our last two weeker at the BH (got home yesterday), I did not find any more mouse droppings under the kitchen cabinets. Previously, I sealed up some smaller holes outside, sealed in the front compartment and plugged the openings at the corners of the cabinet with steel wool. A thorough search of the basement and front compartment also found no more droppings.

In regards to the small gaps between the frame and the coroplast at the edges. Go ahead and fill them with expanding foam. When it comes time to drop the underbelly, the foam can be reapplied. For larger holes in the frame, use Gorilla tape to hold a piece of screen over it and apply the foam directly onto the screen. It will expand and hold in place. Rubber gaskets around the moving parts, like piston rods will close those off. When parked, I stuff sections of soft foam around the front jack posts to close them off. I also have a big foam plug for the UDC opening that prevents intruders from crawling up the hose and getting in.

And there's always our last lines of defense.

View attachment 15656

 

[DRGalligher]

Ok. DH and I just finished crawling around under our 2011 3055RL BH and didn't find very many places that were not sealed with expanding foam from the factory. We took out the drawer under the oven and checked the pipe that runs from the sink and it too was sealed. The pipe that runs under the cabinet too was also sealed. We noticed that some of the expanding foam that was sprayed around the main propane pipe had gaps so we resprayed the foam. Found a couple of areas where the underbelly seal was gapping so we sealed that too. DH placed metal screen around the vent that carries heated air to the basement and he place a wad of steel wool in the hole between the battery compartment and basement (the one that you stick the handle into should you have to manually bring the landing gear up). He also attached metal screen behind the fresh air intake under the fridge. We are ready for an extended FS campground trip so we'll see how all this does.

Ok - just reporting back after returning from two campgrounds that last year drove us nuts with mice and chipmunks getting into our RV - not one was able to get in this year! What nice peaceful nights we had - except for our Lab setting off the motion light near the steps keeping watch expecting to meet up with the little critters that never got in!

 

[JohnDar]

It seems I've still got an access hole into the underbelly that I missed. But, I did find how the little creep(s) got into the coach proper after I sealed the openings at the base of the kitchen cabinet. If you have the plumbing for a washer/dryer in an earlier 3670, the cover in the basement that runs from the back wall to the front is a perfect runway for them if they get into the underbelly. Towards the forward end, where the plumbing enters the bedroom under the dresser is a large hole. Then it's wide open under the dresser and into the closet where a small opening is hidden behind the washer. Drop the basement cover and fill the hole with steel wool (expanding foam, if you like squirting it upwards). At the end on the rear basement wall, I stuffed soft foam into all the spaces to close that end off. The newer 3670 floorplans may be different, but I'd check where the plumbing enters the closet. That basement cover in mine was full of mouse doo and half-eaten acorns.

 

[DRGalligher]

John - thanks for the extra information. DH said he will be doing some double checking before winter to make sure he got all the entry points.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

all ya have to do is kill about 8 mice. Brad nail the little fellars at equal intervals around the frames. The mice will get the hint and be saying to each other "Stay away from the fifth wheel guy in site 198. He just got here and already He has the whole family from next door pinned around the trailer".

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Mouse heads on stakes!