Using fridges in high bear populated areas

[HB 4X4]

The only thread I found was 3 years old and not specifically geared towards fridges so I hope this is not a re-post. I am curious what those of you with fridges (Engel, ARB, etc) do when camping in bear infested areas where they are acclimated to humans and precautions must be taken when storing food (i.e., Yosemite, and pretty much the entire Western Sierras.)

Do you leave it inside the vehicle? Run an extension cord to the bear box if it fits? Leave it outside the vehicle and hope for the best?

 

[Corey]

There are only black bear near the areas where I camp.
More so at Mt. Rainier where I am heading to this week.
The ARB fridge stays in the rig below me.

I have only seen a few bear in all the times I have been up at Rainier, and that was on the trails.
I am sure many leave food out, but maybe something keeps them spooked from rummaging through the campsites.
I am sure it has happened, but not when I have been there.

 

[AxeAngel]

Lest we forget about the recent bear attacks.

There was a thread a few months back where people deemed the bear boxes to be the safest. Also you cant run a cord into a bear box, the design doesnt allow any gaps for cords to be run through.

I think I read that bears know what coolers and fridges look like and will attempt to get at them if hungry. Having some food go bad is far better than losing a door or worse.

-Sam

 

[mrchips]

I am going to run the Rubicon in a couple weeks, and have a fridge. Going to leave it in the rig, if it fits in a bear box, I have an extension cord, but I am figuring the fridge seal is air tight , so hope no bears will catch on to it.

 

[Fergie]

When we camped in Sequoia for several nights, I left the fridge in the GWB, and covered it with a blue tarp to disguise the shape.

It worked just as planned.


How do I know?


Because this is my vehicle:

That is a bear paw print.












And this is the vehicle across from us:

 

[AxeAngel]

Please tell me didn't sleep through the sound of twisting metal and shattering glass?

-Sam

 

[Xterabl]

Yeah, Sequoia/Kings is some goooood bear country.

This begs the question...Can bears see through tinted windows?

 

[mmccurdy]

We camp frequently in the bear-infested mountains of northern California, and I guess I just figure if not many humans can figure out the latch to my ARB fridge, hopefully the bears won't either :ylsmoke:

j/k... I have honestly wondered about this too.

fergie, that's some interesting photo evidence, and I've also read about the shape recognition theory, but how do you know it's not the fact that either a) bears have not learned the shapes of these fridges yet, or b) the Camry didn't leave food/cosmetics/food-smelling-things out in the open vs. your relatively air-tight fridge?


The ARB fridge has a rubber gasket, and so do our Pelican cases we use to store food. It seems to me if these things are air tight, it's going to be difficult for a bear to really track it or be interested in it... but what do I know. We still take what I consider to be reasonable precautions just in case.

Does anyone have a personal story of a bear breaching a fridge?

 

[HB 4X4]

Yeah, Sequoia/Kings is some goooood bear country.

This begs the question...Can bears see through tinted windows?

Not mine :costumed-smiley-007


I didn't think about the fridge being air tight. I wonder how well it's sealed when put against a bears nose?

I am not sure of the events prior to this video:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg8f8c0sSvg"]YouTube- ‪Engel fridge vs Bear‬‎[/ame]

 

[ThomD]

That video is a cooler me thinks. Engel has more videos on their web site.

I've been thinking re:bear box, that a 30aH battery should be enough to get through the night and only weighs 20 lbs or so. Throw that in the bear box with the fridge.

 

[mwigant]

What about those portable electric bear fences?

 

[Corey]

We need this technology now.
It will stop a bear.

 

[ThomD]

What about those portable electric bear fences?

Check it out - Certified Bear Resistant Products PDF. The PDF includes 3 or 4 fences

 

[Fergie]

...
fergie, that's some interesting photo evidence, and I've also read about the shape recognition theory, but how do you know it's not the fact that either a) bears have not learned the shapes of these fridges yet, or b) the Camry didn't leave food/cosmetics/food-smelling-things out in the open vs. your relatively air-tight fridge?

Well, they know what a cooler looks like...an Engel isnt much different from that, and certainly not to a bear.

That Camry had two water bottles in the trunk. Correct or not, the Park Ranger told us that the bottles were what the bear was after.

Sam - We certainly did not. We could hear the bear in our camp, on the GWB, and then when it broke in to the other car...talk about adrenaline!

 

[Strizzo]

that vid looks like a yeti cooler from the shape and latches.

http://www.yeticoolers.com/