TrailManors vs. Bears

[B_and_D]

Has anyone visited "bear country" with their TM's?

If so, how did you store your food? Did you leave things in the frig, or put all your food in the lockers?

Last time we were in "bear country" we put most of our food into the lockers, but kept things in the refrigerator that you usually keep there. But, we were in a completely hard-sided trailer.

 

[kdrickard]

We've been to both Yosemite and Sequoia NP's (SNP many times). Both National Parks have heavy bear activity and you get the "lecture" every time you visit. The park rangers have told us it was ok to keep food inside the TM as long as food the was in the refrigerator and the rest of it out of sight from windows. Since storage is a bit more limited in a TM than in a "conventional" travel trailer, we usually take advantage of the extra storage the bear box provides at these NP's. We've had food in the cupboards on each trip, but put anything that might smell a bit in the bear box.



Like getting your car stolen, I figure you just need to make sure the bear finds it easier to get food from someone else.



Kevin R.

 

[Bill]

We had the same experience as Kevin, in the same places. In Sequoia, the Rangers were adamant that we use the bear boxes, and they came by to check us in the evening after supper. In Yosemite, it seemed to be more of a yawn. Since we are Easterners, where the bears are no larger than your average ox, we used the bear boxes religiously in both places - it didn't make sense to do anything else. And we tossed a blanket over everything in the car that was even vaguely rectangular - the rangers said that the bears think that anything with straight edges is a cooler, even if it is a case of 10-40 motor oil.

For us it was easy. We have a 40-qt TE cooler (Walmart, about $79) that we carried with us during the day as we drove around. The Explorer powered the TE cooler, and kept things nice and cold. When we got back to the TM, we brought the cooler inside, and prepared supper out of it. After supper, we simply slid it into the bear box. Worked great. A regular cooler would do as well, except that you have to find ice.

My wife also found a cardboard box, and loaded it with ANYTHING that has a smell. Soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, floor wax - I thought she was going to stuff me in there! Before we went to bed, she slid the cardboard box into the bear box.

There is a bear box at every site, it is big and easy to use ... why not?

The good news is that there are plenty of appetizing tent campers in both campgrounds. If the bears are going to bite anyone (and they don't seem to be actually interested in people!), those guys are the easiest targets. While we were there, three tent sites (but no tents) were invaded. But no canvas campers, TMs, or hardsides. And the ASPCP assured us that no people were harmed in the making of that vacation.

Don't worry about the bears. Go, enjoy, be a bit prudent - and feel comfortable and secure in your TM. We did. We loved both places.

Bill

 

[B_and_D]

Thanks for the reports, guys!

We didn't have any problems last time, but supposedly the bear activity is worse this year. I just hate to think about our dear TM being clawed by a bear!

We'll keep our food to a minimum, and keep the bear-attracting stuff in the lockers.

 

[B_and_D]

Well, we've come and gone from bear country this past weekend, and put most of our food/soaps/etc. into the bear lockers the first night, also got the lecture. Didn't see any bears. Also sprayed ammonia around the areas of the TM that I thought would be most "favorably smelly" to the bears, around the bathroom (where the soap, etc. is) and around the kitchen area on both sides (refrigerator, stove/oven and cabinets). The ranger told us to keep our soda bottles out of sight, so we just closed up the curtains while we were gone. Seems that if you're reasonably prudent about storing things that you shouldn't have a problem.

I do like the TM better than a tent with those bears around and about!

 

[kdrickard]

Good to hear your trip went well. I remember clanking pans and throwing small stones as a tent camper more than a few years back from time to time. Only bears I've seen since our TM have been outside the campgrounds. I'm guessing the bears know about the "War Wagon" qualities of the TM.
Kevin R.

 

[G-V_Driver]

I agree with Bill. If bears are around, park next to some tent campers, preferably fat ones. Bears seem to like them better.

One other precaution is to move their tennis shoes. Most campers leave them outside their tents, so if you move them to a different location where they can't find them quickly, there is less chance they can outrun the bear.

On a recent trip, we were warned that there were two kinds of bears nearby; brown bears and grizzlies. The ranger recommended that we wear bells on our shoes and carry pepper spray as a precaution.

I asked how we could tell which kind of bears were in our vicinity. He said we should watch for droppings. Brown bear droppings consist largely of berries. Grizzly droppings typically include small bells and smell like pepper spray.

 

[B_and_D]

That's a good one, GVD!

