Rats! Part Deux

[Paul & Deb]

Well, I have had a change of thought here.

Recap: a few weeks ago I found a rats nest in my Onan generator housing which is mounted in my front compartment. It was fresh and I had no evidence of rats anywhere else in the trailer. The nest consisted of nut shells from my neighbor's macadamia nut tree, some twigs and, primarily, pieces of foam material. Initially I thought the foam was insulation material torn off of the generator case.

My plan was to disassemble the "generator box" as it prohibited me from removing the generator cover and completely clean out and inspect the generator before I started it. I had no idea if wires had been chewed or nesting material got into sensitive areas, etc..

Fast forward to now: I was able to get the box apart, remove the cover from the generator and completely clean out all the material. Man it was everywhere! I used my air compressor to blow everything out along with a vacuum cleaner. It is now clean and there appears to be no damage or chewed wires or anything .. wow, is that lucky! before reassembly I ran the generator and it runs fine. That also helped dislodge some small pieces and blow them out.

Now that I can get a good look inside the generator I realize that I no longer think the foam material is native. None of the existing insulating material in the Onan or associated with the outer generator box has the same type of foam.

So I am totally stumped as to where it came from. I realize the rats could have brought it in but I've looked all over the area and I don't see anything it could have come from near by.

I guess I'm wondering, from those who may have more experience with rats, how far would rats bring material to make a nest? I always thought they just got stuff right where they nest. I mean they're not like birds who fly all over to pick stuff up!

Also, any wild guesses on what this foam could be from would help me figure it out. It looks so familiar.

 

[LCBoyer]

Looks like foam from a packing case. Pack rats roam over quite a distance

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
They will carry stuff from at least 50 yards away. I had quite the nest of deer hair in less than 24 hours on my engine air filter. I carry a couple of large rat traps after being driven out of camp by a large rat a few years ago that chewed all the insulation off my AC unit in the engine compartment of my truck. I use peanut butter for bait.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[TucsonJim]

Paul, the foam doesn't look dense enough, but is there anyway that it could be from pipe insulating foam?

Jim

 

[Paul & Deb]

Looks like foam from a packing case. Pack rats roam over quite a distance

That's why it looked familiar. Sure, I can see that. They also use that kind of foam for custom cases for cameras and things. It maid me wonder and I ran out the the trailer. I keep a special hard case to carry my quad copter in the pass through compartment. Luckily it is secure and I was fairly confident they haven't been anywhere in the trailer other than the front compartment. It makes sense since this happened in the weeks leading up to Christmas when many people are getting packages and they throw the stuff in their recycle bins, etc.

I wish I could find the "smoking gun" but it doesn't look like I will. I have searched my property pretty well for sources to no avail.

 

[Paul & Deb]

Paul, the foam doesn't look dense enough, but is there anyway that it could be from pipe insulating foam?

Jim

Yeah, good thought but it is pretty soft. I took my sample and went to a piece of pipe insulation I have attached to the wall in my garage to protect my car door and I doubt it's pipe insulation. It's not firm enough.

 

[JCR GD]

Poppy, it looks like the foam air filter in my lawn mower.

 

[Paul & Deb]

The good thing here is that I can confidently close up my generator and reinstall the sound box and I'm ready for my dry camping beach camping next week without worry.

Just another question, I have been behind my pass through storage walls many times but my memory escapes me .... is there anything under there like this foam? How about around the water heater? I don't think so but I thought I would ask.

 

[Paul & Deb]

Poppy, it looks like the foam air filter in my lawn mower.

Yes, I can see that too! My Honda generators had similar filter material I think. I did check the Onan air filter and it is nothing like that and in a secure housing. I don't have a lawn mower myself. I don't think I have any gas engines with an air filter.

 

[C&H Conner]

Don't recall seeing anything like that foam behind the access door in the belly. For that matter, anywhere else in the trailer either. Suspecting it's an import.... Maybe he was insulating yer gennie against the cold months!

Glad you got it cleaned up and out. How bad was it getting the gennie shroud out?

 

[grampscamper]

Yes, I can see that too! My Honda generators had similar filter material I think. I did check the Onan air filter and it is nothing like that and in a secure housing. I don't have a lawn mower myself. I don't think I have any gas engines with an air filter.

I would agree. I have seen material like this used in many applications as an air filter.
Is there any chance it came from your vehicle?

 

[Paul & Deb]

Don't recall seeing anything like that foam behind the access door in the belly. For that matter, anywhere else in the trailer either. Suspecting it's an import.... Maybe he was insulating yer gennie against the cold months!

Glad you got it cleaned up and out. How bad was it getting the gennie shroud out?

Thanks Chris.

As you know, the Reflection line does not offer either a generator or generator prep from the factory so I had my unit custom installed by a mobile service technician. I love it but the downside is that the box was built in place. I had to completely disassemble it in order to remove the shroud. I was worried I would destroy it but I managed to get it apart with little damage. I have decided on a different way to reassemble it so I can remove it easier in the future.

 

[Venturi49]

Looks just like the filter matl in our a/c unit.

 

[2butler]

Looks just like the filter matl in our a/c unit.

Venturi49 beat me too it. I have the same foam as a filter in my AC unit.

 

[Devinh2]

Same material of filter in my wet/dry vacuum.

 

[Paul & Deb]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I've looked at all of those that are accessible but nothing on my home, vehicles or property shows any signs. They could have imported it from a neighbor though which is my guess at this point.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Paul & Deb]

Well I'm all back together and everything works. That's always a huge positive When I first fired it back up I wasn't getting any power through the Auto Transfer Switch to the trailer. I thought I missed something and maybe the rat bastards had eaten through some wires that allowed it to run but not generate and power. After checking any and all fuses, etc. I finally found a breaker in the generator itself .... badda bing, badda boom!

We're heading to the beach for some dry camping for 4 nights next week so I'm glad I got it finished up in time.

I also added more heat shield and sound proofing while I was at it so I'm happy about that.

Before:



After:



Thanks for all your support.

 

[offtohavasu]

Nicely done!

 

[grampscamper]

Looks good. Hopefully no more furry visitors.
I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

 

[Donkat]

What materials did you use to insulate the genny shroud? I am having the QG3600 installed in my 27RL but I don't have a shroud built for it yet.
Thanks for your help.