Thunderstorms...

Hi everyone,
Hubby and I are in the Learning & Dreaming stage.  We hope to full-time in about 3-4 years.

Last night on our way home from Boston (a 3 hour drive) we encountered quite the thunderstorm.  I'm not a...chicken...well, okay, maybe I am.  Thunderstorms just make me nervous and I don't know why (maybe my Gram taught me too well...she would run for the car and sit out thunderstorms because of the rubber tires).

I got thinking - how are thunderstorms when you are in an RV?  My first thought was - a big metal box.  My second thought was, well, that's okay...rubber tires.

Just wondering if some of you wouldn't mind sharing experiences.  Has your rig been hit by lightening?  If so, what did it do?  Care to give any advice even if you've never been hit?

;D  Okay...I guess I will admit that I'm a chicken!  :

Blessings,
Crystal

Over the years We have had to ride out several severe storms and never had any damage. Some have been very scarey though. One thing to remember is that most campgrounds have bath houses that is more substantial than your rig and in the event of really bad conditions, you can always go there and hunker down.

Never had lightning strike but did get caught on the beach with 40 MPH winds once. Lucky that the wind was from the beach and we was facing the wind. That time we did let the slides in and then it was no problem as the motor home was designed for much more wind than that going down the road. The next morning we moved more inland as it was predicted to get worse.

I just always keep in mind that you have a much better chance of a major accident while driving down the road.

We have been in many thunderstorms and it's very unusual for an RV to actually get hit with lightning.  A bigger threat is a power surge that comes through the power lines from a lighting strike on a pole or transformer.  A good whole house surge protector will give some protection, but if you're really concerned, unplug your shore power cord until the storms pass.  Unless you're parked on top of a hill with no trees around, in other words the highest thing around, your RV is very unlikely to get hit with lightning.

Another threat from thunderstorms is hail.  But, again, it's a rare occurrence to be damaged by it.

I always get a kick out of the safety "Experts" who speak of the insulating properties of those rubber tires.

Here we have an electric arc.. IT's going to jump thousands of feet from earth to cloud (or the other way around, I forget which) and you expect a few inches of rubber tires to matter to it at all? 

The metal shell is some protection... The tires... It might as well be sitting on it's rim.

The safest thing.. DO not be the highest object nearby..  There is a "COne" of protection provided by objects taller than you.. I"m not sure if it is 2x the height or 3x  but it's there.

Thursday.... 4 Teens, 3 girls and one boy, stood out in an open field in the rain.  I understand an umbralla table near them was the tallest object.. but they were close enough that one of 'em got LIfe Flighted. out of there.

John From Detroit said:

I always get a kick out of the safety "Experts" who speak of the insulating properties of those rubber tires.

Here we have an electric arc.. IT's going to jump thousands of feet from earth to cloud (or the other way around, I forget which) and you expect a few inches of rubber tires to matter to it at all? 

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I don't even know why this was said...I never said I was an expert...I never said that my gram was an expert...I DID say we were both chickens.  There was absolutely NO mention of "experts" and I, quite honestly, am confused why you said this.  In fact, by the condescending tone, I am quite honestly a bit offended.

John From Detroit said:

The safest thing.. DO not be the highest object nearby..  There is a "COne" of protection provided by objects taller than you.. I"m not sure if it is 2x the height or 3x  but it's there.

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You've probably never been in a lightning storm in a sailboat with a 60' metal mast sticking up in the air.  Lightning is not always drawn to the highest or tallest object (although such an object is very attractive to lightning, just ask anybody that works on radio antennas and the like, it is often the shorter one that is hit).  Lightning is attracted to the object that presents the best grounding opportunity, the easiest path to ground.  I've been in marinas full of other sailboats and have seen boats with shorter masts hit by lightning instead of the boat with the tallest mast.

In spite of that, during a lightning storm I would clip a pair of jumper cables to the rigging holding up my mast and toss the other end into the water.  This created an easier path to ground should lightning strike my mast.  It would, theoretically, keep the lightning from travelling down the mast and blowing a hole in the hull of my boat as it sought water.  I've seen boats that survived such a lightning hit, and heard of others that didn't and sank.

Here is a link to some instances of lightning striking something other than the tallest object: http://wvlightning.com/lmwn1.shtml

Fact is, if you actually get HIT by lightning only luck will save you. Car, RV, boat, whatever. My wife's father is one such survivor.

