Tent safety and wildlife

[riverguide]

It is a silly question but as far as I know this hasn't been discussed much here. I was looking around and didn't find much--please direct me if incorrect.

I have been thinking the past few days of how safe car camping is or roof top tents really are and since I don't have much first hand experience in the USA or in other countries, I'm hoping others can put in their experiences and or knowledge. When I talk about safety, I'm not speaking so much about the physical aspects of sleeping in a car with fumes or the failure of the roof top tent-I'm talking about safety from animals. Aside from crazy people that are always a danger when camping(or living our daily lives for that matter), we have nature to deal with. Here in the US of course different dangers than those oversees. We have bears, mountain lions/panthers, wolves, etc. Other countries have lions, elephants, cheetahs, hyenas and more. I was really wanting to know how safe we really are camping in our cars in these environments such as Alaska where 10 foot or taller bears rome. Obviously if they want in our car, they can break the window, if they want in the tent, they can reach it. Wolves, mountain lions, etc can climb the roof or jump however I'm not sure they feed in the same way as bears, since they are more predatory, catch their prey by surprise type. However I am also aware that many of these attacks that happen are because the animal smells food somewhere inside the vehicle or tent.

Oversees, they have lions and all those mentioned above. Since I've never camped anywhere but the states I can only imagine a lot of this is my imagination but I'd be a little scared sleeping in my roof top tent in the middle of the jungle or the plains of Africa.

What are your thoughts on this? I understand that if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen but when I hear something outside the tent, I'd rather not think it was something coming to eat my wife and I. Do those of you that have done a lot of car and/or roof top tent camping find that animals stay clear of the vehicle or have you felt threatened at any time from wildlife?

Are there any advantages in safety between camping in the car versus rtt?

Hopefully this made some sense!

Thanks. RG

 

[jsmoriss]

RG,

I'm looking at buying a Campa trailer and I've had similar thoughts. My experience so far with camping as been with a canoe. The kitchen & food is usually kept in a separate drum / backpack, and at night we move it away from our campsite. We also keep the cooking area (usually under a tarp) extra clean. The tent itself is setup away from these two as well. If a bear would detect the smell of food, the idea is they'd have no reason to visit and/or bother with the tent. We also have some bear spray on-hand, just in case.

The Campa trailer has a large fridge mounted on the tongue, and I expect there would be a few cases of dry goods in the Jeep or trailer itself. The kitchen area is also at the back of the trailer, where the tent ladder is located. I'm also planning on using an RTT with an enclosure around the ladder, so we can still cook, etc. when it's raining, and it gives the dog a place to sleep. Or maybe we'll let him sleep in the Jeep. Anyway, all this proximity of food to the tent has me worried a bit...

js.

 

[Lynn]

Your concerns are part of the reason I want a 'live in' expo vehicle, as opposed to a 'live around.' With hard walls.

Hard walls may not deter the most determined critter, but should slow them down long enough for me to jump in the driver seat and beat a hasty retreat.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I'd worry more about the two footed wildlife than any thing else here in the lower 48.

 

[kerry]

I'd worry more about the two footed wildlife than any thing else here in the lower 48.

X2. I had a friend who was shot and killed while sleeping in her tent by a hunter who mistook her tent for a bear.

 

[James86004]

The only time I have every had trouble was when I accidentally left my fanny pack outside and a critter got into the peanuts I had inside. I have camped all over the Four Corners states.

A friend of mine who used to work for the now-shuttered Bureau of Mines did a lot of field work - camping maybe 100 days out of the year. Usually out of the back of a truck, but sometimes dropped off by helicopter. In grizzly bear country he took a high powered rifle with him. Only one time in 20 years did he have a problem, but it was a big problem with a grizzly, which he had to shoot.

 

[kellymoe]

Out west I dont give it a second thought when throwing a bag down on the ground for the night. More afraid of people.

 

[johnnyrover]

I don't think tents/cars are for protection from large mammals, as much as they are for small critters/bugs and the elements.

We smell steak, and cannot really help it. We can reduce the amount of 'interesting' smells in a campsite. Seperate eating from sleeping area, keep toiletries with food, don't wipe hands on clothing, etc...

