A raccoon broke into the cab of my truck!!!

[Lisa Truck Gypsy]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Had the scare from hell last night camping. It was raining so I wasn't able to open the tent to my truck topper so I had to sleep in the pickup bed with the topper closed and the cab of the car is locked but the alarm is not set. In the middle of the night something BIG bumps my car, climbs on the hood, climbs on the topper roof over my head and it is moving around for about 30 minutes. I yell, I shake the truck and finally hit the car alarm button a couple of times then it goes away. So I'm freaked out because it was BIG and I can't go back to sleep. About an hour later it starts again but this time REALLY MOVING AND SHAKING AND MAKING A LOT OF NOISE. Finally I get brave enough to look through the window to the cab of the truck (remember I am in the tailgate section) and this is what I find......a huge raccoon is inside of the cab of my truck!!! I took a video of it filmed from inside of my topper and also another video shot in the morning when I got him out. You would not believe the damage he did. There are 2 videos and looking back at them I find them hysterical...at the time it happened I was really pissed off. [/font]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Here is the link to the first video 
[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Here is the link to the video on getting him out of the truck and showing the damage he did   

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Be prepared to laugh[/font]

 

[muddy]

I'd believe it...those suckers are nasty. Glad you got him out of there.

 

[JustACarSoFar]

I'd believe it...those suckers are nasty. Glad you got him out of there.

so.. the truck was 'not locked' but he managed to get in by clawing out the weather stripping????

that's one determined lil fker!  LOL 

 

[Wabbit]

I don't understand how he got in! Lol. The video ended right when you were explaining. How did he get in? And you handled it so nice. I would have lost my shit and beat the hell of of it for shitting on my stuff. Kudos to you keeping a cool head.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yeti Coolers: Number one raccoon-proof coolers.

Nissan Pickup: Not so much.

:dodgy:

 

[user 15722]

.22 short goes pfft.

yes, they can be rabid, which that one obviously was not.
( a friend bit in the back country described how the animal exhibited crazy/silly/abnormal behavior before jumping on him and biting him.)
Coons are usually docile and will back away, slowly, when encountered, but if cornered, they will put on a fight like a badger !
Another friend kept one as a pet for many years and it got very big and mean, over the years. They had serious brawls in the living room when there was a difference of opinion! He needed stitches a few times...
wheels

 

[Lisa Truck Gypsy]

I don't understand how he got in! Lol. The video ended right when you were explaining. How did he get in? And you handled it so nice. I would have lost my shit and beat the hell of of it for shitting on my stuff. Kudos to you keeping a cool head.

I was sleeping in the topper pickup bed area and the truck cab was locked. When he started bumping the truck I hit the alarm one time (which locks and alarms the truck) then immediately a second time (which unlocks and unalarms the truck). So now the truck is unlocked and he opened the door just a bit, clawed out the weatherstripping and got in that way. I was awake but never heard the door slam. When I got him out the door was slightly opened but still latched so it opened and closed (slightly) without me hearing it. He was making so much noise though it probably covered the door sound.

 

[Wabbit]

From now on my pre-bedtime prep is to lock all my dam doors! They are smart lil buggers, gotta give them that. Also, the ones we run into here in Iowa aren't afraid of humans in the least. I had one scratching on the outside of the tent a few years back, I said "hey git" loudly(something like that), it paused for maybe 2 secs then started scratching on the tent wall again. I had to smack the tent a few times before it quit and went somewhere else.

 

[Reducto]

I had one try to pry open the lid on my Fantastic Fan in San Francisco. Luckily he ran away after I pounded on the roof.

It is scary when you have no idea what could be clawing at your vehicle.

 

[Wabbit]

/\/\ This made me giggle @my imagining you freaking out...sorry! /\/\

 

[Dennis]

It's amazing how small of a space some critters need to get into something. Then tear things up.
Raccoons are cute (usually) but can carry some nasty surprises other than rabies. Bacteria in their feces and urine can pass some things that can make a person very ill. Just something to be aware of when handling items and surfaces they have soiled.

 

[pizzalady]

Maybe carry an air horn?

 

[Minivanmotoman]

Now that's a good campfire story.
And am sure that's your story, and that your sticking to it.

For an alternative truth, consider the raccoon. 
Rumor in the forest has it a little different. 
See, the raccoon clan got it from the crows, who got it from the chipmunks, who got it from... 
Well you know how these things go.

The raccoons figured you were holding out and not sharing the goodies. Classic double cross.
It was a heist.  They sent masked baby driver in first to grab the wheels and high tail it out of there. At a secret location, they were going to blow the rig open and abscond with the treasure.
What treasure you may ask???

Gems, gems that a raccoon could only have rabid dreams of. 

Emerald, sapphire and ruby M&M's, the kind that drive raccoons wild with nefarious intentions.

 And you had to be the one to spoil the fun. Now somewhere, poor baby raccoons are crying for their first taste of M&M's. Heartless I say.

As incredulous as it may sound, that is the word on the street. Or more specifically, up in the old elm trees as told by three owls hooting up this story overheard the other night. Now it's not my words here for all the naysayers, just reporting the owls hoot.
Believe it or not...
There's always 2 sides to the story.

(May you find this farce entertaining)