Foamies and animals?

[tag1260]

OK. So i see some pics of bears trying to get in cars because the foods stored in them. What's to stop them from trying to get in a foamie and would one withstand such an attack?
If my wife got eaten by a bear she'd be mad at me for a very long time!!!!

[tomhawk]

Here is a video using an electric fence to deter grizzly bears:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv2G-aRDvyY

You can find a number of electric fence gizmos on the web that run off car batteries or even D batteries!

My experience in this area is limited to the great success I have had protecting my garden from raccoons. Those guys don't seem to be interested in sharing. They took all my tomatoes. The electric fence easily paid for itself the first season.

That said, the bear country experts seem to agree that good sanitation and wise food storage is also very helpful to prevent bear visits.

--Tom

[ghcoe]

Probably better than a tent. Foam wont slow .45 rounds. problem solved...

[John61CT]

It would take a fair gauge of metal skinning, plus frame reinforcement, to make a foamie bear-proof.

More practical to forget the foamie concept for bear country, build the living space out of metal in the first place, then just add foam for insulation only.

[tony.latham]

What's to stop them from trying to get in a foamie and would one withstand such an attack?

No. Foam will not stop a bear.



Bear confilcts depend on where and how you camp. (Where do you camp?)

We boondock throughout central and western Montana. I'd have to think long and hard to come up with a place we've teardropped that isn't bear country --eighteen years of teardropping without a single bear issue. (Damn!)

Boondocking keeps us out of campgrounds. Problem bears are attracted to campgrounds.



Here's my camp-mate checking out a grizzly-marked tree while Cora sniffs the breeze. Note that she's standing on a log:



And yes, that's bear spray in her left hand.

Tony

[TimC]

Depending on where you camp bears will not likely be interested in your cabin unless you cook in it. So don't. The galley is another story, however, if you clean well and keep food locked up they will typically leave you alone. Practice bear/food storage deterrents like a backpacker or wilderness canoeist would practice. You can make "bear proof" containers out of PVC pipe and fittings, or buy one and hang it out of reach at the campsite away from your camper. Google bear ropes. Properly hung they work.

My first sentence is referring to black bears of course. The more aggressive bears in western states may behave totally differently. I don't know the Iowa bear population...

I don't, however, subscribe to the USFS bear awareness sign suggestion at several BWCA campgrounds we were at last week that suggest that if a bear is entering your campsite "just shoo it away". I sh#@ you not!

[bdosborn]

I'm more worried about my lousy diet than bears:

# OF DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES PER YEAR

Cause of death ………………… # dead
Cardiovascular disease …….. 856,030
Transportation accidents …. 48,441
Drowning ……………………….. 3,582
Hypothermia ……………………699
West Nile virus ……………….. 119
Hornet/bee/wasp stings ….. 48.5
Snake bites …………………….. 5.2
Bear attacks …………….. 2

Bruce

[Aussie leslie]

What's to stop them from trying to get in a foamie and would one withstand such an attack?

No. Foam will not stop a bear.



Bear confilcts depend on where and how you camp. (Where do you camp?)

We boondock throughout central and western Montana. I'd have to think long and hard to come up with a place we've teardropped that isn't bear country --eighteen years of teardropping without a single bear issue. (Damn!)

Boondocking keeps us out of campgrounds. Problem bears are attracted to campgrounds.



Here's my camp-mate checking out a grizzly-marked tree while Cora sniffs the breeze. Note that she's standing on a log:



And yes, that's bear spray in her left hand.

Tony

Did a bear demolish that van must have been an angry one

[RJ Howell]

No a foamie won't stop a bear. Not many campers no matter how built will. Only you and your knowledge of sanitation willl stop that bear.

We also have bears in our area (black) and yet to have an issue over 45yrs (God I'm getting old) of camping. Tent-Popup-hardside camper to now the foamie Overlander. We will cook inside, depending on weather. We have had bear walk through our campsite, stayed at a commercial CG and 'they' headed for the dumpster.

Like many others, I've had no issues with bears. Now... freakin' mice.. and that's in the truck cab, not the camper!

[rjgimp]

Did a bear demolish that van must have been an angry one

I doubt anger played a part as much as hunger. Bears are omnivores and very opportunistic. I believe the point being made with this image is that even manufactured campers with metal skin are no match for the swipe of the paw of either species commonly found in North America. I grew up in northern Minnesota and have seen multiple cabins with windows and doors torn completely out of their openings and plenty of claw marks and gouges all around.

We boondock throughout central and western Montana. I'd have to think long and hard to come up with a place we've teardropped that isn't bear country --eighteen years of teardropping without a single bear issue. (Damn!)

This is my experience around the western Great Lakes region as well. About 75% of the US and Canada are known territory of either Ursus arctos horribilis (Grizzly or brown bear) or Ursus americanus (black bear) and they are generally both just as uninterested in sharing campsites with us humans as we are of them.

Boondocking keeps us out of campgrounds. Problem bears are attracted to campgrounds.

Unfortunately, problem campers are also attracted to campgrounds which tends to attract the bears.

Here's my camp-mate checking out a grizzly-marked tree while Cora sniffs the breeze. Note that she's standing on a log...And yes, that's bear spray in her left hand.

Never a bad idea to be prepared and carry, uhhm... protection.

[tony.latham]

Did a bear demolish that van must have been an angry one

I assume you are asking about the camper. No doubt it was food that attracted the bear.

But for whatever reason, bears do seem to like to tear stuff up from time to time for no apparent reason. (Having worked for Fish and Game for most of my adult life, I joked that the department should have put swing sets out for them to help prevent this issue.) I had a bear walk through a wall tent once when I wasn't there. There hadn't been a meal cooked in the tent for six months and it was empty. The door was tied open. He chose to go through one wall and out the other.

But here's an example of bear maliciousness:



Now... as I stated above, we almost always camp in bear country and we don't consider bears a problem.



Tony