Trailer storage-outside

[gene so]

Hello,
As I am building my first "tear" I have been warned about storing anything outside here in the Rockies due to vermin destruction, especially to electrical wiring. The local volunteer fire station vehicles stored outside, due to lack of room, are no longer functional due to this situation.
All kinds of home remedies abound here, with mixed results. I realize UV protection is also a problem, but the idea of building a custom garage just to house this camper is something I want to avoid.
IN a serious mode, is there any information out there as to how to deal with this issue for the proper preservation of my camper, once I get it completed?

Gene So

[GPW]

Build a Foamie Trailer , and you won’t have to worry about it left outside ...

[Talia62]

Squirrels and mice will happily chew up foam, sorry.

[GPW]

You must have particularly vicious squirrels and Mice as we’ve left our Foamies outside for four years now , and they haven’t been chewed on by anything ... Yes they did get a couple spiders living underneath , some bird poop up top .. bit scary really !!! Maybe better off with a Metal Cargo Trailer ...

I’ll have to take a poll in the foamie' section and see if anybody’s had their trailers gnawed upon .. none to my certain knowledge ...


I’d be worried about BEARS ...

[tony.latham]

volunteer fire station vehicles stored outside

If you open the hood of a car or truck, you can't count how many exposed wires there are without bringing a lunch. All of those wires are accessible from below.

Run your wiring in your camp trailer internally and make sure everything is sealed. No entryway, no mice (or moisture). No problem. In ten years, my teardrops have never had a mouse in them and they have always been stored outside near the sagebrush. Cars and trucks? Yeah, you betcha, but not my teardrops.

People on this site have problems with moisture, not mice.

Tony

[GPW]

We had Ants in our wooden teardrop ... intent on eating the wood .... Thankfully ,they don’t seem to care for foam ...

[bobhenry]

We had Ants in our wooden teardrop ... intent on eating the wood .... Thankfully ,they don’t seem to care for foam ...

They don't have an interest in CLOSED CELL foam but the white Styrofoam that pills up they will happily make into a home. For a great ant deterrent use coffee grounds. They do not like coffee grounds. Fresh coffee can be sprinkled dry inside or you can just dump the old used grounds in a circle around the unit they will not cross the line.

[alaska teardrop]

We had Ants in our wooden teardrop ... intent on eating the wood .... Thankfully ,they don’t seem to care for foam ...

They don't have an interest in CLOSED CELL foam but the white Styrofoam that pills up they will happily make into a home. For a great ant deterrent use coffee grounds. They do not like coffee grounds. Fresh coffee can be sprinkled dry inside or you can just dump the old used grounds in a circle around the unit they will not cross the line.

That may depend on where the Ants live. From my experience (thankfully not trailer) Alaskan Ants love to live in both Extruded Polystyrene & Polyisocyanurate.
They bore tunnels & leave piles till who knows how much insulation is left.

[Talia62]

You must have particularly vicious squirrels and Mice as we’ve left our Foamies outside for four years now , and they haven’t been chewed on by anything ... Yes they did get a couple spiders living underneath , some bird poop up top .. bit scary really !!! Maybe better off with a Metal Cargo Trailer ...

I’ll have to take a poll in the foamie' section and see if anybody’s had their trailers gnawed upon .. none to my certain knowledge ...


I’d be worried about BEARS ...

Put it this way, before I moved to the midwest, I thought squirrels were cute. Now, they're just tree rats that need to be exterminated with extreme prejudice. In 15 years, I've had to fully replace the soffits on my house twice, trying to find something that they won't chew up to get into the attic -- where they love to chew on anything wood AND anything that is made of insulated wire.

[lrrowe]

You must have particularly vicious squirrels and Mice as we’ve left our Foamies outside for four years now , and they haven’t been chewed on by anything ... Yes they did get a couple spiders living underneath , some bird poop up top .. bit scary really !!! Maybe better off with a Metal Cargo Trailer ...

I’ll have to take a poll in the foamie' section and see if anybody’s had their trailers gnawed upon .. none to my certain knowledge ...


I’d be worried about BEARS ...

Put it this way, before I moved to the midwest, I thought squirrels were cute. Now, they're just tree rats that need to be exterminated with extreme prejudice. In 15 years, I've had to fully replace the soffits on my house twice, trying to find something that they won't chew up to get into the attic -- where they love to chew on anything wood AND anything that is made of insulated wire.

These litlle not so darling creatures (yes I have always called them Tree Rats) chewed apart all my Christmas decoration lights this year. The first year in over maybe 40 years I felt like stinging up lights. This was expensive for me this year.

[lrrowe]

Do they hate tree rats?

How much to ship them east?

[wildcatphotography]

.

[GPW]

Wow !!! Our squirrels are pretty laid back ... living in an Oak/hardwood forrest , there’s plenty to eat ... so they remain .... Cute ... We only have to worry about the wild Hogs and Alligators ... neither of which seem to care for Foam ... The Ants got in our wooden TD almost immediately , but have never been seen in the two Foamie trailers ... Strange ... All of our trailers got spiders in them ... They’re Everywhere out here... Nothing seems to keep them out ... the FoamStream door is so tight it whistles when you close it , yet spiders snuck in ...

[tony.latham]

Okay, hogs, alligators, spiders and ants. (Frankly, some places don't sound like human habitat!) Got that.

Mice. Does anyone have problems with mice in their (tight) teardrop?

Tony

[rebapuck]

Tom Silva, of This Old House, has suggested a strobe light in the attic. It's quiet and unseen by you (until you open the attic door) and drives out the squirrels.