Jeep camping food storage question

[tjrun]

Hi Y'all!

I'm new to the forum and planning my first overlanding Jeep expedition for summer of 2018. I will be heading to Wyoming and Montana, so I will be in grizzly country. I'm planning to rig my Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the ARB awning room. I prefer to sleep in the back of my Jeep with my 70lb super trail dog, but that leaves almost no space for cooler and food storage containers. I know that some campsites will have bear boxes, but I plan on mostly remote dispersed camping so boxes won't be an option. I've always hung my food containers while backpacking, but will definitely be traveling with more food if I'm Jeep camping.

Any suggestions? I may have to just resign myself to sleeping cramped or sleeping in the awning room while keeping the jeep for overnight storage.
Thanks!
TJ

 

[Mitch502]

Alubox? http://www.equipt1.com/c/aluminum-cases
Pelican cases?

I don't know much about the room situation, but I would think it would be hard to have a fridge + interior storage and still sleep. If you get one of the above and put the fridge on one side, you should have enough room to stretch out on the other side, and store the rest of the stuff outside the Jeep...

 

[Koabean]

I personally would not sleep with food next to me in bear country, and definitely not in grizzly country protected only by Jeep doors and plastic or fabric top. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), www.igbconline.org, certifies bear resistant coolers. I use a Yeti. All food, drink, and toiletries go in the cooler, you lock it up with bolts or padlocks, and then place it under a tarp well away from sleeping people at night. A bear might come along and roll the cooler a few times, but won't be able to get in and will give up and leave. My Yeti easily survived an attempted raid by a decent-sized black bear with just a few gouges.

 

[Outside somewhere]

Personally 1) hang 25% of it in a whatever you want 2) the rest in a bear canister (i like the 20 gal bearicuda's with a screw lid, can be stacked etc) and I'd hang that **** too. Easy to get some surplus webbing and make a sling for the canister, attach a carabiner to it and hoist it up. At the bare minimum (no pun intended) if one cache get's hit you have something until you can resupply.

 

[tjrun]

Thanks y'all. That"s what I needed to know. I plan on having bear canisters for my dry food (and my dogs) but did not know if bear proof coolers are REALLY bear proof enough to leave them outside at night. Thanks for the info!
tj

 

[akpostal]

15+ years of rafting in bear country we really didnt worry about it, only had one bear in camp. Pretty sure the bear stuck its face in the hot coals of the fire and ran off, had paw prints over my raft.

In actual campgrounds with bear sightings, we kind of pissed of the rangers by not caring about it either. Actually at one campground we really pissed of the ranger with our lack of caring.

Our modus operendus was to pee around camp, every where around the camp, marking our territory as it where. Plus having the dogs I think helped as well.

Just dont be a ************** like that Timothy Treadwell guy and camp on a game trail.

 

[WyoCherokee]

Depending on where you are, rangers will write you a ticket for not having bear proof food store if found. These last couple years have really bad for attacks and encounters in the greater yellowstone area. last year i had 2 griz through camp.....spray detured them. This year I had a griz through my elk camp last week and a buddy deployed both his spray and his 44 mag on a sow and cubs not a mile away from my camp. a lockable cooler with a good rubber seal is always a good bet (you dont have to buy an overpriced yeti or pelican, there are tons of alternatives) Hang what you can at least 15 feet in the air. numerous campers that i run in to put a lockable cooler away from their vehicle about 50 ft. Should a bear come through he will be more distracted by that. Most importantly is to simply reduce the exposure of your camp to a bear. This means proper camp cleanliness. Cleaning up proper after cooking, burning paper towels and paper plates. storing all trash in a sealed bag. burying your waste water, camping in a open meadow or clearing and most importantly telling someone where you plan to go/camp.

 

[Septu]

Alubox? http://www.equipt1.com/c/aluminum-cases
Pelican cases?

I don't know much about the room situation, but I would think it would be hard to have a fridge + interior storage and still sleep. If you get one of the above and put the fridge on one side, you should have enough room to stretch out on the other side, and store the rest of the stuff outside the Jeep...

