Using Your Trailer in Bear Country

[Virgil]

How have many of you camped in Bear Country given that many trailers have built-in kitchens and food storage and your tent above? Seems like a disaster in the making! I am considering purchasing a trailer but wonder about the wisdom of using the trailer in bear country. Maybe the roof top tent is the way to go?

Thanks,

Virgil

 

[ThomD]

Hi and Welcome to the forum.

This question has been talked about here and here and here

 

[JKDetonator]

as often as I can...

6 1/2 feet off the ground gives one a good feeling of security. The 870 with slugs beside the tent door also helpls...:elkgrin:

 

[jeepdreamer]

Overkill..?

So does that mean my daisy chain of claymores around the perimeter is overkill? Sure do sleep well at night...:elkgrin:

 

[indiedog]

So does that mean my daisy chain of claymores around the perimeter is overkill? Sure do sleep well at night...:elkgrin:

Geez, just don't wander outside at night for a pee!

 

[jeepdreamer]

Lessons learned...

Lesson one: front towards enemy
Lesson two: always keep control of the "klacker"
Lesson three" FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY!!!
:sombrero:

 

[TrailAgent]

You are right on the money with your concern. I am currently working on an M416 trailer that will be used primarily in the Midwest. It will have a nice kitchen setup. So, I am not adding a tent to the top because of the bear/food problem. If the bear can't get into the trailer, it will go into the tent.

My tent will be on the ground a safe distance from the trailer and the food will be hung from a tree well away from the tent.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I figure, if I'm camping in a park, I'll have the same problem as all the other trailer owners. I don't know why, but apparently it's not a problem, because you don't see RV's with machine guns mounted on the roof.

If I'm in the backcountry, most bears will avoid the trailer the same way they avoid people. It's only in the parks where they see people as a food source.

In any case, I'm 10 times more likely to get struck by lightning on any trip I'm on, than I am to be attacked by a bear. I take some precautions, but don't worry too much about it.

 

[DarthBeaver]

every year for 24 years my college friends and I head to the same lake for a week. bears have always been an issue. This year I have a RTT mounted on a trailer. no galley/kitchen facilities yet. Basic rule of thumb is: clean up. Nothing that goes in your mouth or on your body stays out or in tents. EVERYTHING goes in the vehicles. We carry Bear Repellent and have not had to use it yet. THe ONLY time we have had an issue is because some n00b left something out that attracted the bears. If you clean up and put up you should be fine. Obviously there will always be exceptions.... but as the scouts say "Be Prepared" practice common sense and all should be fine.


Remember WE don't have a bear problem, the BEARS have a human problem.

 

[go4aryd]

It's only in the parks where they see people as a food source.

Ditto - just spent 5 weeks up north with our AT Horizon. Slept at least 8 nights with bears less than couple hundred yards away in BC, the Yukon as well as AK. No problems. Bears habituated to human based food sources are nearly ALWAYS the problem. In bad food years, rougue bears seem more frequent and thus more of a problem. First question to the local camp host should be a status check on any recent bear activity you should be aware of.

(BTW, the Soda Creek campground in Montana where the recent problems have been highly publicized has been a problem area on and off for many years.)

 

[Casper]

because you don't see RV's with machine guns mounted on the roof.

Oh contrair (sp?) my friend, don't tell me you have forgot about the ulimate Bear proof RV...........
:wings:

Cheers,
Josh
&
Porthos.
:smiley_drive: