Pack rat chewed the tank-sensor wires and freshwater vent tube

GeoMars

We were preparing to go camping in our 2018 320s Outback a few weeks ago and noticed 2 problems. First, the freshwater and grey water readings on the See Level II gage were "Opn". Then, before the freshwater tank filled, I noticed water dripping down from underneath. I took the trailer to the nearest RV repair shop (2 hours away). The repair person showed me what he found: a pile of branches and debris (classic "rat's nest"), chewed-through tank-sensor wires (causing the "Opn" readings), and a chewed-through vent pipe (causing the freshwater tank to leak into the underbelly. The shop cat went into the underbelly and caught the pack rat. Fortunately, the T@B was sealed well, and the pack rat was confined to the underbelly. I'm now working on rodent-proofing the underbelly.

ChanW

Good for the shop cat! Sorry about your damage...

Bclarke

What a nightmare!

bergger

Sorry to hear about that.  Glad the rat did not get inside the trailer.  Several years ago I parked my truck at a trailhead for several days while backpacking.  I had a marmot chew up the wire harness controlling my 4wd.  Cost me about $1000! Dang rodents! 

ScottG

GeoMars said:

...
The shop cat went into the underbelly and caught the pack rat. ...

Now that is service! What's the hourly rate for the cat?  :-)

GeoMars

No charge for the cat, but the service guy was 3 hours at $100.

ChanW

$33 per hour? Pretty darn reasonable.

johnfconway

You may be able to co-exist with resident pack rats and avoid future damage. If your house was plunked on prime pack rat habitat like ours, co-existence is the best you can hope for. First, understand what their role is and how they live. "Mr. Pack Rat" out of Tucson has a great website loaded with accurate (backed up by land grant universities) information. http://www.mrpackrat.net/

What works for us is doing nest destruction patrol every 4 months. We're on 11.5 acres, so I only arc as far as distance being less than that of nearest neighbor. If we see any tell-tale debris (cholla branches, dog poop, etc.) near house or chicken coop, we snap trap for a few days until all traps are clear for 3 nights straight. Traps go out after dusk and come in before dawn to avoid collateral damage.

Just an opinion -- live trapping and release elsewhere still ends in death. Either to the rat released or the one whose territory was invaded.

Freespirit

After a night of camping, my wife opened the door to slip into her favorite shoes and it seems “something” else liked them as well as she did. Whatever it was managed to chew the right shoe strap in half along with carving 2 almost perfect semi circles in the strap. The bright side is the shoes we’re old and we didn’t have to pay for damage to the TAB. 

Maybe we should have kept the shoes to use as an enticement for nighttime creatures over TAB electronics/wiring. 

Lesson learned: we put our shoes inside now.