Sealing holes in underbelly

[CamperWill]

Hey all, recently purchased a Wildwood 30QBSS and upon inspection of the underbelly it looks like there are a few areas that need to be sealed up to prevent rodents from getting in. The underbelly is that tarp-like material and there is also a decent size hole in the plastic surrounding the fresh water tank for the low point drain.

Any suggestions on what to patch these holes with? The holes in the underbelly material are roughly 1-2" but the holy in the tank surround is closer to 5-6".

[myredracer]

Gorilla tape works or RV Scrim Shield tape available anywhere RV parts are sold. Make sure the surface you are applying the tape to is clean. Expanding landscape foam is a good choice as it is a black/dark grey color like the factory OEM stuff and is a filler & adhesive. It's also UV resistant. The foam below is available at Lowes. Tape will not seal penetrations for piping as well as foam. I can't think of a reason not to use foam and you only need a little. It's not like you will be removing the coroplast periodically.

[Aridon]

Atlee wrote:
What keeps rodents from chewing through the tape?

Aridon wrote:
We prefer tape. Foam can be a real PIA if you ever need to take down the chloroplast. It will expand and encase stuff above it.

What keeps them from chewing through the foam or the plastic chloroplast?

They generally look for easy entrance points if they really want in they can get through anything on the RV. We've never had issues, mostly because we aren't low hanging fruit with easy access points.

If you use foam and encase wires and plumbing behind it's going to be a mess if you have to take the bottom out.

Each his own but foam isn't going to stop them any more than tape. You're just removing the easy opportunity by not leaving convenient holes for them to crawl through

[TurnThePage]

I used some spare pieces of Eternabond tape to repair the darco underbelly on my trailer over 10 years ago. Still holding up fine. Probably the strongest spot down there.

They do make a tape product specifically for this purpose.

[Atlee]

What keeps rodents from chewing through the tape?

Aridon wrote:
We prefer tape. Foam can be a real PIA if you ever need to take down the chloroplast. It will expand and encase stuff above it.

[Aridon]

We prefer tape. Foam can be a real PIA if you ever need to take down the chloroplast. It will expand and encase stuff above it.

[rhagfo]

Weldon wrote:
Expanding spray foam.

Get the type designed for use around outdoor ponds, black and strong. Got mine at Ace Hardware..

[Weldon]

Expanding spray foam.

[bob213]

I've been told that this window flashing tapes holds pretty well.
Flashing tape

[tbr2015]

Gorilla tape to shrink the large holes then rodent proof expanding foam to seal them all. I've had a lot of experience with this on my trailer.

[mdcamping]

CamperWill wrote:
Hey all, recently purchased a Wildwood 30QBSS and upon inspection of the underbelly it looks like there are a few areas that need to be sealed up to prevent rodents from getting in. The underbelly is that tarp-like material and there is also a decent size hole in the plastic surrounding the fresh water tank for the low point drain.

Any suggestions on what to patch these holes with? The holes in the underbelly material are roughly 1-2" but the holy in the tank surround is closer to 5-6".

I had the same problem, I used thin plywood & bonded it to the trailer bottom with silicone.

Mike

[Halmfamily]

Gorilla tape on a clean surface will hold strong.

[rhagfo]

TenOC wrote:
I would use a can of expanding foam insulation -- might make the hole smaller with tape first. I think any type of tape will come loose in the 70 MPH wind under the RV. There are YouTube video of people using 3M type spray adhesive to stick fiber back in place. Google for repairing leak in black/gray water holding tank.

Gorilla tape will work on the fabric, black foam is best used to seal around objects going through the Corrplast underbelly enclosure.

[TenOC]

I would use a can of expanding foam insulation -- might make the hole smaller with tape first. I think any type of tape will come loose in the 70 MPH wind under the RV. There are YouTube video of people using 3M type spray adhesive to stick fiber back in place. Google for repairing leak in black/gray water holding tank.

[CamperWill]

Lwiddis wrote:
"Any suggestions..."

Yup. Looking under the RV BEFORE taking delivery, not after.

Great suggestion.. Didn't really feel like completely crawling under the RV that day since it was down pouring, a quick check around the perimeter looked fine. Additionally I think we all know there is ALWAYS something that needs to be taken care of with RVs.. something minor like this and other fixes isn't worth dragging it into the shop for.