A trailer is always grounded - the front end, stabilizer jacks, etc. are touching the ground, independent of the tires.  Plus there is the ground wire in the shore power cord, if you are hooked to power and the water hose if you have city water hooked up. All potential ground paths.  What that means is, the electricity has a place to go.  You might get a bit dazed/shocked, but you probably live through it just fine. 

RVs are pretty stable, though they rock plenty in high winds. It takes tornado strength winds to knock one over. Wouldn't want a tree to fall on one, though.

Zebulun said:

I don't even know why this was said...I never said I was an expert...I never said that my gram was an expert...I DID say we were both chickens.  There was absolutely NO mention of "experts" and I, quite honestly, am confused why you said this.  In fact, by the condescending tone, I am quite honestly a bit offended.

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I don't think he was referring to you specifically, I think he was referring to those people who originally begin such myths, and it's of course impossible to trace the origin of such myths once they become part of common folklore.

You offered a thoughtful question, though, as it had never occurred to me that an RV might be susceptible to a lightning strike.  It would be interesting to see any statistics on the matter.  The responses on this thread are certainly interesting. 

Not at all sure metal is a protection, a few years ago a group of New Hampshire kayakers were caught in a storm. They entered a old gun embankment. A concrete underground room. The re-bar in the concrete conducted the lightning and the poor souls were caught in a electrial prison. Sadly several perished. The study was that lightning takes the path of least resistance and I frankly do not know what that is. I have spent 30 years sailing the seas and steaming the sea on ships, I have seen lightning, saw boats and ships that have been struck, however, being a bus driver(RV) and poor has kept lightning from me, get it a poor conductor.
Stay away from lightning g,
Jim

Zebulun said:

I don't even know why this was said...I never said I was an expert...I never said that my gram was an expert...I DID say we were both chickens.  There was absolutely NO mention of "experts" and I, quite honestly, am confused why you said this.  In fact, by the condescending tone, I am quite honestly a bit offended.

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Sorry, I was not referring to you... I was speaking of several self proclaimed experts on advice sites around the web.  One web page I I visit daily has an "Auto Tip" and their "Expert" talked about the insulating value of the tires.  And I've seen some television "Experts" talk about it.

And somewhere I have the chart that says how many volts it would take to jump the gap between the rim and ground.. Not as many as you might think and a tiny fraction of a lightening bolt.

I did not mean to imply that you were claiming to be an expert..... Only that your Grams, it seems, listened to the very folks I am talking about.  And you, quite logically, to her.  Nothing wrong with that.

Neither She nor you would likely have the training to argue the point.

I majored in Hard sciences and am certified in electronics with additional study in Radio where we play with a tiny fraction of the voltages in a lightening bolt... Almost enough to jump that gap.



Funny story:

In Physics class I was the one who volunteered to place my hand on the dome of the VanDegaff generator while the teacher turned it on.

So it charged me up to a million volts or so.. My hair is standing straight out like the mad scientist in many movies.. And of course there is, in this class, a Smart Aleck, who is harassing me "Now what do you do"

I said "Why I come up there and shake your hand of course"

Suddenly.... That poor jerk had a whole lot of "Personal Space" around where he was sitting (As I turned to the instructor, who said "Don't do that" and informed him, silently, that I had not intention of removing my hand till he grounded me out)  Jerk got a lesson that day though.

I'm not usually that fast on the come-back though.

The biggest problem you will have with thunderstorms is getting everything outside tied down or put up. We have been through several. One this morning in northern Mo. Had 62mph winds come through. Fifth wheel did not move much. Awning is the part that will go. We keep ours anchored to the ground rain or shine. Yes ours has ended up on top of the trailer before. There were about a dozen this morning with the same issue. No other damage I could see besides awnings and camp supplies scattered through out park.

Another thing to think of is hail. We went through a tornado warning and storm in a park. There was golf ball size hail. The only trailers that did not have damage were fiberglass. All the aluminum sides looked like they had been beat with hammers.

Happened here last Thursday.. I have been working on my awning and had it in a vunerable condition, was planing on leaving it that way till Friday but changed my mind.

Got it all secured (rolled up) and ... Then the storm hit.

Others in the park... NOT so prepared.

I like to think a little outside the box, and your topic is a good one for that.  I've had Travel trailers and 5th wheels since the early 90's.  All have been parked at my farm, or now on a pad in the neighborhood.  While I've only been in the rig - I guess 10 times in a thunderstorm, the various rigs have been in maybe a couple hundred.  They all have been fine, so I have to assume they're pretty safe, weather-wise.

