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Old 01-21-2021, 03:10 AM   #1
jls
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Default Bear Aware in Class B

I've been wondering what people do when visiting campgrounds in bear country that require using the metal storage boxes for food, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, sunscreen, candles, pet food, tobacco, garbage, recyclables... not to mention the all our fridge food!

How much of your Class B stuff do you unpack and store in the box?

How common are Class B bear break-ins?
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Old 01-21-2021, 03:19 AM   #2
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I've never used a bear box when class B camping. 2-3 months per year boondocking and dry camping in the west.

Motorcycle trips in a tent, yes, absolutely.
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Old 01-21-2021, 03:25 AM   #3
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Default bear aware

I We have camped in Yosemite during thanksgiving many times in a class A motorhome and never had a problem. We would always cook a turkey and all the fixens in camp. We did here bears in other campsites but we never had a break in.
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Old 01-21-2021, 10:59 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by jls View Post
I've been wondering what people do when visiting campgrounds in bear country that require using the metal storage boxes for food, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, sunscreen, candles, pet food, tobacco, garbage, recyclables... not to mention the all our fridge food!

How much of your Class B stuff do you unpack and store in the box?

How common are Class B bear break-ins?
I have only heard of a single time from a ranger. A mother bear would break into locked car to get to food. The ranger (35 years experience) said he only saw and witnessed this one time. Rare event. Most parks will allow people to store food inside their vehicles. Just nothing in canvas or inside tents.
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Old 01-21-2021, 01:03 PM   #5
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Best advice is to ask locally when you check in.. Bear attacks and nuisance bear problems vary depending on the season, weather, and current food conditions. Drought, for example, often brings bears into closer contact with humans. Campground staff or the local ranger station can tell you if there have been recent problems that might lead you to take extra precautions.
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Old 01-21-2021, 01:16 PM   #6
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The risk of bear break-in can be real (although almost always small). However, I don't see how that risk is any greater in a van than in a house or a cabin. Both have windows, and those are the main vulnerability. It would never have occurred to me to use an outdoor storage box, even if my campsite had one. But Jon has it right: Ask the ranger.
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Old 01-21-2021, 01:21 PM   #7
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Quote:
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It would never have occurred to me to use an outdoor storage box, even if my campsite had one.
If I’m using an outdoor grill or stove, that’s something I might put in the bear box rather than take it inside the van.
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Old 01-21-2021, 01:26 PM   #8
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If I’m using an outdoor grill or stove, that’s something I might put in the bear box rather than take it inside the van.

That would probably be a good idea also for those of us that have the grille in the side pod of a Roadtrek Chevy.
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Old 01-21-2021, 01:29 PM   #9
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If I’m using an outdoor grill or stove, that’s something I might put in the bear box rather than take it inside the van.
Agree.....
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Old 01-21-2021, 03:20 PM   #10
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https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...k_Wyoming.html
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Old 01-22-2021, 02:56 AM   #11
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thanks for all the replies
i have previously only done tent camping so had been wondering!
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Old 01-22-2021, 04:25 PM   #12
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I’ve seen a mama rip the door off an RV trailer, but I don’t worry in the van. That said, we never leave anything out anything enticing that could be seen through a window.
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Old 01-28-2021, 04:06 PM   #13
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In many, many years never used one. In the old Westfalia though we would lower the roof. I think if a bear comes around and hears me snoring he'll think, "Opps, someone already got this place."
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Old 01-28-2021, 04:21 PM   #14
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I don’t think that means you when you have inside storage. It is for people that have coolers and leave things outside.
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Old 01-28-2021, 04:22 PM   #15
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No need to use bear box with hard sided campers. However, keep your doors locked. I live in bear country and one night I forgot to lock my Chevy PW. I never keep food in it while home but I had an auto part in a bright blue and yellow box on the dash. Next morning the door was open, the chewed box was on the driveway (part okay). Bear prints on the side of van by open door and a small puncture on the passengers seat from a claw. It probably thought it was a candy bar.
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Old 01-28-2021, 05:22 PM   #16
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Just make sure you camp next to the tent camper section of the campground. Similar to hiking with a slower person in bear country... Just kidding.

It's good t see the replies, I wondered about what to do in bear country. When we were in Yosemite the hotel suggested we remove all items from the trunk (we had stayed in a condo a week before the hotel and had condiments, detergent, etc.). I thought it was overkill but did it anyway.
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Old 01-28-2021, 05:33 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zehren@charter.net View Post
I don’t think that means you when you have inside storage. It is for people that have coolers and leave things outside.
Have you seen what a bear can do to a vehicle when breaking in?
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=...w=1138&bih=522
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