This past fall I sealed up all entry points to my Freedom Express TT with Great Stuff but mice still got it. Once I discovered droppings I installed a barrel trap which worked well but apparently the damage had been done. I uncovered the trailer yesterday, put battery in, hooked up shore power and decided to fire up the furnace while I was working inside. As soon as the blower came on I heard a slight thump and after the heat was on for a few minutes I noticed the unmistakable odor of a burning mouse nest. I checked the outlets and of the three, one had just a slight trickle of air coming out. I ran out of daylight before I could dig too deep but my theory is, mice got into the heat duct hose through the round outlet cover (no screen) or they chewed through the hose somewhere. The slight thump I heard was the nest material being pushed against the outlet cover.I plan to start pulling everything apart next weekend but I had a question. My furnace is located either under the fridge or under the dinette seat, not sure which but I'd like to inspect everything while I troubleshoot the issue. Would this access panel be for the furnace or the fridge? The exhaust under it is the furnace exhaust so I'm guessing this is to access the burner for the fridge? What I don't know is how those fasteners work. They are slotted but I'm not sure if you turn them or squeeze them and pull.

the picture is that of the refrigerator access, the furnace should be accessible via a return air grill inside the trailer. The fasteners in question operate by taking a coin and rotating the slot to a vertical orientation and then pulling the whole panel out, bottom first. to reinstall push carefully back into position, as the plastic panel frame is breakable.

The cover is for the frig--rotate the latches 90 degrees and then pull the top of the cover towards you and left up.

I had the same situation a few years ago with our KZ Spree so having been there, done that I'd suggest you won't find the problem nest(s) at the furnace outlet but rather within ductwork inside the trailer. In my case I was lucky in that the ductwork was flexible foil that ran above floor throughout various cabinets and after discovering that simply cleaning the ductwork wasn't going to work at all I replaced them, a relatively easy task since that ductwork was readily accessible. However, if you have in-floor ducts with the ductwork running along the underside of the trailer floor which is enlcosed with Coroplast then I can guarantee you have a real job ahead of you. :E

The heat duct work is all pretty accessible from what I have seen, I don't think any of it runs under the floor. Hopefully the little buggers stayed in the heat duct work and didn't get into the AC duct work, then I'd have a big problem.

Mouse nest in heat duct | Good Sam Community

hbrady
Explorer
Mar 15, 2016
I got lucky (so to speak), they chewed into one hose, made one nest and that was the extent of it. I replaced all the hoses, fired up the furnace and no more smell. Still trying to figure out where they got the yellow insulation :h
Squints2c
Explorer
Mar 15, 2016
Had the same problem last year on my Bullet. They had actually built a nest inside of the furnace and it caught fire! Luckily I caught it before it caused any damage. I pulled the furnace out and sealed all of the openings with aluminum grill from a screen door, bought at Lowes. I cut it to fit and pop riveted it in. I absolutely hate them, this year we didn't have any sign whatsoever. One other thing to keep in mind, I think they were coming in on my shore power cord. Last time I winterized it I sealed that opening with steel wool. Good Luck
hbrady
Explorer
Mar 08, 2016
Paul D. wrote:
...Ask me how i know all this :(.

Been there, done that? Were you able to access underbelly hose from above? Is the normal duct hose typically 3" or 4"? May as well get some ordered :(. Thank again everyone.
skiles
Explorer
Mar 08, 2016
First off, sorry you have to deal with that. Second, thanks for posting that pic of the fasteners. I was wondering how to get those off without tearing them up.
Paul_D_
Explorer
Mar 08, 2016
If that model has a heated underbelly, which it most likely does, check your furnace for a smaller duct (2") that runs down. That is probably the access point they used to get into the duct work. Plug it off with some 1/4" hardware cloth. It would be advisable to just replace all of the flexible duct work if possible as it is futile to try to cover up the heated mouse pee smell. Take some time and vacuum out the air plenum in the furnace as well. Ask me how i know all this :(. Oh, and the access to the furnace will be thru the return air grill under the fridge on the inside of the camper.
JD_and_Beastlet
Explorer
Mar 07, 2016
hbrady wrote:
This past fall I sealed up all entry points to my Freedom Express TT with Great Stuff but mice still got it.

I've heard that they might chew through that regardless of the pest repellant; when we sealed our trailer last spring we used Great Stuff and pieces of brass scouring pad. So far so good...
hbrady
Explorer
Mar 07, 2016
The heat duct work is all pretty accessible from what I have seen, I don't think any of it runs under the floor. Hopefully the little buggers stayed in the heat duct work and didn't get into the AC duct work, then I'd have a big problem.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Mar 07, 2016
I had the same situation a few years ago with our KZ Spree so having been there, done that I'd suggest you won't find the problem nest(s) at the furnace outlet but rather within ductwork inside the trailer. In my case I was lucky in that the ductwork was flexible foil that ran above floor throughout various cabinets and after discovering that simply cleaning the ductwork wasn't going to work at all I replaced them, a relatively easy task since that ductwork was readily accessible. However, if you have in-floor ducts with the ductwork running along the underside of the trailer floor which is enlcosed with Coroplast then I can guarantee you have a real job ahead of you. :E
hbrady
Explorer
Mar 07, 2016
Excellent, thanks all.
azwildcat
Explorer
Mar 07, 2016
The cover is for the frig--rotate the latches 90 degrees and then pull the top of the cover towards you and left up.

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