profdant139
Southern California
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Joined: 11/14/2005
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We have been at campgrounds in active bear zones where the park provides metal bear boxes for your cooler and so forth. But what if you are boondocking around bears (with no bear box)? I am not too concerned about the bears breaking into my trailer -- the food is in the fridge. And our garbage gets hung up in a tree, and we take the garbage to a dumpster whenever we can.
But our cooler stays in our SUV -- it is our backup fridge. (Our trailer is very small.) We cover the cooler so the bears can't see it, but I would assume they can smell the food in it. So how does one keep the bears from ripping the doors off the car to get at the food? (I have seen them do this at Yosemite, when folks foolishly leave coolers in plain sight on a car seat.)
Are there portable bear boxes that would be big enough for a cooler? That would be a tricky thing to transport and assemble! Or maybe I am worried about nothing -- if we cover the cooler, maybe the bears just leave the car alone?
Your advice would be appreciated, especially if you have had experience in this situation!
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maddog348
Bakersfield,CA
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If your cooler has a good tight seal and you use it for soda - beer or 'sealed' jar foods only(i.e. NO bacon, cantaloupe, or other foods with strong scent) and keep the cooler covered with heavy blankets(keeps cooler cooler too)Should have no problem -- unless bears REALLY active then not sure if I want to stay anyhow. Have camped that way on many occasions in PuP -no fridge - no bear-box. Good Luck & Happy Camping
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tom_kat
way upstate new york/lake george area
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Joined: 02/28/2005
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hang it high in a tree with a long rope and watch the fun when the bear tries to get it down.dont think covering it to hide it will do much, bears dont see that well but have great noses for finding food.one night i had our food cooler hung 8 ft off the ground and awoke to a bear banging on it he had it swinging pretty good he hung around for a while and finialy left when he heard dogs barking in the distance.bears dont like dogs.maybe get a tape recording of dogs barking to scare the bears away when needed.
1985 Class A Holiday Rambler Imperial 33 +1979 Class C Holiday Rambler Statesman 1000 = 24 ft
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maddog348
Bakersfield,CA
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Hey TOM KAT --(or any one else out there) Got a bear question for you - Rangers out here (Yosemite/Sequoia/KingCyn) say that the bears can 'smell' what is in an unopened can. If the smell is getting out then air is getting in -- Why don't the food spoil??? Maybe bears do see well enough to recognize can/cooler if taught by their mama what to look for. Just a thought.
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teb1272
Memphis
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I suspect the "smelling" of food in a can comes from small amounts of the material inside left on the outside or the paper label. Molecules simply do not penetrate metal enough to cause either smell or spoiling of the food inside.
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maddog348
Bakersfield,CA
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THANK YOU teb1272, my thoughts exactly.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Having a bear break into a closed vehicle is EXTREMELY rare. Close it up and keep a clean campsite (get rid of the garbage in a tree unless you're camping in the back country) and there should be no reason for a bear to even COME to your campsite. If you ARE in the back country then make your garbage tree at least a couple of hundred yards from camp. For what it's worth , your biggest bear attractant will be cooking gear and dish washing water. Not being able to actually SEE your cooler is a complete waste of time since they could easily smell it from a mile away. If you're camping in a HEALTHY eco system there is no reason bears would be attracted to your campsite as long as you keep it clean and previous campers have observed a minimal amount of intelligence in THEIR camping practices. Good luck / Skip
2004 F-150 HD 3,050 lb. payload
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fordsooperdootydieselsmoker
OrangeCountyCalifornia
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BearVault
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maddog348
Bakersfield,CA
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Don't look big enough to put a cooler in
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Ahab
Oracle, Az.
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Joined: 06/23/2005
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Good advice here. We've boondocked in bear country for many years and never had a problem.
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