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Re: Marmot damage

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:08 pm
by Ejnar Fjerdingstad
Funny, Alpine marmots are very shy creatures, and I know of only one place where you can actually touch them, that is at a ropeway station above Saas-Fee in the Valais, where tourists regularly feed them. We have regularly parked our car at marmot altitude in the Dolomites, but we have never had, or heard of, any problems with them.

Re: Marmot damage

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:40 pm
by MattGreene
A few years ago marmots did about a thousand dollars in damage to my car while it was parked at a trailhead outside Red Lodge, Montana. It was definitely marmots, because when I pulled in the lot there was one under a nearby car, looking like it was giving the car an oil change. A few local fishermen that were also at the trailhead told me I wouldn't have any problems unless I left my car there for a few days. They were wrong, because I returned to my car less than 10 hours later to find the full length of every wire and hose chewed. Now I always carry chicken wire to put around my car when I'm parked at high altitudes. People look at me like I'm crazy, but so what. I haven't visited many western states in winter so I don't know how they treat their roads, but where I'm from in PA it's with salt, salt, and more salt. Even after washing the undercarriage, I like the piece of mind chicken wire gives me. I tried using mothballs, but just can't stand the smell of them so I gave that up.

Re: Marmot damage

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:06 pm
by MoapaPk
Another part of the problem is a trend toward "green" insulation (based on soy) on the wiring of newer cars.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.p ... ent-Damage
http://rochelle-frank.hubpages.com/hub/ ... Your-Motor

Apparently, some brands are more likely to have soy-based insulation in exposed areas. Unfortunately some makes began using it in the 90s, so "newer" is relative.

Ford is big on soy-foam insulation for seats, and Subaru used a soy-based undercoating at one time.
http://www.icis.com/Articles/2010/06/07 ... asing.html

It's hard to find which vehicles have chewable components, but folks have tried to compile lists:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/automoti ... -cars.html

I would hope that eco-conscious vehicle manufacturers restrict the soy-based plastics to the insides of cars, but I don't think the "outdoor" considerations are big for them.

I have a skid plate that makes access to the engine compartment and wiring harnesses a bit harder, but determined rodents (and lagomorphs!) would find that just a minor challenge.

Re: Marmot damage

PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 7:21 am
by coldfoot
I keep expecting to read about damaged marmots in this thread.

At Mineral King in Sequoia NP, California, marmots are a known problem. There is even an NPS web page about it: http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/marmots.htm People with cabins there had fenced off parking spaces. We brought tarps to tie under the car engine compartments (lay tarp down, drive onto it, tie up securely) and did not have problems. I'm sure this doesn't 100% seal the engine compartment but it seemed to be enough of a deterrent. It's cheap insurance since all we needed were 8x10 blue tarps and twine.

IME mice and rodents, where abundant, will sometimes chew up ordinary rubber wires and hoses. I don't think soy-based is required.

Re: Marmot damage

PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:02 pm
by MoapaPk
coldfoot wrote:IME mice and rodents, where abundant, will sometimes chew up ordinary rubber wires and hoses. I don't think soy-based is required.


True, but how do you know what is "ordinary"? Wires with soy-based insulation showed up in the 90s, and they look and feel much like any other wires.

Soy-based urethane is still urethane; it just differs in a tiny residuum that affects palatability. Soy-based plasticizers are now used to harden the PVC used in wire insulation, instead of phthalate plasticizers; but the PVC insulation still looks and feels and bends like old-fashioned PVC:
http://www.plastemart.com/Plastic-Techn ... -jacketing

All wiring is going this way.

I still haven't seen any proof that the soy residue is the "cause;" most evidence is anecdotal, with some older cars not suffering problems. Rodents tend to chew stuff just to wear down their teeth (which are always growing), and radiator hoses carry Et Glycol (which to their undoing) is tasty to many animals.

Re: Marmot damage

PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 3:16 am
by colinr