Adventure trailers, kitchens and bear safety

[jaxonm]

Hey all,
I have what I believe to be a fairly serious question about the security of adventure trailers, when equipped with kitchens while camping in bear country. We do most of our camping in the Sierras as well as the coastal range in Northern California and have had more than a few close encounters with bears. Never direct contact, but very, very close.

Now, when deep in bear country (or even around marmots, or aggressive squirrels) those in the know recommend having your camp set up in a triangle with the sleeping area up wind to the kitchen and food storage areas.



In extremely populated areas (like yellowstone), they even recommend that you not sleep in the same clothes that you ate in.

So, the question is this;
When building an adventure trailer that includes storage, kitchen and sleeping area, what are your concerns where it comes to bears? It would be fairly simple to mimic the design of bear canisters when designing and building these trailers so that bears cant get into them; but at the end of the day, we are sleeping in a RTT that is essentially sitting on top of a giant bear bait can.

I do plan to include flood lights and a bear siren which can be activated from within the tent, but beyond that, do you guys have any ideas for increased bear safety?

Here is my future design;

 

[Septu]

Personally? None. While I don't have a kitchen on mine now (if needed I've just cooked off the back of the JK), I do plan on putting one on.

Clean up after yourself (no garbage, etc left out), and wash everything after eating. I occasionally take a 12ga with me from time to time... but I have almost no expectation of ever needing it (I have them... might as well bring them).

We have around 16/17k bears in the Yukon (and 34k people)... So while we'll frequently see them, I've never once had an issue while camping.

 

[Martyn]

I lived in bear country for over 20 years. There isn't much out there that is bear proof. I've seen lots of "bear proof" garbage containers peeled open and car doors bent back. Sensible food storage and an air horn seems to do the trick.

 

[skersfan]

The closest I have ever came to a bear problem, was almost hitting a cub with my mountain bike. Momma ran by, then a cuband and then another on a night ride. About two weeks later I nearly ran into a mountain lion. No longer ride alone in those areas for some reason. Air horn like Martyn says supposedly drives them away. Never had one close by that I am aware of though.

 

[cwm]

In parts of Colorado we have another animal that you don't want to get near when on a bike, or even hiking. Moose. They are large, unpredictable, and have a nasty temper.

Marmots can be very destructive. They like to chew a lot of things.

At a lot of trail heads there are problems with porcupines. They get under vehicles and chew wiring, brake lines, etc.

 

[Hunter67]

Marmots and Porcupines? Interesting! But for all of those mentioned (and even some more) threats, a Marlin in .45-70 should be an adequate security measure! :elkgrin:

Markus

 

[100acrehuphalump]

I would wonder how well a Hardigg case from the military would work. Typically they are made of hard plastic or aluminum and have at least 6 latches on the long sides and 4 on the short. Anything is possible either way. I guess it just comes down to how big/strong and determined the bear is.

 

[Septu]

I would wonder how well a Hardigg case from the military would work. Typically they are made of hard plastic or aluminum and have at least 6 latches on the long sides and 4 on the short. Anything is possible either way. I guess it just comes down to how big/strong and determined the bear is.

If it wants to get it... odds are it will. Take some reasonable precautions and leave the rest up to fate. I'd spend more money making my trailer theft proof than I would trying to make it bear proof.

 

[elmo_4_vt]

Since we sleep on top of our kitchen, we just always make sure to clean up well and put the trash further away. I also have bells that I will usually tie to the trash bags, and will hang them below if we're remote enough to hang the bag in a tree. That way, hopefully he will go after the bag first, and at the bell to alert us to his presence if the dog doesn't. As far as negative reinforcement, I do always have a fire-extinguisher, air-horn, and bear spray with us in the camper. If one of those don't do the trick on a black bear (the only kind that will be around where we camp), then it's all about retreating to the truck and getting away. It would take awhile for him to physically get IN my camper anyway, even if he's making some dents/scratches on the outside.

Don

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[Runt]

First thing we do is leave the area. Second is if we can't leave quick enough......I know the anti's wont like this but a 12 gauge slug over the head to scare the bear works....generally in remote areas in the interior of British Columbia so no neighbors to worry about. Also all field personnel have what call a "Bear Banger", its a exploding flare that creates a boom about the same as a shot gun with a big flash. Only issue is some times if you aim it incorrectly (i.e. too low) they go off behind the Bear and startle it towards you. Like I said shot gun works best in scarring them away. Bears are very smart and they know what firearms are in my opinion. Far as storage we have what we call grizzly boxes which are close to air tight 3/4 marine plywood boxes with a steel angle iron exo-skeleton that food is kept in. We keep these about 50 meters from the camp. Bears seem to like them and leave us alone. They flip them around and gnaw on them.

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

I just buy a bear tag. Problem solved, I never see one after that.

 

[offthebeatenpath]

For the sake of expeditioning, I would consider one of the electric fences that they sell for backpacking: http://www.udap.com/bearshock.htm

It already sounds like you are conscious enough about what you're doing that there's probably not much more you can do aside from eating dry, cold, flavorless food- not high on any of our lists. So then what you're really asking is- what to do with a bear approaching your camp or interested in your camp. That's where the electric fence and bear flare work out. I'm all for pepper spray and spraying lead when the occasion calls for it, but I'm not going to stay up all night in anticipation of the bear that probably won't show up.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

For the sake of expeditioning, I would consider one of the electric fences that they sell for backpacking: http://www.udap.com/bearshock.htm

It already sounds like you are conscious enough about what you're doing that there's probably not much more you can do aside from eating dry, cold, flavorless food- not high on any of our lists. So then what you're really asking is- what to do with a bear approaching your camp or interested in your camp. That's where the electric fence and bear flare work out. I'm all for pepper spray and spraying lead when the occasion calls for it, but I'm not going to stay up all night in anticipation of the bear that probably won't show up.

They sell their low end one for $379. One could probably go to the local feed store and build your own for $100 or less. It's all about farming, either keep them in or keep them out.

 

[loren85022]

Dogs are usually the first to know a bear be near by. We use a Trasharoo and is keep it 75' down from camp. If we have 2-3 cans I'll string up a noise maker. Our food stays in trailer. Either in frig or sealed Tupperware. Upstairs we have bearspray and the magnum. I've thought about adding 3-4 battery operated motion sensors around our camp. They would seem to offer numerous advantages.

I like the trailer dwg's.


Sent from my iToaster

 

[bob91yj]

We had a bear in camp at Rubicon Springs a few years back. My wife and I were in a two man backpacking tent when it showed up. It ransacked our food boxes/coolers which had been shoved under our Jeeps, then started sniffing around the tents. It's nose rubbed the tent fabric above my head. I had a 3-D Maglite as my sole weapon. The bear eventually wandered away.

We now have a .357 with us as a last line of defense when camped in bear country. I've heard all the arguments that a .357 won't stop a bear, my counter is that it'll be a damn sight more effective than a Mag Lite would have been! The odds of ever encountering another bear are slim to none, but should slim show up, I'll be better prepared.