I keep a can of pepper spray in my desk at work (we get weirdoes walking in off the street sometimes). The guy who showed us how to use it said that it was effective against bears, but not raccoons. Isn't that strange?

 

[hal]

A year ago, our group was camping in the central western mountains of Colorado. During the night, we could hear a repeated popping sound. It was explained that there was a bear in the area that was harrassing campers and that the owner of the campground was using rubber bullets to run it off. It discontinued harrassing the owner's facilities and then turned its attention to a rather large Rv. The residents of the Rv were gone at the time. When they returned, they discovered their leather bicycle seat had provide a bit of nourishment for the bear. Not satisfied with this tid bit and because the bear had a larger appetite, the bear then began to gnaw on the corner of the Rv. I sank it s fangs into the lightweight aluminum and did other damage. When the owners returned, the bear was no where around. They discovered the damage and then went to bed where they slept soundly. The next morning after arising and leaving their trailer, they discovered the bear had returned and had slimed the entire side of their RV with heavy attention paid to the door of the RV. Thank goodness it could not get in. We in our TrailManor were never bothered by the bear.

The moral of this story is to obtain an Rv that is covered with stealth material. Even the bear couldn't see us. This had to be the reason for the bear not picking on us for its night cap.

Hal

 

[B_and_D]

Years ago when we were setting up our tent near Mammoth Pools, we were approached by a couple of friendly fellow campers who advised us that there was a rather large bear in the campground. When I expressed dismay at this news (DH had assured me that there were never any bears in this particular campground) they told me that we should just drink a six-pack of beer, and that would keep the bears away.

I had to think about that one for a while. :new_sleep

 

[RockyMtnRay]

Regarding Beers and Bears

Years ago when we were setting up our tent near Mammoth Pools, we were approached by a couple of friendly fellow campers who advised us that there was a rather large bear in the campground. When I expressed dismay at this news (DH had assured me that there were never any bears in this particular campground) they told me that we should just drink a six-pack of beer, and that would keep the bears away.

I had to think about that one for a while. :new_sleep

Bear downs 36 beers, passes out at campground

"Rainier, not Busch, the beverage of choice for thirsty black bear". This being a Washington State bear, he clearly preferred the local stuff.

 

[Bill]

I asked how we could tell which kind of bears were in our vicinity. He said we should watch for droppings. Brown bear droppings consist largely of berries. Grizzly droppings typically include small bells and smell like pepper spray.

Around here, conventional wisdom has it that if you see a bear, you should shinny up a tree. If the bear comes up the tree behind you, it's a black bear. If the bear knocks the tree down, it's a grizzly.

And RockyMtnRay noted that bears occasionally drink beer

Bear downs 36 beers, passes out at campground

Very true. Again around here (northern Maine), and quite seriously, it is not unusual for a bear to break into a hunting cabin when it is hungry. Fairly often, it will chomp into a can of spray paint, thinking (apparently) that it is a can of beer, or beans, or whatever. Makes an awful mess. Doesn't do the bear any good, either. But the worst damage actually happens as the surprised bear goes straight out through a wall of the cabin.

Perhaps tent campers should leave a couple cans of Krylon outside the tent.

Bill

 

[fcatwo]

Bacon-wrapped cans of bug or pepper spray outside the tent are used as well but that's cutting it pretty close. I'ts probably best to just be somewhere else when agressive bears are prowling in the wild. We lived in Alaska for 29 years, saw both black and grizzly/brown bears in a variety of situations (a yearling black beded down in a brushy part of our yard for a couple of years), and learned that bears are not normally a threat unless they have learned to associate humans with food.

Neighborhood bears tend to their own business - which is garbage cans, pet food placed outside and bird seed. Your kids are far more likely to be mauled by your neighbor's dogs than a bear.

Frank

 

[tucsoncarol]

bear feast

Last summer my brother and his family with their Coleman pop up were camping with a couple in a tent. A little after midnight, the tenting couple began to yell that there was something big in camp and what did Ron (my bro') think they should do. He looked out the window to see a large brown bear opening their cooler like it was a cardboard box and begin enjoying the contents. His response was that he was going back to sleep and hoped the bear knew his way out of camp when he was done. This didn't sit well with the other couple or his wife (it was her sister and brother-in-law in the tent). They all did as he advised, though, and in the morning they found the bear had eaten everything, including a large ham, several steaks, and a box of cheap wine to wash it all down. He had taken the precaution my dad taught us, to store your food as far from your camp as possible, and though all their provisions were gone, they are all still uneaten.