In case you're wondering what's over your head - Dutchmen Owners
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Old 02-19-2016, 04:00 PM   #1
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In case you're wondering what's over your head

I've had a mouse scampering over my head at night in the master bedroom. I knew it wasn't in the cabinets up there because there isn't any room to scamper and the noise wasn't coming from below or behind my head.
The only place I could imagine the critter was making a nest was right below the cabinets in that bulk head above the bed.

After tearing the bulk head apart I couldn't find anything regarding a mouse but I did discover, as usual, more poor workmanship from the blind installers.
The insulation is about R12 but it might as well have been left in the factory. You can see the gaps in it and on the side it doesn't go down very far. So that leaves the propane tank cubby holes not insulated as well as the night stands and the wall above them.

The critter may be hanging out in the space between the back of the cabinets and curvature of the nose of the RV or it may be just my imagination. Dunno, but I'm going to put some poison in the open space and hope it eats it and goes outside and dies before I get the notion to tear the whole front end out looking for it.
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Old 02-19-2016, 05:10 PM   #2
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Was there a vapor barrier over the insulation, or is that something else the RV industry doesn't have to do, because they are above any sort of building standards.

I found the same type of expert insulation installation in the ceiling when I was fishing the solar panel wires. It looks like any place they cut an opening in the roof the installers just grabbed the insulation by handful and pulled it out. There were great gaps with no insulation around the bathroom fan.

Sounds like you need a couple of them sonic pest control modules.
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Old 02-19-2016, 05:36 PM   #3
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Nope, no vapor barrier over it or Kraft paper on it. There was the silver stuff on the outside walls, the same stuff as in the ceiling.
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Old 02-19-2016, 08:24 PM   #4
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Fascinating...I had briefly contemplated pulling that down and making that a shelf in that cubby, as I had one that was useful in my Outback. I may pull that down now and insulate the crap out of it. I will be pulling the sides down behind the nightstands, as it does seem to be chilly on the sides.

I like the rheostat you installed for the lights above the bed. Do the lights flicker at all when dimmed?

Cale
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Old 02-19-2016, 08:52 PM   #5
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I had to cut the panel down the middle because the ends of it tuck behind the sides of the cabinets. When they installed the panel it snapped in behind the sides easily but there isn't any room to increase the arc to shorten the panel itself. I was able to get my fingers in the cut I made and take the two pieces down individually.
When they built and installed that whole wooden curve at the head of the bed they used the ole tab A in slot B process. Disassembly has to start in the reverse order, whatever that may be.


No flicker if I back off the full power to the LEDs. If I crank them all the way up one of them will drop out for a microsecond but that's probably due to my choice of LED. I still have plenty of light for reading so it doesn't bug me as much as that mouse twittering around somewhere back there.
Those are bats back there (insulation), just hanging in the wind and they may or may not fill the entire cavity back there. We know we would want to pull the entire assembly out of there and do it correctly but the disassembly would be very taxing. Might have to start at the fire place and work towards the bed.
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