Bear safety in RTT's and soft sided campers/tents

[upcruiser]

Something I have wondered frequently in my travels is just how much of a deterrent it is for large predators being on top of a vehicle in a RTT. I knkw one of the original reasons for RTT's in Africa was to get people up. Off the ground and in safer quarters. After a chilling evening this fall of listening to a pack of wolves surround my rig as I tried to sleep in my RTT I began wondering how safe am I? In North America the biggest threat is likely bear and being that I am planning a trip up to Alaska this summer and using the roof tent as shelter thought. I. Would raise the question. Obviously I know that food or other attractors in the tent are a no no, but if you have food in the truck anyway it would likely. Arouse the curiosity of bear and draw them to a vehicle without likely them distinguishing between food in the truck or food in the the roof tent.

I imagine this to be even more of an issue with those folks using pop put truck campers with soft sides as well. For those who spend alot of Time in bear country, what precautions do you take?

Unrelated and something else I have thought about on a number of occasions while pinned down in bad lightning storms is the safety of being in a RTT with an aluminum ladder covered in rainwater touching the ground. Is it safer to retreat to the inside of the vehicle? Assume the lightning position in the RTT? Not worry about it?

 

[wardrow]

http://www.electrobearguard.com/Product.html

 

[VDBAZFJ]

Subscribing cuz I often wonder the same thing. Im very "green" when it comes to camping and especially concerning bears. Would love to hear from some experienced campers.
:lurk:

 

[ltngaines]

Dont keep food in your tent and have a big gun when you sleep. Thats what I do. Bears will get into anything anywhere.

 

[VDBAZFJ]

Ive read that guns do little to fend off a bear attack. True?

 

[RobRed]

A bear generally doesn't like a .44 magnum up close.

 

[ssssnake529]

Ive read that guns do little to fend off a bear attack. True?

Depends on the gun. A high power rifle, 12 gauge with slugs, or a large bore pistol can kill a bear. The noise can also scare them off.

 

[STREGA]

Many campgrounds in or around areas that have a high number of Grizzlies do not allow tents or pop up campers, hard sides only. A hungry/determined grizzly can rip doors off of campers and cars so that is not always a 100% guarantee either.

I have been camping the last 20+ years in black bear country and never had a problem, in fact I can count on my right hand how many bears I have seen in that time (we did see a mom with 2 cubs last summer at the Black Canyon north rim). Keeping a clean camp is key to not having issues with bears of course. I have been using a RTT for the last 2 years and even though its a concern about bears I'am not overly anxious about it either.

My wife and I are planning a trip up to Yellowstone/Glacier this summer and will be taking the teardrop on that trip for sure. The funny thing that I have found is there is about 8 CG around the east entrance of Yellowstone all fairly close to each other, 3 of them require hardside campers the others don't.

As far as lightning goes, if it is getting even a little bit intense I would get down and get inside the truck. Around here most electrical storms pass through fairly quickly, so even if its annoying to get up it would also be wise IMO.

 

[xtatik]

After a chilling evening this fall of listening to a pack of wolves surround my rig as I tried to sleep in my RTT I began wondering how safe am I? In North America the biggest threat is likely bear and being that I am planning a trip up to Alaska this summer and using the roof tent as shelter thought.

Wow!! What an awesome experience. These are the types of experiences that true outdoorspeople seek and treasure. You should consider yourself very, very fortunate to have had this wolf encounter. As for bears, I see you're in Michigan...no worries...just yell and they'll leave.
Alaska offers a couple of a different bears, and they require different deterrents or safety measures. Most of the true bear experts recommend sprays for grizz because it can deliver the most pain to a bear. Guns usually only deliver death and if your fearful enough, this may give you the peace of mind required for you to feel safe. Most of the guides I've hired in Alaska will rely on shotguns. Some will load with a succession of different shells ranging from no shot noise makers or light bird shot (7.5 or eight) and up to 00 and even slugs/sabots. Some load straight to kill. As much as you waive when hiring these folks, they still have sense of liability for their clients and CTA with guns. It's completely understandable. Polar Bears.....bring a cannon.

