Toyota Caddy Shack

[fcjones]

One day I noticed my ’99 Tacoma 4x4 was developing a new bad smell inside the cab (aside from the usual empty tuna can odors).

This happened when the truck was not driven for 2 weeks and was parked outdoors in a grassy rural area.

I checked under the hood and there little feet prints and half the hood insulation material was torn away…mice had move in!

I turned on the vent fan and it made a buzzing noise and the smell got worse…suddenly there was a THUMP noise.

I pulled the fan and a freshly killed mouse fell out…I felt bad and gave him last rites and burial.

In the fan there was a lot of my hood insulation material too.

I reached up inside where the fan is mounted and I could touch the hood cowling…What! The truck has no screen covering the vent system intake.

I checked my Ford, and noted that it has quarter inch steel grating over the vent intake, but the Toyota has nothing!!

So I was leaving my vent in the outside air position, thinking nothing would get in there, but the mice were entering and living in there!

So I got some metal screening material and shoved it into the opening. I did not re-install the fan and left it over night.

I had a gallon water jug on the front floor passenger side with a pop off lid.

The next morning I opened the truck to go to work and noticed the lid of the water jug was off.

There was a mouse inside the water jug, drowned!!

He must have got trapped in there when I installed the screening and the missing fan allowed the thirsty critter to enter the cab interior and meet his end!!

Just thought this was a strange little story to share…and never leave that vent in the open position!