I have had a number of great animals through camp: white, brown, and black bears, caribou, deer, moose, wolves, coyotes, racoons and many more I never know were there.

This fall I crawled out of my little bivy sack to the suprise of a moose just 10 feet away. The full moon let us easily see each other, and he could have easily trampled me (in the tent or not). I think he was attracted to my snoring, despite my attempts to stop the noise with a breath-rite strip.

So, add snoring to the list of things not to do in your tent.

 

[rusty_tlc]

After reading the OP I did some googling and found this:
Bear Fence

Seems like a good idea if you were camping up in Alaska or Canada.

 

[adrenaline503]

I have spent hundreds of nights on the ground, from Ohio to Alaska. It is only natural to be nervous about things that go "bump in the night", it wasn't that long ago that man spent every night in the wild. As stated about there are basic precautions that can be used to avoid 99% of animal problems. The worst damage I ever experienced was a porcupine doing "something" to my backpack one night. I woke to find about a hundred quills driven through all my possessions, include a platypus water bag. Funny looking back on it. The bumps do take getting used to, I lost many nights sleep as my mind raced. I don't think that a RRT would save you from a determined nocturnal predator, but other than a bear I can't think of anything that would be remotely interested. Keep your food locked night and away from your sleeping area. One thing that I find interesting is how many people cook right next to , or in, their vehicle, even under their RRT. That wouldn't be my first choice. But, how many people a year are devoured in their tent? A lot more people die driving top the wild, hiking in the wild and drinking too much once they get there.

 

[BCcamp]

The key concept here is to minimize what attracts forest creatures to your campsite, primarily food. There are plenty of websites with good suggestions for minimizing encounters with unwanted visitors. By being scrupulous about eliminating those attractions, I sleep like a baby even when our tent is pitched in remote areas. Established campsites and campgrounds are another matter, because animals have learned that these places are frequent sources of food.

We do carry bear spray, but have never used it despite 3 encounters with black bears in the last 2 years. None of the encounters was at the campsite. The first was when a bear popped out of the woods about 30 yards ahead of us while pedaling our bikes on an old railroad bed that ran alongside a wilderness area. The second was a mama and 2 cubs in the middle of a forest road when driving to a backwoods campsite. The third was a mama and cub about 20 feet from us while hiking through a wilderness area (Oh! Look! What a cute baby bear! Baby bear? Where’s mama? :yikes. Fortunately, everyone took off in opposite directions. And this in the relatively “tame” backwoods areas of western Virginia and West Virginia.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Interestingly the news had a story about a mountain Lion attack tonight. It happened about 10 miles from my house in an area where we go wheeling often. She was in her front yard and suffered only minor scratches. She had a dog chained up in the front yard, kind of like baiting the lion in. It was the first mt lion attack in Nevada since 1991, there has never been any record of a death from Mountain lion attack in Nevada since records have been kept.

The next story was about a pedestrian who got killed crossing the street. That happens about three or four times a year here.

The moral of the story is your safer with a mountain lion in the Virginia mountain range than crossing the street in Reno.

 

[riverguide]

Thanks for the replies.

I agree that it is more dangerous in our cities, that's why I don't ride my bike anywhere near them and I fear setting up my tent in my own back yard. Those on this forum that live in or around a major suburb know the crazies that are out and about.

But like others have stated we have to have common sense to avoid any silly mistakes from the wildlife.


Thanks again for the replies.

RG

 

[James86004]

Maybe one of you can help me remember the details, my memory is a little fuzzy.

I can't remember when it was, sometime in the 2000 to 2004 range. There was murder out in the National Forest a few dozen miles south of Flagstaff. Some people were stuck in the mud, some passers by stopped to help. While they were working, a guy in a truck drove up, got out, pulled out a rifle and shot one of them dead. He was captured, charged, and convicted. He didn't know any of the people. When asked why he did it, he said he just wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.

To me, that is way scarier than any animal I encounter.

 

[Storz]

I spent a semester at Northland College in upstate WI, which has a large wolf population. Slept outside on the ground with nothing more than a sleeping pad and bag many a night and never had any problems. As others have stated the two-legged animal is by far the most dangerous.