I hope other LQ owners can help me.  A couple of months ago I went into my 2006 Sundowner LQ and smelt (first) then heard mice.  I looked up into the airconditioner and was nose to nose with a very vocal mouse.  I pulled the vent off and down came a nest of naked, squirming baby mice along with a considerable fallout of excrement.  One indignant mouse reached down and rescued a pink baby hung up on the ledge and pulled it back up into the ceiling and out of site.  Over the next week, I trapped (or they fell out) 10-14 mice, the last two which I am 95% positive were deer mice (as in the carriers of the deadly Hantavirus).  To make a long story short - my local dealer confirmed by checking under all the light sockets that indeed the infestation in the roof is severe, and that they likely entered the trailer through the walls as there is no apparant entry point where the mice "chewed" their way in.

Sundowner has refused to warranty this issue, providing a gamut of excuses.  The first was that "they couldn't possibly make a horse trailer mouse proof" - ouch - the best trailer with the best warranty can't build a trailer that prevents mice from entering the walls/ceiling?????  They then said I should not have parked it near the barn. Huh?  And you use a horse trailer for what exactly?  After I provided them with a day-by-day account of where the trailer was parked for the last 10 months (home, cutting horse competitions from Northern Canada to Amarillo, Texas), they then came back and said it was an act of god / nature which was not their fault.

I belieive one of two things happened.  They either did not properly seal the walls/ceiling when they built it or the construction materials had nest(s) in them and they sealed up the walls around them and nature took its course and a family ensued.

In any case - RV dealers won't touch it because it is on warranty - and I void any remaining warranty if I do any modifications.  So basically I am just plain out of luck until the warranty runs out in another 8 months.  In the meantime, I have a trailer that I can't safely use the LQ in, and Sundowner has basically told me too bad, so sad.

Has anyone else had trouble with mice entering the ceiling or walls of the their trailer?????  I am very interested to know how often this occurs!  Where did they get in - what did you do - did your manufacturer cover warranty?    This situation has caused a tremendous amount of stress for me and I would really appreciate feedback from other trailer users who may have had a similar experience and have advise for me.

Just to show that I'm more than fair..............., there is no way this one can be blamed on Sundowner.

Tell us that you are joking when you thought this would be covered by warranty.

Hell, I had a mouse chew the cork off a bottle of Patron in my LQ, now that's something to be pissed about.

If you keep your LQ plugged in, they can walk up the cord into your Holiday Inn on Wheels. Another entry point is your gas line and fridge or hot water tank vents. I always keep sticky traps in the closets, behind the cabinets and hot water tank area.

We had one last year while camping in Branson. I had seen droppings earlier and completely sanitized the trailer. Nothing was caught for over two weeks and thought the vermin was gone. Well when we got to our Branson campground and gone to bed, I heard scurring under my counter. Then I raised the stove lid and saw the little mouse. I reached for the raid and blinded him and my husband stabbed him with a pocket knife. End of Mr. Mousy.

No LQ trailer can be completely mouse proof - just like your home. Get more cats and lots of traps. I also keep one of those rat bait black boxes near my trailer too. So far no more mice!

Thanks PonyTammy for the useful information.  I have owned 3 LQ and a series of RV's and certaintly am not opposed to a mouse turd or two on the floor or in a cabinet.  You can trap them and with a little elbow grease, sanitize and move on.

My concern with this situation is that they are in an area (ceiling/walls) that can't be cleaned or sanitized and one would think would be well enough constructed to keep them out.  At this point, the only solution ahead of me is completely gutting the trailer and starting over again.  Not what you want to do with a two year old trailer. 

Mice get in houses, does that mean my insurance company needs to buy me a new home?  I sympathize with the infestation, but mice just do that sort of thing.  I would set traps in the LQ, and not poison them, a dead smelly mouse in the cabinetry or ceiling would be unpleasant.  I have screens over the vents, more to keep out dirt daubers, but there is that little wee area around that shore cord.  hmmm  I will put a sticky trap in there, as the cat won't fit! 

As the poet Robbie Burns said of the wee sleek mouse, for whom he had a certain affection:

"Still thou are blessed compared with me,

The present only toucheth thee.

While I, cast my eye on prospects drear,

and forward, tho I canna see, I guess and fear."

Just a bit of humor for the situation!

