Winter Storage Questions

This is our first winter with our TM. We have several questions. Our TM is stored on the side of our home, behind a fence. We have it covered with an Aqua Shed Cover. One of my questions is:
1. Do you put the jacks down to release some of the weight on the tires? Is this necessary or recommended?

2. We have field mice in our neighborhood and wondered if we should put out Decon Bait inside the TM so we still have a bed and furniture come Spring? Better to have dead mice than torn up TM? Does anyone have experience with this?

3. Do we take the terminal off the battery when storing?

I would appreciate any suggestions you might have on storing our beautiful TM properly. We followed the manual on opening the faucets, etc. draining any water from tank. We live in the Dallas area so it doesn't get below freezing very often.

Is it Spring Yet?

[YWORRYDOG]

Don't put bait in the TM! Why would you want to attract the mice to come in?

I also store our TM along side of the house. My suggestions.

1. I purchased aluminum jack stands and place them on the four frame corners. I jack them just high enough to take some of the weight off the tires. You could use the scissor jacks as well. but I prefer to keep them up and keep the dirt and water off them.

2. Any kind of mouse poison, will attract the mice and then they could die on the TM. I have had had good luck with extract of peppermint oil on a small piece of cotton in a glass ashtray on the floor inside. This also keeps out spiders and crickets and leaves a nice fresh smell when you open in the spring.
Be sure to get the pure extract and keep it from getting on the TM surfaces as it will damage paint or flooring.

3. I run an extension cord from the house under the TM and have a Deltran Battery Tender sitting under the TM ( You can protect in a tupperware tub with some air holes) and connect it to the battery. This keps the battery fully charged without the chance of overcharging.

Make sure you drain all the hoses ( inside outside shower and sink sprayer if you have one). I also put a large note in the sink reminding me that I have removed the ends of all those sprayers. Saves embarrassment in the spring when you connect water.

[B_and_D]

We finally had the "pleasure" of a tiny house guest in our TM this past summer. We tried bait but it didn't do the trick. Plus, now I'm finding it on the floor every time we travel, albeit less and less as time goes on. The mouse carried it away and stashed it various places that we can't get to, like behind the stove/oven. Instead of bait, I'd lay out some traps with peanut butter and cheese and put the traps in disposable aluminum pans. Or maybe use a couple of peanuts, or raisins, stuck in peanut butter for bait.

Besides this, I'd check out the underneath of the TM and make sure that any holes, small as they may seem, such as around the plumbing that goes in and out of the floor, are patched so mice can't get in.

It wouldn't hurt to open it up occasionally and check on it to see what's going on in there.

I use 3 of the electronic pest repellers. One plugged in front,one in bath, one in rear. You will need to be on shore power.

I have used D-Con in all of my campers with no problems. I don't think D-Con attracts the mice.....they are going to come in regardless. It is my understanding that after they feast on D-Con, that they will leave to seek water. So if you use D-Con, make sure there is no water in the camper, or there could be an odor problem come spring.

Try putting D-con in your bumper storage areas, I put some in there and all 4 have been chewed on, also, I put traps baited with peanut butter all around outside and caught some, I also took all cookware and put it in tubs to avoid attracting them to come inside.

I would take the batteries out of the TM and store them in a warm area, such as a basement or a garage. They should be fully charged before storing.

I store my TM in the garage. I use the two front jacks and the rest of the weight is on the tires. I can not get to the two rear corner jacks. I have to use the front jacks so I can swing the tongue out of the way so I can close the garage door.

I never store the TM for more than about 3 months. The rest of the the 9 months of the year we use it to go camping, usually once a month.

If I had to store the TM for 6 months or longer I would set all four corner jacks as if I was leveled for camping, to take most of the weight off of the tires. Tires, especially ST tires, do not do well sitting in the same position for extended periods of time. Take the trailer out once a month and tow it down the road a few miles to warm up the tires and move the tire lubricant around. I would only do this when the roads are not icy.

We had a big problem with field mice getting in over the winter while the TM was in storage. However, once we figured out how they were getting in, the problem went away. They were getting in through the heater exhaust and intake vents. Once we covered those vents holes with aluminum screen we stopped seeing mice.

Good luck.

Thank you for all the great suggestions. With the holidays I am just now checking my post. There are some really good tips here. We need all the help with can get. We are first time RV owners.

Our jacks are hard to get to as well. We have about an inch to spare on each side of the RV. One side is fence, the other side is the house. We have to winch the RV into place from the back yard. It works and saves us money on renting a storage facility. Plus we have it here at our home to keep an eye on it all the time.