 

[upcruiser]

Wow!! What an awesome experience. These are the types of experiences that true outdoorspeople seek and treasure. You should consider yourself very, very fortunate to have had this wolf encounter. As for bears, I see you're in Michigan...no worries...just yell and they'll leave.
Alaska offers a couple of a different bears, and they require different deterrents or safety measures. Most of the true bear experts recommend sprays for grizz because it can deliver the most pain to a bear. Guns usually only deliver death and if your fearful enough, this may give you the peace of mind required for you to feel safe. Most of the guides I've hired in Alaska will rely on shotguns. Some will load with a succession of different shells ranging from no shot noise makers or light bird shot (7.5 or eight) and up to 00 and even slugs/sabots. Some load straight to kill. As much as you waive when hiring these folks, they still have sense of liability for their clients and CTA with guns. It's completely understandable. Polar Bears.....bring a cannon.

Yeah, not too worried about black bears as I camp in black bear country all the time, mostly grizzlies. Was thinking that bear spray would be good to keep in the tent but at the same time it could be a liability trying to fire it off from inside a tent if you know what I mean.

Yeah the wolves serenading was a great experience, I got some pictures of the prints, the were the size of the palm of my hand. Very cool. The wolf population is thriving in the UP of Michigan. Sightings are pretty common.

 

[upcruiser]

http://www.electrobearguard.com/Product.html

Wow, that is a super cool product, thanks for sharing.

 

[Corey]

No grizzly bears where I go, but where I do camp it is black bear country, and I have seen them there in the past.
Never been bothered by them, and I hope never in the future.
The biggest pistol I have is a Glock 21SF (45 ACP), so I am not sure if that is even enough to deter one if it started messing with my rig while I slept in the roof top tent.

As far as hard sided 5th wheels and travel trailers in grizzly country, I hear they can peel those open pretty easily.

 

[Lemsteraak]

Kristian,

Did some research years ago on how big African cats deal with RTTs and tents in general. I found out that a fabric wall can be effective with cats because they see it like a brick wall. As long as they don't see you or a way in, you are safe. Bears on the other hand think different. I helped a photographer set up for an extended trip in Denali, he had a backcountry permit. The rangers asked him to put his RTT on the top of his truck rather than his trailer to deter bears. He was was pretty familiar with bears, especially polar bears. The young males he was telling me could be very aggressive. He would spend the night awake with a shotgun watching for them and wouldn't let them get close. The sound and the fury of the gun would scare them.

We had a client many years ago who was very afraid of bears. The solution we came up with was noise and light. We mounted driving lights on the front and rear of the RTT and set up a wireless controller. If you hit button "A" it would turn on the front driving lights, button "B" would light the perimeters, "C" would set off all vehicle lights and "D" was panic where everything including the horns would go off. I have no idea how well it worked but it did give him some peace of mind.

One thought we had for the Maggiolina was to make a hard wall accessory. We would make fiberglass panels similar to those funky old plastic expandable camping cups, where the panels nest and you could raise them. The weight was the main concern. The Maggiolina at the time used a different heavier fiberglass and with the added panels would add a lot more weight. The thought was that driving around with the heavy tent would be more dangerous that the bears it would deter. It might be possible with the lighter carbon fiber and glass they use on the new ones.

 

[lostwolfak]

Listening to wolves around your vehicle would have been quite an experience!

While living in Alaska for many years, I camped in tents, my truck as well as hard-side campers while enjoying fishing, 4 wheeling, hunting and hiking through some amazing areas. Several times there were fresh signs of bear activity in the woods and even a few sightings within campgrounds, but there were never any real concerns of attacks as long as precautions were taken with food items in your campsite and the trash was secured properly. I always had at least one handgun on my person and a shotgun within reach along with large cans of bear spray, but never had to utilize them. I have known some folks to spray the perimeter of their campsites with the bear spray as a deterent, though. Many hikers use "bear bells" to jingle as they walk, but I never bought into that as a real precaution.

Just my thoughts on the camping experiences I had in Alaska.

Have a great trip!

Jeff

 

[craig333]

None and none. Unless theres bear boxes provided then I'll use them.