Hybrids and animals. (Bears)

[flmlm]

Has anyone felt unsafe boondocking with the soft side beds down? Any concerns with predator animals while boondocking in national or state forests. It would seem to me if you take precautions with your trash......you should be good? Any thoughts from the group on this subject from those that have been there and done that.......specifically in the western US?

Regards
Mike

[Kimber45]

not familiar with bear country but have read post about certain campgrounds that only allow hard sided units for that very reason.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by flmlm

Has anyone felt unsafe boondocking with the soft side beds down? Any concerns with predator animals while boondocking in national or state forests. It would seem to me if you take precautions with your trash......you should be good? Any thoughts from the group on this subject from those that have been there and done that.......specifically in the western US?

Regards
Mike

It would help if you posted what areas you're referring to.

As far as National Park campgrounds go, Fishing Bridge campground in Yellowstone, is the ONLY major campground, in the Park system(lower 48)that has a permanent ban on soft-sided campers.

We dry camped in our hybrid all over the West and had no issues. But we followed proper procedures in bear country.

The great thing about hybrids, is that you can "turtle" and camp like a regular TT.

[RamsFan1]

I have never felt unsafe. Keep your food secured in the refrigerator and trash disposed of properly and I doubt you will have any issues. Unless you are very careless, I can't image the odds of a bear actually attaching a hybrid TT.

You could have some bear spray handy just in case.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by RamsFan1

I have never felt unsafe. Keep your food secured in the refrigerator and trash disposed of properly and I doubt you will have any issues. Unless you are very careless, I can't image the odds of a bear actually attaching a hybrid TT.

You could have some bear spray handy just in case.

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.

They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.

Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.

Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

[Lifestylers]

Now that was funny about the Grizzly.....

[RamsFan1]

Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.[/QUOTE]

Well done!

[rbq]

Have been to Yellowstone many times camping in a tent, popup & now a hybrid & to Glacier NP. Why would a bear pick out a hybrid to attack when there are so many tenters that would be easier to go for. Most of the NP campgrounds are sites that are so close to one another that the odds of having problems are slim & none as long as you keep your sites clean & food put away where it belongs. Feel totally safe. Many years ago when we were still in a popup trailer we were at Bridge Bay campground in Yellowstone. Came back to camp to take a nap & I woke up noticing several rangers drive by. I got up to see what was happening & they were just around the corner from our unit. A bear had walked through part of the campground & they were watching him to make sure that he kept moving along. He did. End of story. Just go for it. Every campground we visit in the mountains of Utah have signs reminding us we are in bear country & we are still going strong.

[breezyhillfarm]

Originally Posted by flmlm

Has anyone felt unsafe boondocking with the soft side beds down? Any concerns with predator animals while boondocking in national or state forests. It would seem to me if you take precautions with your trash......you should be good? Any thoughts from the group on this subject from those that have been there and done that.......specifically in the western US?

Regards
Mike

It's human predators I worry most about and that's why I have hard sides. We have camped in over 40 states and I have seen some strange stuff. I like having hard sides.

[timfromma]

Fishing Bridge campground in Yellowstone does not allow anything with a soft side due to bear activity.

[CurtPutnam]

"It's human predators I worry most about"

^^^ this ^^^^

One can generally predict what the animals are going to do, not so much with humans. More of a problem in metro areas and not so much in the boonies.

[NJKris]

This is why I went with a hard side. Not invincible, but beats being the soft taco of the bear world. Nothing like a wall of fabric between teeth and your skull to make you feel a little insecure while you're trying to sleep.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by breezyhillfarm

It's human predators I worry most about and that's why I have hard sides. We have camped in over 40 states and I have seen some strange stuff. I like having hard sides.

I've seen WAY more hard side trailers broken into by human predators, than hybrid trailers.
We had our hybrid for 10 years and never had any issues with human or animal predators.
And that was camping in most of the West and 20 states.

[jimmoore13]

We have a PUP. Doesn't get any softer than that except in a real tent.
We camp in bear country...but not where Grizzley bears live...

We are meticulous about storing food in our TV overnight...locked. We also move the grills (gas and charcoal) about 30 feet from the PUP and make sure they are flat on the ground with the grates readily available for "licking." This way, they don't need to be bear-handled to be savored.

We keep several cans of bear spray in the PUP. We figure the racket outside around the grills and attempts to get into the TV will wake us and enable us to assume a "defensive posture" with the bear spray. I also have a rather serious knife as the last line of defense.

Black bears aren't super dangerous, and they aren't really interested in people, but we exercise reasonable caution and then go camping and don't worry about it.

BTW, I'm not into firearms, so we don't carry a gun.

Our closest call was the night a herd of elk moved thru our site. All the snuffing and shuffling had us worried, but no "attack" on the grills was a sign that they weren't bears. Then one elk bugled softly and we went back to sleep.

One other tactic that helps. Our favorite spot is lakeside in a boondocking "campground." They have dumpsters. So the bears are drawn to the dumpsters. In the national forest, we are very careful about food storage.

[flmlm]

Thanks for all the replies....

Regards
Mike