New to RVing...and some issues. :(

[Julesburg]

Good morning!

We are new members here on the forum and new to RVing.
We have used a pop up camper in the past, but upgraded to a Class C last fall.
We had so much fun last fall with our new 2004 Jayco Granite Ridge (Ford 450).
Now comes the hard part…
We have had such a busy spring that we just made it to our camper (in storage) for the first
Time. Our plan was to get it started – we knew that we would probably have to jump it as
We have no electric hook up for the winter.
But what issues. Again, we are brand new to the RV world. When we opened our camper,
Everything looked great! But then we opened drawers and cupboards. Ewww! We obviously
Had some house guests this winter. Droppings and urine in every cupboard and cabinet. We don’t
Know the first thing about this. Is it safe to clean ourselves? If so....what is the correct way of doing
So? Also, for next winter – what is the best way to keep these critters out?
Secondly our outdoor entertainment center (which is just a radio and speakers) turned on when our
Camper finally started. We never even used this last year so we know we didn’t leave it on. The bad
Part is – we can’t get it shut off!!! We tried to take it apart but couldn’t. We looked for the circuit to shut
It off but couldn’t find the correct fuse for it. So now we know it’ll have to be jumped again the next time
We go as the radio is still on. Anyone heard of this??

Lastly, my husband is ill and isn’t of much help. We got the camper as he can’t really travel by plane any longer,
But should be able to ride in the RV and camp for years to come. I also just ended 4 months of treatments for
Breast cancer and don’t have a lot of energy (or money!!). So hoping fixes are easy enough for me to do
And hoping not have to take it into service to help us save money.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give!

Happy camping!

[Ramblin]

Best way I've found to keep mice out during winter storage is a thorough and complete cleaning beforehand. Mice are looking for food. No food = no mice. When my coach goes to bed for the off-season, it does so with a fresh oil change, and a thorough cleaning inside and out, storage bays underneath included.

It's usually safe to clean yourself unless you have health issues that forbid it. If there were LOTS of droppings, I think I'd use a long hose from a shop-vac to start with, followed by a thorough wipe down of everything with Awesome Orange.

and good luck!

[Steve N Sal]

Howdy and welcome to the forum. Hope you find the site helpful and enjoy your time here. Welcom surprise eh??? Yeah it happens. As far as cleaning as already mentioned I would vacuum the droppings, wear some rubber gloves and give it a good wipe down with "Awesome" which you can purchase at the Dollar store for yup $1 per bottle. When shutting down for next winter season try to find any openings that you can from the engine compartment, thru the floor plumbing well anywhere you see light entering and try and get those sealed up. Next distribute scented dryer sheets inside the motorhome and in all your basement compartments. For some reason those little critters don't like those at all. Hope this helps a little and you can have a great rving season. Take care and hope to see you down the road.

[cargovan]

Welcome to the forum and happy travels,


Van.

[DonDee]

Please wear at least a particle mask when dealing with rodent leftovers. Hantavirus! Look it up.

[Elf111]

Please do not use a vacuum to cleanup droppings any viruses contained in them will become airborne and well I'm sure you get the picture. Gently sweep up as much as possible and pick up the rest with a damp cloth and yes if there ISA lot of it wear a mask and rubber gloves. Next year put moth balls under your coach and set out boxes of bait but put them away from your coach no need to attract them to it. Also put some bait inside for any of them that slip through this may sound like a lot but bait is cheaper than rewiring your coach and believe me they can do a lot of damage.

[bsirby]

Hello, welcome to IRV2. Fortunately, we never had to deal with the unwanted critters, so I can't help you with that. Hope you can get your issues resolved and on the road enjoying the RV life. Safe travels.

[Ramblin]

In my book, mouse bait = bad idea. The little buggers eat it, crawl into some inaccessible space and die, where they emit a horrid smell for a week or so while they decompose.

[Hootie-Owl]

A few suggestions:

1). As stated above, clean and remove any food from RV before storing. Lift your seat cushions and look under them for any signs.
2). Consider a different storage location if possible.
3). Outdoor rat traps that have poison in them should be placed around your RV on the outside. Place them near each tire under the RV.
4). Consider using a bug bomb to fumigate your RV. Obviously make sure power and gas is off before using.

Lastly, if you have a serious mouse or rat problem, they can damage wiring. I'm not saying this is the cause of your sound system issue but I would look for any wiring that has been chewed on.

Good luck.