Bear proofing on vehicle-based expeditions?

[SuperSoniC_110]

I was camping on my '97 trip to BC Canada.
We spend the day in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

As the campground was full for the night the rangers told us to go and camp on an old terrain some km's down the road.
We got woken up in the morning by a strange noise next to the tent.When I looked out I saw a bear wrecking our rental car to get the sausiges.
We managed to get out the tent and all the around to the other side of the car.

In the meantime he was on the roof and continued wrecking the rental wheels.
I got in on the passengers side and started the car to drive off.

On his way back into the bush he destroyed the tents.

So when we took off to the rangers to report,we bumped into our neighbours,a german couple in a RV where the same mongrel,broke open the door off the RV and even got inside.the german couple almost got a heart attack!

The Rangers told us that they had several encounters with that same bear as he was used to humans.

Couple of days later on our way back to Vancouver,we stayed in a B&B.
That same night the dogs went crazy as bears did came down the mountain to find food in town garbage bins.

Seemed to be a good year for bear spotting that year :wings:

 

[slosurfer]

This site may help you, it shows where Bear Boxes are located
http://www.climber.org/data/BearBoxes.html

 

[atavuss]

interesting video of electric portable bear fences:

http://www.nols.edu/resources/research/movies/bearfence_xl.shtml

 

[TheRoadie]

...electric portable bear fences...

LOL! I always wondered if they might work. At least they said to use the fence to protect your food, but keep it away from tents, in case a surprised bear starts running from the fence. If I put one surrounding the campsite, I'd probably forget it in the middle of the night and hit it when I was "watering the bushes". Ooops!

 

[TeriAnn]

interesting video of electric portable bear fences:

http://www.nols.edu/resources/research/movies/bearfence_xl.shtml

Hummm I never would have thought of that. I drive a Land Rover Dormobile. This means that cooking is done inside the vehicle & stored there, just like in an RV, only with a thin aluminum body and plastic & fiberglass above 7 feet high.

I have often worried about bears as there is no way to rid the interior of food scents. I camped in a Glacier National park campground that had notices of recent bear activity posted. I stayed awake half the night worrying about them. I kept having this vision of a Dormobile, with top still up crashing through a Mexican border crossing gate with a big grizzly in hot pursuit.

A perimeter electric fence with the Land Rover inside sounds like it might be a workable solution. I'll have to give it some thought.

Then there is the approved method of hiking in bear country. Wear small bells so the bear can hear you coming and avoid you and carry pepper spray in case one gets too close. And if you see bear spore, it never hurts to examine it to see if it is from a black bear or a grizzly. Grizzly spore smells like pepper and contains little bells.

 

[cruiser guy]

If its in a standard vehicle, they will peel the doors right away and get in. Years ago when we could hunt bears over bait I've seen them tear 55 gallon drums to get at whats inside. Now if a bear can tear a 55 gal drum I would think a fridge would be no problem if they really wanted in.

Anything they can get a "grip" to they can get into.

Watch the videos at Yosemite and then you'd have this same appreciation for bears! When we go hiking overnight we have a special "bear proof" food cache made of a piece of 8" or 10" black pipe with totally flush ends and latches. It needs a coin to turn the latch to open it so there is NOTHING for the bear to get a hold of. An Engel fridge, Pelican case or anything else only slows the bear down momentarily. If it isn't 1/4" plate steel or totally smooth and crush proof it's basically useless as protection from a bear.

I've been sleeping in the 'Cruiser and been awakened by a bear peering into the truck WHILE I WAS IN IT!! That particular area was not a place like Yosemite where the bears are conditioned to humans so BE CAREFUL.

Having said all that I'd go hiking up Half Dome tommorrow if the opportunity presented itself!!

Bottom line, be cautious and aware of the powers of the bear but don't let that stop you from enjoying the outdoors.

 

[BigAl]

All this talk of bears is making me hungry, I recently had a bear noodle stew with celery and carrots that was to die for.:chowtime: I'm sorry, but any bear that breaks into an occupied cabin/residence or bites someone on the leg needs a bullet. I know we are in "their" habitat but you can't have that kind of thing.

 

[gpwpat]

Wear small bells so the bear can hear you coming and avoid you and carry pepper spray in case one gets too close. And if you see bear spore, it never hurts to examine it to see if it is from a black bear or a grizzly. Grizzly spore smells like pepper and contains little bells.

This must be what the camper had on his leg when he was bitten.

