Not a question Gary, but I have an idea that has worked out for me in the past 5 or 6 years or so for keeping mice out of the RV during periods of non-use. You may have heard of this before. This is ideal for people who are storing there RVs inside a building. I have an empty, unused Morton Building 48 X 99 pole shed where I store mine and others. I simply put tire rings around all the RV tires.
When you think about it, how do mice first get into an RV? They climb up the tire, jump across onto a frame member and then from there, find a hole to get in. Slide outs are notorious for mice finding that hole. These tire rings really do work. Basically the rings are too high and slippery for them to get up so therefore, you have no mouse problem come spring.
Just to give you an example of the effectiveness, I have had this couple bring their RV to me for the past 3 years. Well anyway, he knew there were mice in his RV, (a 2005 Sunnybrook 5th wheel). I told him it won't be that way for long! I set a couple of mouse traps in the door and sure enough I caught one mouse right off the get go, then a day or so later, I caught another one. That was the first of October. The traps have been empty ever since I installed the tire rings. He is so impressed that now he pre-pays one year ahead to make sure he gets a spot in my building. I also randomly check throughout the winter to make sure there is no problem. So far, my device has worked wonders! Just thought I'd mention this in follow-up to the earlier post about mice. Dan B., (Edinburg, ND)
Thanks Dan! This is a great idea and your success with the invention speaks for itself. I do want to remind readers that, in addition to the tires, mice can easily enter by crawling up the shoreline power cord (one of the reasons why I don't advise leaving the coach plugged in during storage), and up the sewer hose or fresh water hose, if they remain connected for some reason. Literally any pathway leading from the ground to the RV, in any way, provides an easily-negotiated on-ramp for those pesky critters.
I'm thinking it might also be a good idea to place these rings around the landing gear of 5th wheels and hitch jacks on conventional travel trailers just to be sure.
(For anyone interested in Dan's tire rings, feel free to contact him at bakke@polarcomm.com)