I was in a tall oak tree forested campground in PA, and a dead limb blew down and punctured the roof of the trailer next to ours, thankfully no one hurt, so Roamer's point about falling stuff is probably the biggest concern.  Second would be a lightening hit on the campground electric system.  Third is the possibility of a flash flood if the campsite is on the shore of the creek, or out West by the stream-bed, and finally, stuff left outside (towels on a line, trashcans, small dogs  ) which may end up in the next county.

I just have the same concerns in a thunderstorm when camping that I do at home, umbrella down?  Windows closed in the vehicle? Plastic chairs stacked?

johncmr

This topic does make me think!  Apparently that does not happen to often as I recall a recent experience of a strong thunder storm while we were camping in the mountains.  We do have a weather alert radio, so we knew the storm was approaching.
Did we take down the awning? - no.  I did drive stakes into the ground at either end and run a strong rope over it.  Next time it gets rolled up!
Did we sit inside while the storm passed? - Another No!  We sat under the awning and watched the heavy rain and lightening.  How dumb was that!  We'll be inside the motor home next time.
Did we unplug the electrical connection? - Yet another No.

I need to do a much better job of evaluating the camping environment and the hazards that can be present during weather events.

I have driven the motor home through some very strong "T" storms and never given it much thought.  The wind is always a big concern, but it would take very strong burst from the side to roll it over.  What is the guess?  70MPH wind?

Thanks for posting the topic. 

For me, doesn't matter if they are calling for a storm or not, before going to bed all awnings are put back into locked travel mode until morning. I have seen too many newer expensive rigs with duct taped awnings for my taste so I figure it's more work for me but better safe than sorry.

As for lightning strike, never worried about it, it's going to go where it's going to go. Being male my chances of being hit (outside) are greater than my wifes so she usually jokes about staying away from me during bad lightning storms. 

Last trip, almost two weeks ago now, we were in a hilltop campground with no trees, and a thunderstorm came through.  There was a tornado watch.

The Airstream, being of aluminum frame and aluminum skin, forms a Faraday cage.  I do not have any fear of injury from lightning itself, while in the Airstream.  A direct hit would certainly cause damage and possibly start a fire, however. 

It is the surface conductivity of cars, and metal-skinned RVs, that provides safety from lightning, not the tires.  Tires have high enough carbon content to conduct electricity fairly well, and besides, the 6" gap between the wheels and the ground can be jumped by a mere 1,500,000 volts, and lightning strikes are way more than that.  You can't insulate your way to lightning safety.

Wind and hail are quite another matter however.

In any case, I slept well that night, and the family in the brand new bright red Target Greatland tent in the next campsite had the fiberglass pole break from the wind in the middle of the night.

Zebulun said:

I got thinking - how are thunderstorms when you are in an RV?  My first thought was - a big metal box.  My second thought was, well, that's okay...rubber tires.

Just wondering if some of you wouldn't mind sharing experiences.  Has your rig been hit by lightening?  If so, what did it do?  Care to give any advice even if you've never been hit?

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What a direct hit of lightning can do is based on so many factors that it's guesswork. Maybe nothing and maybe not. But the good news is:

"The persons inside this steel box can be likened to protected by a partial Faraday cage."

See here:http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/vehicle_strike.html

So some damage to the vehicle can happen, but somewhat less likely for it to hurt people inside. But see the advice above.

Also see here:

http://www.setrekclub.com/Lightening%20&%20RV%27s.pdf

I think some of the misconception about protection from lightning strikes by tires comes from highway safety info concerning what to do if your in your vehicle when it is in contact with power lines, like in a traffic accident, etc.  Drivers are encouraged to stay in the vehicle so as not to complete a ground by stepping out.  Lightning is a whole different deal.  The voltages are such that, as others have said here, wet tires (or dry ones, for that matter) don't offer much protection.

Huh, apparently I'm just lucky.  I've been out camping a grand total of three times, and the last one we had severe thunderstorms almost every night.  Never got to sleep straight through the night because the weather radio went off for one reason or another every night, and one night we ended up sitting in the bathhouse for a couple of hours due to a tornado warning.  A bunch of people lost awnings in that storm.

I hesitate to even mention it, because it's spectacularly unlikely to happen, but some of the people taking shelter with us told us a story of their previous experience with severe storms, in which they had hail so large that it actually punched through the walls of the trailers (it was so windy too that it was coming down more sideways than vertical).  Apparently some of them were so badly damaged that you could see where the frame was because everywhere else the walls had been torn apart.  All of the vehicle windows on the windward side were broken too, not surprisingly.  I don't know that I've even heard of a storm that bad in my area, much less been in one, but apparently it can happen.