Despite the wise guy comments, we do sympathize with you and agree the mice would be a vexing problem.  My neighbors daughter had one appear on the seat next to her . . . while driving her Ford Bronco to Drake University one fall day.  I'm not sure she was EVER sure she got rid of it. 

I've checked my own homeowner and car warranty and a few trailer warranties and finding baby mice was not included in any of them. 

I'd call a pest exterminator, just like you would for your house - and let a professional handle it.

SNAKES IN A TRAILER...I smell a movie plot!!!...

One thing about it, if you have snakes you won't have mice!!!!!!!!

As a member of the civic organization "Mice are living beings too,"  I must remind you how blessed you are to have provided a place for this wonderful family to thrive.  I must object to getting a snake or calling pest control as this would equate to murder of the babies and possibly some unborn mice.  Just think, how would you feel if you and your family were exterminated? If the floor was ripped out from under you and you could only grab one of your children to take to safety while the others perished? 

God put these little creatures on the planet for a reason, and you should consider yourself lucky that you are one of the fortunate ones to have such a large family in your LQ.  Embrace them, make a safe haven for them, and take pictures of your new travel buddies.

????

GOOD GRAVY!

http://rattie-love.com/...

You need to get those rats out of your ceiling anyway you can. They will chew up your wiring if they haven't already. This could be the end of your LQ as you know it. Major job to get into the ceiling and walls to replace wiring.. It can also cause a fire. You said your trailer is parked by your barn, well it can also burn down your barn if it burns. 12v wiring will burn just as easy as 110v. If they are in your AC as well you need to have it checked out for shortages before you use it again. It is funny to some folks and even I chuckled a bit but it really is not funny. Rats are very destructive and you need them out of your trailer, NOW! If you end up using poison on them you will have to ventilate your trailer for some time to be able to stay in it, but the odor of the feces and urine is also very bad for you to breath. If you don't want to poison them get a King snake and they will disappear. Call an exterminator.

 But please have your trailer tested for shortages.

All creatures have their place in this world, but not in your trailer or home... I say exterminate!

Thanks for all the people who have posted suggestions and genuine concerns about my mouse dilemna.  A bit of an update.

Saturday I hauled the trailer 1,800 km (1,100 miles) to a RV refurbishing place - the only one I could find that would take it on.  They pulled the roof off yesterday and found an unbelievable mess of dead mice, nests, grain, and a very disgusting mess of insulation and wiring.  They are pulling the insulation, sanitizing the roof and air conditioning, inspecting wiring and then will re-insulate, determine the access point and possibly have to tear into the wall in question.  They will then have to replace and seal the roof.

Pretty disappointing for a 2 year old trailer that is supposed to be so well constructed and supposedly had a good warranty.  Sundowner has labeled this "an act of nature / god" (after they told me I shouldn't park it near a barn).  I guess the courts will decide if it an act of nature / god or a predictable outcome for defective construction practices. 

I'm curious.  Is the RV place  you are having the extermination held . . doing it for free?  This was an interesting topic and I did a little googling and found that one of the top five reasons for RV insurance claims was . . . you guessed it . . . pest infestation, particularly mice. 

With a little research I found that it's nearly impossible to find a mouse proof environment, particularly horse trailers on farms.  Here's a picture of a sealed computer that was having trouble with  . . . guess what?  Those ARE mouse droppings.

 Any openings in your trailer or LQ that are wider than 6mm (a quarter of an inch or less than a width of common pencil) and you're in trouble: through a combination of squeezing and nibbling, the mice could well be moving in. 

 Here's more help:  http://www.icanrv.com/id42.htm

Unless cash is growing on trees around your place, I wouldn't spend a penny on lawyer fees. In your statement above you make two very important points. You park your trailer next to your barn, and the ceiling had grain in it. All the Sundowner boys have to do to win this case is prove that the grain from your barn, not their factory. You lose, they and the lawyer wins. That all being said their are lawyers across the country that will take your case all the way to the Supreme Court as long as you keep paying. I can refer to you to a couple that I rope with,.......... they need the cash for entry fees.

Talk a bout some top shelf individuals,........ team roping lawyers.

I need the answer to that one.  Someone owes me a new Xbox power cord!!!

Mice have been found in car/trucks too.  I guess we should sue all the auto manufactures as well.