Traveling through “bear country” can be a bit unnerving, especially if you’re a hiker. Stories of big bruins “ruining your whole day” can just make a fellow nervous. Bear spray can be a good thing to carry on your belt, but leave it in your rig? Not such a good idea as one Cody, Wyoming, auto detailer can testify.
Bear spray in your rig can lead to unexpected consequences
Terry Jesse runs TJ’s Clean and Shine in Cody, Wyoming. Perched right on the edge of Yellowstone National Park, if there ever were a place where lots of folks carry bear spray, Cody must be THE place. But leaving bear spray in your rig can lead to unexpected—even disastrous—consequences.
Someone employed in Yellowstone National Park found this out the hard way. They showed up at Terry’s car-cleaning emporium. A big hole in the windshield marked the spot where a can of bear spray, left on the dashboard, blasted open. It wasn’t just a windshield replacement the fellow needed—he wanted Terry to clean up the rest of the mess the bear spray made.
It didn’t take long for the detail man to figure out this was going to be a tough job. He told local media outlet the Cowboy State Daily he could feel the presence of the bear spray when he slid into the truck. “I could feel it myself, and that’s just from sitting down,” he told the reporter. “The spray went into the fabric and foam in the seat. There’s no way to get that out of there.”
After the detail—itchy skin
But Terry Jesse persevered, and no doubt perspired from pepper spray, for eight hours. At the end of the job, Jesse figures he maybe got 90% of the damage out. But the truck owner will have more to remember than what was probably a big bill for the detail job. “The owner’s going to feel it sometimes,” he said. “His skin’s going to itch, especially when it warms up in summer. You have to be honest with them, and there’s no way to get it all out.”
Itchy skin? Imagine driving your motorhome across country after a bear spray blast-off. If you think kids are full of, “Are we there yets?” imagine your better half, sitting over there in the passenger seat, grimacing with every bump and shift of the road. No way. Bear spray in the rig? Only when we’re in there—with the A/C running. Otherwise, it’s gotta go somewhere else.
But the Yellowstone park worker got off pretty easy. This wasn’t the first bear spray blow-up that TJ’s Clean and Shine has dealt with. Terry remembers the one customer who brought in an SUV where a canister of the stinky stuff had blown open. He recalls the entire interior of the smaller vehicle had a yellow-orange cast where the aerosol had drifted through. Several days of serious detailing just wasn’t enough. The insurance company finally totaled out the SUV to the tune of $17,000.
Can you carry bear spray safely?
So, what do you do if you need to carry bear spray in your rig? Use an airtight container, stashed somewhere out of direct sunlight. Terry wonders whether Tupperware might have something tight enough to contain an explosion, but small enough to stuff under a seat. We’re not so sure that “burp lock seal” would be enough to withstand the forces of an exploding can. We’d bet on an ammo can. Preferably down in the basement storage area. But there is a commercial solution—a special safety case designed to keep your bear spray cool, and contained. You can find them on Amazon.
It’s a good thing Terry’s customer wasn’t in the rig when the bear spray went off. One area spray retailer says that exploding bear spray canisters aren’t uncommon. An itchy seat is one thing, but he adds if you and the bear spray are in the same rig when it goes off, it might just do more than cause you to itch. Your friends and family could be looking for an undertaker.
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