Depends on how many people! Well, and on the size of the fridge. I have a small 25L fridge, and have camped in the back many times. I just push the fridge to the drivers side and sleep on the pass side.

Another option which is what my buddy did is pull the rear seats and put the fridge behind the pass seat. His floor/containers in the rear are just the right height to have a perfectly flat floor using the fridge as part of that. Although that prob won't work for many.

 

[Comanche Scott]

When too much is almost just right

Depends on how many people! Well, and on the size of the fridge. I have a small 25L fridge, and have camped in the back many times. I just push the fridge to the drivers side and sleep on the pass side.

Another option which is what my buddy did is pull the rear seats and put the fridge behind the pass seat. His floor/containers in the rear are just the right height to have a perfectly flat floor using the fridge as part of that. Although that prob won't work for many.

x2

I had a ridiculously huge dual zone fridge, plenty of storage space, and still had room for Super Mutt v2.0 and I to sleep comfortably in the back.
A more reasonably sized fridge, like Septu mentions would have made a nice flat floor for two people to sleep while the dog is on bear patrol.

Picture 1). Ice cream and beer is considered two of the three basic needs, hence the extreme measures on the fridge... :elkgrin:
Picture 2 & 3). Loaded up with gear and food for a week's exploring.
Picture 4). Leveled out for sleeping comfort, via rocks under the tires.
Picture 5). Soft top exploring is great fun. Put the top up for the night, and it was like sleeping in a tent with great ventilation, no moisture buildup.

 

[bjunc]

I've been fortunate to have an ARB 50qt for the past year, but I've also backpacked with food/trash bags hung from trees, etc.. I usually keep dry food in an Alu-box when overlanding, but it's also nice to have a soft cooler since it'll help keep even the dry food at consistent temp. Personally, I wouldn't worry about bears (black or brown), and I find the "bear proof cooler" to be a pretty useless marketing ploy.

 

[Felix the cat]

I find the "bear proof cooler" to be a pretty useless marketing ploy

I agree with you, I've had bears carry off 55gl. garbage cans, hang what you can, keep the fridge locked in the jeep.

 

[HAFICON]

x2

I had a ridiculously huge dual zone fridge, plenty of storage space, and still had room for Super Mutt v2.0 and I to sleep comfortably in the back.
A more reasonably sized fridge, like Septu mentions would have made a nice flat floor for two people to sleep while the dog is on bear patrol.

Picture 1). Ice cream and beer is considered two of the three basic needs, hence the extreme measures on the fridge... :elkgrin:
Picture 2 & 3). Loaded up with gear and food for a week's exploring.
Picture 4). Leveled out for sleeping comfort, via rocks under the tires.
Picture 5). Soft top exploring is great fun. Put the top up for the night, and it was like sleeping in a tent with great ventilation, no moisture buildup.

How do you like those over the fender gear mount systems? Been thinking about them always looking for storage options.

 

[Cascade Wanderer]

I live, camp, fish, hike, and hunt in bear country. Went to Alaska and back this spring. Lots of bears along the way. Black and grizzly.

I slept in my backpacking tent, and left my food in the fridge, in my Jeep. Always do it that way, I don't fit well inside my 2-door JK for sleeping!

That said, there are places that require bear-proof containers for your food. And being cautious in bear country is always a good idea.

Guy

 

[Comanche Scott]

How do you like those over the fender gear mount systems? Been thinking about them always looking for storage options.

They worked excellent for the configuration in this Jeep. On the side with the compressor, a 50' coil hose and a fast fill tire inflator fit underneath, and on the front side was strapped a 6 gallon water jug.
On the driver's side was a huge medical kit, with all kinds of stuff. Then underneath that was room to stuff a Pancho Liner. Also used them as mounting points for the raised aluminum floor.
Very sturdy, without intruding into the floor space.

I've seen some really cool bag options now too for this area.
Either option makes great storage for otherwise wasted space. :beer: