Dead rat?

[Bgibbs]

Our Airstream has been parked for over a year. First COVID, then 2 hernia surgeries, then chemo. The past week, the inside stinks. We have looked in all the inside storage. I added water to all the water traps and toilet thinking they might be dried out allowing odor from one of the tanks. No change. The trailer is on jack stands, under cover, on concrete slab. It is a 2016 26u.

[Silvr_Bullet]

If the J traps dried out the odor could migrate from waste tanks, also the vent on roof may be blocked by a birds nest or similar creature or insect.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Bgibbs

. . .
. . . under cover . . .
. . .

Is this maybe a soft cover which blocks septic tank gases escaping freely from the vent stack pipe through the roof, and then traps those gases inside the covered trailer?

[azflycaster]

Was it plugged into power? Cooked batteries...

[Bgibbs]

No soft cover. I have checked the battery and it it almost full of water, besides, batteries are on front tongue and I have a 3 0r 4 stage inverter. I have just about given up. Smell is not sewer smell- it it a dead rat smell. I'll keep looking.

[Silvr_Bullet]

Originally Posted by Bgibbs

No soft cover. I have checked the battery and it it almost full of water, besides, batteries are on front tongue and I have a 3 0r 4 stage inverter. I have just about given up. Smell is not sewer smell- it it a dead rat smell. I'll keep looking.

Check under your rig for even slightest entry point, mice can collapse their bodies to squeeze in small areas. Also check that your propane tanks are closed. good luck

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the update.

Originally Posted by Bgibbs

No soft cover. I have checked the battery and it it almost full of water, besides, batteries are on front tongue and I have a 3 0r 4 stage inverter. I have just about given up. Smell is not sewer smell- it it a dead rat smell. I'll keep looking.

Just to be certain, is the water OK in both batteries? [assuming you have 2]

Good advice here IMO:

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

Check under your rig for even slightest entry point, mice can collapse their bodies to squeeze in small areas. Also check that your propane tanks are closed. good luck

Dead mice could be well-hidden anywhere inside your trailer.

You -- or a good friend with a great sense of smell -- might have to let a sensitive nose do the searching here IMO. Every time you open a closet, cabinet, exterior storage compartment, and so forth . . . stick your nose in the space and try to refine where the worst odor is.

In construction years ago, we thought we had a fire, due to lots of smoke in a kitchen under construction, so we called the local rural fire department ASAP, and grabbed all our fire extinguishers. But . . . no one on our crew could locate an actual fire.

The fire trucks arrived, and we briefed them on the situation -- clearly not an emergency right at the moment. They waited until "The Nose" [volunteer fire-fighter] arrived, and they sent him into the kitchen first. He sniffed all around the kitchen, in the pantry, and nearby closets.

The Nose then reported from the panty, while tapping on the sheet rock wall:

"It's a burned out electrical transformer inside this wall," as he tapped in the spot which turned out to be exactly correct. He could smell the transformer through the sheet rock.

Yup. We were stunned . . . and thanked him.

Find The Nose nearby to you, and send him or her in to search IMO.

Good luck!

[OTRA15]

PS -- Do you have a propane detector inside? A leak from a nearly empty propane tank [which generates a different pungent odor] could be the problem?

[heslinhotel]

Drop belly pan or remove banana wrap critters love the insulation for nesting. Good luck locating problem.

[Minno]

Years ago, we had what we thought was a dead mouse in our trailer. Turned out to be a propane leak from a cut in a propane line in our stove...


Kay

[ITSNO60]

I second Peter's suggestion of a propane leak, I once had one in a camper that smelled like a dead animal, at first I found the fishing worms in the pantry that my friend "forgot" and I thought I had it but it persisted for at least a week after that until I realized the oven was on "pilot" with no flame, that was the source of the smell. It did smell like something dead and rotting.
If you do however think it is a dead animal can you borrow a hound?

[Bgibbs]

Followed your advice and got the "sniffer" in the AS. Checked all cabinets , toilet, shower and then kitchen sink. "Bingo". even though I poured black tank chemical in it, it still stinks. I got the bottle and it says very plainly, "keep from freezing"> I guess the 2 deg temps in Feb allowed it to freeze. DUH! I have new chemical ordered.
Thanks for the "sniffer" advice.

[OTRA15]

Thanks . . . "The Nose" knows!

[Bgibbs]

I stopped by DFW Airstream this morning and bought a waterless trap for the sink. Glad I don’t need to go in for service. They had 20-30 customer Airstreams in the showroom waiting for service and the lot in front of service was full. I paid $50 for the trap when they are $27 on Amazon, but I wanted to make sure it would fit. Never knew grey water tank smelled so bad!

[Mollysdad]

I'd recommend also a "Ozone generator".
It's basically a fan blowing over a charged plate making Ozone. O3
Mine runs a maximum of 2 1/2 hours, you must exit, but it smells good when you return.

[OTRA15]

Great suggestion . . . we have the same OzGen unit, and use it all the time in a summer cottage which gets very humid in the summer months . . . to forestall mold and mildew. [no central A/C]

[Foiled Again]

They DO work well and do elinate odors, but ozone does damage plastic and fiberglass (and heaven only knows what all else). Use sparingly. Don't run one all the time.

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Great suggestion . . . we have the same OzGen unit, and use it all the time in a summer cottage which gets very humid in the summer months . . . to forestall mold and mildew. [no central A/C]

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the tips.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

They DO work well and do elinate odors, but ozone does damage plastic and fiberglass (and heaven only knows what all else). Use sparingly. Don't run one all the time.

Yes, I've heard that, but the one I recommended has a timer that maxes out at 2.5 hrs.
I've run it in the truck and never had any damage in that small space.
I suggested it because the OP had a persistent odor and I thought once he cured that he might want to have the interior smelling all lightning storm fresh.

[Silvr_Bullet]

No substitute like cleaning with mild soap and water, using a dehumidifier works well but you need to identify and fix problems that cause unwanted mold forming bacteria.