 

[robert]

You need one of those South African anti-carjacking systems with the flame throwers. Singe 'em a bit so his buddies think he smells like food. :chowtime:

I'm kidding of course.

Early alarm systems used to electrify your car using a capacitor; you could probably find info on those old systems and build one for minimum cost. I doubt it would hurt them in the least but it would get their attention.

 

[ntsqd]

About a month ago a friend camped at Whitney Portal. Had Mama and two cubs decide they liked her camp the best. Stayed all night. Campground host came by in the morning, saw all of the bear poop and asked "What the hell happened here last night?"

Would not count on no bears on the Eastern flank of the Sierras.

Camp host in Yosemite's main valley highly discouraged keeping the ARB in the Sub. Bears know what coolers look like, and an Engel/ARB looks like one to them. Told me that their noses are good enough to smell the food thru both the vehicle's door gaskets and those on the fridge.

 

[TheRoadie]

Camp host in Yosemite's main valley highly discouraged keeping the ARB in the Sub.

So did you relocate the fridge to the bear box, and how did you keep it powered up?

 

[ntsqd]

I did move it, but didn't keep it powered up as there was no ice cream in it that time.

Necessarily those doors fit too tight for any sort of extension cord approach. If keeping it running is needed a loose battery will have to be put in the locker too. That will heat up inside the locker, so having a door open whenever possible would be a good thing.
I think I'd just move to a block of ice at that point.

 

[DenCo40]

I have found over the years of camping I have done is using plastic expedition barrels for storing food. These are about the best things to use. They are sealed and completely dust/waterproof. They have handles on them that can be used to hoist them into the trees. Even if a bear gets a hold of one they are too big to chew on. They roll easily and bears tend to lose interest in them.

 

[Ruffin' It]

Well that explains why the last time I went hiking I got hit up by a bear asking for a quarter. They are getting smarter and smarter!

Watch the videos at Yosemite and then you'd have this same appreciation for bears! When we go hiking overnight we have a special "bear proof" food cache made of a piece of 8" or 10" black pipe with totally flush ends and latches. It needs a coin to turn the latch to open it so there is NOTHING for the bear to get a hold of. An Engel fridge, Pelican case or anything else only slows the bear down momentarily. If it isn't 1/4" plate steel or totally smooth and crush proof it's basically useless as protection from a bear.

I've been sleeping in the 'Cruiser and been awakened by a bear peering into the truck WHILE I WAS IN IT!! That particular area was not a place like Yosemite where the bears are conditioned to humans so BE CAREFUL.

Having said all that I'd go hiking up Half Dome tommorrow if the opportunity presented itself!!

Bottom line, be cautious and aware of the powers of the bear but don't let that stop you from enjoying the outdoors.

 

[Accrete]

my little bear tale...

a ramble.

Long ago, i went hiking in Yosemite with a couple dozen in our backpacking party. We were out for a week of fresh air and nature, we got a bit more than planned.

One nite we noticed the burro pack animals (three of them) were silent and laying low, this we were told afterward is the first sign that the animals know something we have yet to discover. . . bears snooping around the area.

We went to bed under the stars with the food bags up in the trees and a clean camp.

Sometime after midnite i woke up to a really foul smell.

Directly to my right was a large bear sniffing the face of the guy next to me as his head poked out of his mummy bag. I could see by the moon light that he was frozen in fear, eyes wide open as the bear sniffed his face.

I honestly can't tell you why the bear left without any crazy event, but it wandered off. And then what we saw was simply wild. There was another good sized adult bear on all fours and a smaller bear on it's back swatting at the food bag in the treeline. All we could think about the next day when talking about it was that a momma bear was teaching one of her cubs how to get at a food source.

. . . so here i am many years later and one of those bear fences look pretty handy, might just have to order one up. . . and my wife and i never go out without our UDAP bear spray/holster. It has been used on several occasions to ward off dog-packs (there are several in our area that are wild), coyote, and a stuborn bull elk. We have yet to run into any black bear, but know they are plentiful on the Washington coast where we prospect for gold in streams and rivers.

I am serrious about wildlife proofing our campsite as we are sleeping in the back of the truck with a vestibule-to-changing/restroom-tent and it is used at nit now and again. I don't need any suprises for my wife or that will be the last of the adventures out in the wilds for us.

Back in my youth i spent my summers in Glacier Park and always hiked with bells on my shoes and singing on the trails. The only bears i saw were back in the campgrounds in bear cages/traps. It is interesting, in hindsite, how unconcerned we were as children. Wild times.

Happy trails,
Thom