# Bug Spray With Deet



## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Hi all,

As we were preparing and loading our 2004 21RS for our trip to Mt. Rainier and then down the Oregon coast with N7OQ, we noticed our tub had a crack. It was like something had run down the top of the tub and then down the corner and actually ate through the tub causing a long crack in the corner. About a year ago we had put a 3M Command clear plastic caddy on the side of our bathroom sink to store our bug sprays and sunscreen and such. (The 3M plastic caddy actually hangs over the tub.) Upon further inspection, we realized that a bottle of bug spray with DEET was laying on its side inside the plastic caddy and there was an obvious section that had been "Eaten Through" by the DEET and dripped down onto the top of the tub and down the corner of the tub. Now, we are not too happy about this because we had never used our tub for showers but instead for storage. Because we were going to Mt.Rainier for 5 nights and there aren't any showers inside the National Park, we were getting prepared to use our shower for the first time. Well, that idea was shot to Timbuktu!

I never realized how bad DEET is and we actually used to put that chemical on our bodies? Well, not any more. We instantly confiscated the several bottles we had and threw them away. I will never use DEET again.

Hopefully, this post will make others think twice about using bug spray with DEET on their bodies as well.

On another note, we had 2 bow outs on our first day heading North on highway 5. The first was in Corning, CA and then the 2nd was in Weed, CA

Like most campers, we only carry 1 spare and it happened after hours, so no tire shops are open&#8230;... Long story short, we made it to Walmart in Yreka,CA for the night until Les Schwab opened in the morning...we purchased all 4 new tires and went with 15" wheels, and now we have 2 spares! Not sure what happened because our tires were only 3 years old and never in the sun when stored.

There was some damage to the j skirt, and the fender skirt was ripped off and the underneath membrane was ripped. Luckily, no one was hurt!

After getting 4 new tires and 15" rims in 45 minutes, we headed to Ashland, OR to the next Les Schwab to have them re-torque the wheels. We were in and out of that Les Schwab in less than 10 min. They were awesome and I'd go back to them in the future. They really took care of us.

&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..AND THAT'S MY LES SCHWAB STORY!

So, now we have a claim with our insurance to get the outside fixed and we will have to take care of the tub either by ourselves or the rv shop. We are also purchasing another spare tire carrier and cover so we will always carry 2 spares!

Not sure we can replace our tub w/shelf to a full tub in our model. I think there is plumbing underneath the shelf part of the tub but not sure.

Anyone, know what's under the shelf part of our tub in a 2004 21RS?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

I feel your pain about the blow outs. Les Schwab in Electric City was really helpful for us this year after a blow out we had on the way to a camping trip but they messed up when we got home to Coeur d Alene. I decided to replace the remaining tires after inspecting them and finding one of the remaining three also had a broken belt. So of the three tire that were pulled off I didn't want to throw away two of them as hey were in very good condition. I purchased 2 two rims and told them to mount the two good tires, this was to give me 3 spares!!! I made the mistake of not inspecting them as they put them in the truck. When I took them out a couple of weeks later one was obviously the one with the broken belt. Les Schwab didn't really want to own up to it and actually said the belt must have broken while the tire was sitting in the bed of my truck! Anyway they finally said they would take 40% off a new tire but that still ended up being $80 more than I should have spent had they put the good tire on the rim.

Not to the tub issue. There could be plumbing under the seat/shelf in the tub but you should be able to re route it to allow a full tub to be installed. On our old 28rss the bathroom sink plumbing went under the area you are referring to.


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Thank you CamperAndy. We suspected there was something under the tub shelf.


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## Tiger02 (Apr 16, 2006)

I wouldn't let the cracked tub stop you from using it during your stay at Mount Rainier. You can get by with a temporary fix by drilling a small relief hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading, sand the area rough and then get some good quality epoxy from Lowe's or Home Depot to seal it off.

Permethrin is a safe alternative to deet, and works just as good. I actually hiked the Kautz Creek trail yesterday up to the patrol cabin in Indian Henry's Camping Ground (southwest corner of Mount Rainier). The bugs and flies were pretty thick up there with the warm weather, but down in the lower elevations I didn't really notice them.

Have a safe trip.


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Tiger02 said:


> I wouldn't let the cracked tub stop you from using it during your stay at Mount Rainier. You can get by with a temporary fix by drilling a small relief hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading, sand the area rough and then get some good quality epoxy from Lowe's or Home Depot to seal it off.
> 
> Permethrin is a safe alternative to deet, and works just as good. I actually hiked the Kautz Creek trail yesterday up to the patrol cabin in Indian Henry's Camping Ground (southwest corner of Mount Rainier). The bugs and flies were pretty thick up there with the warm weather, but down in the lower elevations I didn't really notice them.
> 
> Have a safe trip.


thanks for the tip, but we are already home. The trailer is in the shop getting repaired from the tire blowouts. Going to replace the tub as well. Oh, and we now have 2 spares on the bumper!


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

oh and I'm still waiting for Les Schwab to contact me so I can be on one of their commercials! LOL


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## Snow (Sep 27, 2011)

You got 15 inch rims and tires to fit on your 2004 21RS ?? what size are the tires ??

Only bug spray I use has Deet in it.. sprayed it on lots of things including plastics and never had any of them melt..


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

You got 15 inch rims and tires to fit on your 2004 21RS ?? what size are the tires ??

Only bug spray I use has Deet in it.. sprayed it on lots of things including plastics and never had any of them melt..

Yes, they fit on our 2004 21RS. We purchased 15" rims and these tires from Les Schwab: ST205/75R15 Towstar 8 ply tires. Only raises the trailer about 1/2", but you can't even notice. We kept 2 of the old 14" tires that were good and now use them as spares. The 14" spares would be good enough to get us off of the road.


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Just got the trailer back and looks like new! This RV repair shop did a great job!

before:




















after:


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