Critters - Just a Rant
I've tried just about everything to keep mice out of my RV. Cab Fresh works, but I've fallen behind in replenishing it. So I just put poison out, which seems to be effective in driving them out. But the poison attracts them in, then they go out and die. I've found 2 on the ground outside the RV.
Anywho, the inside situation is what it is.
I've also got issues outside. I think there are squirrels living, or at least hosting parties, between the gas tank and the floor. I went out there the other day and a herd of them scattered from underneath. It was then I realized that the air suspension wasn't working. The pump runs and runs but doesn't build any pressure. I hooked a compressor up to the manual fill and couldn't air it up. I can't hear, however, where the air is going but the line runs over the top of the gas tank and into the air valves above the axle. I think the squirrels chewed them up. I can't get to them because all the air leaked out and the back end is sitting on the ground. When the weather gets warmer I'm going to have to carefully pull it out onto the blacktop so I can jack it up. It's on a pretty good slope right now and I can't get a jack safely positioned under it.
Today I started it for the first time in months. The starter has been sketchy and I haven't had time to fix it. I turned the engine a bit by hand and the starter finally engaged. Once it started to heat up there was smoke pouring out from the engine compartment. I shut it down and took the cover off. There was so much smoke (steam, it turns out) I couldn't see anything. I let it cool down and saw what I thought was antifreeze filling the valleys on the left side of the intake manifold. It was boiling from the heat of the cast-in exhaust crossover. I put my finger in the liquid and sniffed it. It was greenish and sort of smelled like antifreeze. So I figured I'd start it back up and let it boil off. Then it occurred to me that antifreeze shouldn't be boiling like that. I looked again and noticed that the liquid was in places it couldn't possibly get if it were an intake manifold leak. I think it was critter pee! It's only 20 degrees out today so I guess it was frozen. After running for 15 minutes and after all the liquid boiled off, I let it cool down for about 30 minutes. I went back out and everything is bone dry. I started it again and let it run. No leaks. It had to be pee - I've never seen so many mouse droppings in one place, but there was no nest. I don't know what to think.
I never had this problem at my old house where I had it parked on a paved spot. I plan to pave a spot for it in the Spring so hopefully that will help. In the meantime I have to figure out how to move it with no air in the bags, or find a way to safely jack it up in the dirt where it sits.
Anywho, the inside situation is what it is.
I've also got issues outside. I think there are squirrels living, or at least hosting parties, between the gas tank and the floor. I went out there the other day and a herd of them scattered from underneath. It was then I realized that the air suspension wasn't working. The pump runs and runs but doesn't build any pressure. I hooked a compressor up to the manual fill and couldn't air it up. I can't hear, however, where the air is going but the line runs over the top of the gas tank and into the air valves above the axle. I think the squirrels chewed them up. I can't get to them because all the air leaked out and the back end is sitting on the ground. When the weather gets warmer I'm going to have to carefully pull it out onto the blacktop so I can jack it up. It's on a pretty good slope right now and I can't get a jack safely positioned under it.
Today I started it for the first time in months. The starter has been sketchy and I haven't had time to fix it. I turned the engine a bit by hand and the starter finally engaged. Once it started to heat up there was smoke pouring out from the engine compartment. I shut it down and took the cover off. There was so much smoke (steam, it turns out) I couldn't see anything. I let it cool down and saw what I thought was antifreeze filling the valleys on the left side of the intake manifold. It was boiling from the heat of the cast-in exhaust crossover. I put my finger in the liquid and sniffed it. It was greenish and sort of smelled like antifreeze. So I figured I'd start it back up and let it boil off. Then it occurred to me that antifreeze shouldn't be boiling like that. I looked again and noticed that the liquid was in places it couldn't possibly get if it were an intake manifold leak. I think it was critter pee! It's only 20 degrees out today so I guess it was frozen. After running for 15 minutes and after all the liquid boiled off, I let it cool down for about 30 minutes. I went back out and everything is bone dry. I started it again and let it run. No leaks. It had to be pee - I've never seen so many mouse droppings in one place, but there was no nest. I don't know what to think.
I never had this problem at my old house where I had it parked on a paved spot. I plan to pave a spot for it in the Spring so hopefully that will help. In the meantime I have to figure out how to move it with no air in the bags, or find a way to safely jack it up in the dirt where it sits.
