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Subject Topic: Help ...any ideas? Post Reply Post New Topic
via mobile 21/11/2020 at 11:57am
 Location: Sussex
 Outfit: Swift 645 Elegance - Range Rover Sport
View Dave11's Profile View Profile   Reply to Dave11 Reply   Quote Dave11 Quote  
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We keep the caravan at home , a twin axle fitted with AWD moversI.
I went to move it on the drive yesterday only to find Two of the movers on one side were not working?

Checking the power unit under the locker could see the power light on , so I slid under the caravan to see if anything was wrong with the leads to the motors?

Sure enough there was , it appears a fox has chewed and broken two of the power leads .

I had to effect a temporary repair with terminal blocks and wrapping in insulation tape to get them
working until I can take it to the dealer to do a proper repair .

We seem to have a fox that has started doing this just recently. We have some solar lights wrapped round a tree in the garden and about two weeks ago the cable was chewed and broken, also about a month ago a brake sensor wire under the car was chewed through also.

We have lived in the house 26 years now and I have been keeping my caravans on the drive for about 15 years and never had this happen before .
We have cars parked on our drive for 26 years and never experienced this before

I Googled and found that this is normally a fox, we have seen foxes in our garden on and off for years.

These broken wires have all happened in the last couple of months , which makes me think it’s one particular fox that is around at the moment that has a passion for wiring, as I understand they are territorial and the fact we have never had this happen before in all the years we have lived at the house?

I installed two of the fox ultrasonic sensors near the car to try to stop it happening on the car . I have just installed two each side of the caravan . I am going to contact a pest controller who does agricultural , to see if he can catch it in a cage , but even so I want to make sure it doesn’t happen in the future.

Does anyone have any ideas how to stop a fox attacking the wires under the caravan.
I was thinking of putting awning skirts each side and putting something weighted to hold it down (we have a gravel drive over concrete) , but won’t be effective unless the gap under the front and the rear end of the van can be to make secure from a fix getting under there too ?

Problem is finding a solution , without it taking ages to put it all in when back from a trip , and taking it off when ready to go?

It seems this fox problem is not unique on wires, but there must be a solution to reduce the problem without relying on ultrasonic sensors , which may not be effective as the batteries deplete ?

Any ideas ?
Thanks





21/11/2020 at 1:39pm
 Location: 
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yeah dead simple, get some of the garden trelis, enough that when opened up would go around your van on all 4 sides, a couple of cable ties to hold in place if the fox tried again it would make a noise and frighten it off, and would only take a couple of mins to remove before leaving, other than that get some aluminium mesh from the likes of halfords and secure around the wiring. personally i would go for the trellis as this will also stop rubbish and balls etc going under too


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21/11/2020 at 4:37pm
 Location: Near Alton Towers
 Outfit: Bailey Burgundy S7 H
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Just for info, rabbits are partial to the taste of PVC on the cables too, we've had our aerial wire bitten through twice now by rabbits at the CMC site in Moreton in Marsh.

Dave

-------------
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day,
Teach a man to fish and you can get rid of him for a whole weekend.


via mobile 21/11/2020 at 6:33pm
 Location: Sussex
 Outfit: Swift 645 Elegance - Range Rover Sport
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Hi Marg6
Fantastic idea , could try either rigid trellis or expanding trellis. Probably rigid trellis to the height of just below the awning skirt rail .
Going on from your Idea , I could lay a sleeper each side of the wheels on both sides , then one across the   back and two halves each side of the A frame All pushed just under and level with the van to act as a support for the trellis at ground level . These could have some eye rings screwed in to them .
.
Possibly best way to hold it to about the level of the skirt beading is to buy two spare awning skirts, cut
Them down so about 6 inches is attached to the skirting bead and hole punch what’s left on the skirt bead to use to cable tie the trellis too.

That way should be quick removal and install when needed ?
The corners towards the A frame and rear end can be cable tied to the side trellis .

This system could make it quick and easy to take away and replace -as the only cable ties that would need to be cut are the ones attaching the trellis to the Sleepers and the awning skirt bead that can be removed .
The trellis ( using 180 cms lengths each side, can be left attached Together by the cable ties and folded Up to leave in the garage .
All sounds feasible and shouldn’t take to long once all cut and sorted .

I had looked at possibly putting permanent fencing on front drive , to surround the van , much to the wife’s significant displeasure.
Your idea sparked a new train thought, which she prefers and doesn’t require anything permanent...... gives me a quieter life LOL .
Thanks .


21/11/2020 at 7:33pm
 Location: Cambs
 Outfit: Tin tent diddy tent BIG tent
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Are you sure it is the fox as squirrels are the main culprit for this sort of damage. It might just be that the fox is getting the blame because he is in the area. It might be worth checking with a trail camera.

Instead of boxing in with trellis have a look at Rat Mat   Rat Mats are starting to be used by many Pest Controllers as a long term preventative solution.

If it is a fox a simple single strand portable electric fence will do the job and drive it off somewhere else without having to kill the fox. If a Pest Controller cage traps a fox they can not legally relocate it (an offence of cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006) and it will have to be humanely dispatched either by a vet or someone with a shotgun or firearms licence.

-------------
'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'


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21/11/2020 at 10:43pm
 Location: 
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View marg6's Profile View Profile   Reply to marg6 Reply   Quote marg6 Quote  
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Quote: Originally posted by Dave11 on 21/11/2020
Hi Marg6
Fantastic idea , could try either rigid trellis or expanding trellis. Probably rigid trellis to the height of just below the awning skirt rail .
Going on from your Idea , I could lay a sleeper each side of the wheels on both sides , then one across the   back and two halves each side of the A frame All pushed just under and level with the van to act as a support for the trellis at ground level . These could have some eye rings screwed in to them .
.
Possibly best way to hold it to about the level of the skirt beading is to buy two spare awning skirts, cut
Them down so about 6 inches is attached to the skirting bead and hole punch what’s left on the skirt bead to use to cable tie the trellis too.

That way should be quick removal and install when needed ?
The corners towards the A frame and rear end can be cable tied to the side trellis .

This system could make it quick and easy to take away and replace -as the only cable ties that would need to be cut are the ones attaching the trellis to the Sleepers and the awning skirt bead that can be removed .
The trellis ( using 180 cms lengths each side, can be left attached Together by the cable ties and folded Up to leave in the garage .
All sounds feasible and shouldn’t take to long once all cut and sorted .

I had looked at possibly putting permanent fencing on front drive , to surround the van , much to the wife’s significant displeasure.
Your idea sparked a new train thought, which she prefers and doesn’t require anything permanent...... gives me a quieter life LOL .
Thanks .



if be chance its not a fox but something smaller, then you could always use chicken wire on the back of the trellis, that way it wouldnt look untidy, dont forget tho that your going to have to put something to cover the area of your wheels as that would be the weak point and where they could get behind it, again a bit of framing or trellis would do the job, and to hold it all together i would use eye lets so they lined up and then just drop a bolt between them



22/11/2020 at 1:07pm
 Location: Worcestershire
 Outfit: Buccaneer Cruiser
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Get a big cat likes ours. We have no issues with foxes, rats or mice. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FFjLuFifgMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FFjLuFifgM


22/11/2020 at 7:44pm
 Location: West country
 Outfit: Mondeo
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Crows and seagulls have a liking for things electrical as well. They nick the rain sensors on automatic rooflights causing lots of water damage.



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