[DutchmenSport]

Not sure which category this subject falls under, it covers many. But here it goes.

After our last "outing" (week after Thanksgiving), we had scheduled to take our camper into the shop for it's customary bearing repack. Also, I had a new awning on order with them for months. So, finally the appointment day arrived and I decided to also have a frayed cable in the slide replaced, and decided to have them check the batteries. Also, when I hitched to take the camper over, I realized one tire was wearing .... really uneven. So, since they had the camper, decided to have them fix it all. Yea, I know, this was going to be costly.

The awning still had not come in, they had parts for the slide, batteries needed replaced, and found out I had a bent axle. I (kind of) remember when I drove over a high curb making a turn not too long ago, and I think ... that might of been when it happened.

OK, So they said their supplier (Northern Indiana) had the axles in stock so I decided to go ahead an have them do everything. Well, it took weeks to get the axles. Yes, they were available, but no one to deliver them. I even offered to drive to "wherever" and pick them up myself. They wouldn't let me do that.

Fast forward. Right before Christmas the axles came in. By now they'd already taken care of the slide, and had batteries ready to swap. Still no word on the awning. So they pulled the camper into the bay and there it sat. They shut down between Christmas and New Year.

I also planned on getting a new tire (which I did) since the original one was worn uneven.

Meanwhile, I went over on Jan 2 (Monday) and grabbed the tire to get a new one and found out the awning had actually come in right before their Christmas break. They did have everything else done on the camper and ready and then at the last second the awning came in. They made the decision to keep the camper and get it installed on Monday (Jan 2). But, they didn't tell me it came in until Monday.

OK, now to the whole point of the story? I finally picked up the camper about 1:00 pm on Monday. Before moving the camper, I checked everything out. Our has a rear door on the opposite side. I opened the rear door and got a whiff of something that smelled awful. It smelled like urine and mothballs.

I checked everything out. Everything looked secure for transport, but that smell was awful!

I found myself in the bathroom where the odor was strongest, and though... oh crap (literally), the smell is coming through the toilet. I did winterize with Pink Stuff and left Pink Stuff in the toilet bowl. Did it leak out or evaporate letting black tank odors come through. I did REALLY, REALLY clean out my black tank when I winterized before all this happend.

I finally lifted the toilet seat up and was actually a bit shocked! There it was .... a dead mouse floating in the RV antifreeze! And OH MY! What a horrid combination of an odor!

I grabbed some TP and pulled the mouse out. I wasn't going to flush this thing down. And I tossed it in the weed outside the camper. It was a grey and white mouse, that was now pink and pinkish-grey. And yes, quite obvious ... dead.

And the linger odor ... oh my!

I did push the toilet pedal now and let the nasty "pink stuff" go on down. I had no water, but did turn on the bathroom exhaust vent and let it run for the drive back home (about 5 miles).

Once home I got some water, cleaned out the toilet with straight bleach, and followed up by rinsing. Left windows and doors open to air it out. Came back a couple hours later and there was still a faint odor. So I decided I needed to mop the floor.

I used a pretty strong solution of bleach water, mopped the entire floor (it was cleaned well before we took it in for the repairs), but I noted several spots on the floor that look like faint yellow stains (mouse urine?) Anyway, after the floor dried, all odors gone!

In all my life of camping and RVing I've never, ever experienced a mouse in the camper. This is a first.

And oh, by the way .... 2 slide cables, 2 batteries, 2 axles, all new leaf springs for both axles, and repack bearings (they used my original wheels and hubs and brakes), and new awning: $4795. 36. ... Ouch! And then $195 for the new tire.

The axles were the right price killer and the labor. But you know... the worst part about the entire thing was not the waiting for shipments or deliveries. It wasn't the price to fix everything. It was opening that toilet and seeing that dead mouse!