Motorhome catches fire and burns

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Dan Walters

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Posts
485
Location
Bellville, Texas
I was on my way home yesterday and saw a huge fire with lots of black smoke on the freeway.  I thought it was a bad accident until I passed by and saw that it was a motorhome on fire sitting on the side of the road.  Fire trucks were on the way behind me and I was on the opposite side of the freeway so I couldn't stop.  Today I passed by there and the burned motorhome is still sitting were it burned.  Got a shot of it here with my cell phone.  The news story said that it was an elderly couple on their way home to Austin, TX.  They said that smoke starting coming in the motorhome from the front and they pulled over and got out.  The fire took over quickly and it burned before the fire department could get there.  Thank goodness neither one of them was hurt.

Dan
 

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Most important factor, they got out safely!  Could have been so much worse...a life lost.  Shows what can happen...and quickly.  Thanks for posting.
 
I read the story and thought "Oh Wow". Then I opened the pic and my heart sank. I am happy they got out safely but I also realize that a lot of their dreams and memories (print) went up in smoke literally. I hope any furry companions they were traveling with were also safe and that they have a place to stay while all the red tape gets settled
 
Has anybody figured out why RVs are so prone to fires.  I thought there was a refrig problem but now fixed.  And then I understand that some type of anti freeze catches fires after the liquid part of it drys off on a hot engine leaving the flamable stuff on a hot engine.  What gives?
 
There are any number of reasons an rv can catch fire. Id guess most are caused by an electrical issue or propane leaks.

A friend lost his tt as he was driving. Apparently one of his propane tanks had a leak, and somehow it sparked. We were in the desert, and we think that the dry air and possibly some static electricity caused it. He had just enough time to disconnect the truck before the trailer burned to the ground.
 
I have always wondered if from a true percentage standpoint if RVs have fires any more frequently than sticks & brick homes. When I searched it I got a boatload of links for scanner frequencies which don't really help in this query. We are all more sensitive to RV fires but...

RVs tend to become fully involved in a fire fairly quickly but they are much smaller than a typical home making the fire spread seem quicker. Then there is the airflow in and around them in areas a home doesn't have (open underneath and airflow while driving, etc).
 
I don't think RV fires are any more common than car fires, they (the RV variety) just attract more attention and are thus more noticeable.  I've also read here that overheating/spilling transmission fluid is highly flammable and could be a contributing factor in some of these incidents.
 
I don't believe RVs have proportionately more fires either.  It's just that we as RVers "tune in" to them more and report them here on the RV Forum so others learn what pitfalls to avoid.  The one reported above in Beaumont TX apparently started in the front of the RV.  From the bare remains it looks like it was a gas model Class A and I wonder what could have been in the front to start the fire.  The owner mentioned that he was trying to disconnect battery cables so perhaps it sparked.

Reminder to the women:  Carry your purse up front near the door so you will have at least your wallet with ID and credit cards in case of a disaster such as this.

ArdraF
 
ranger magnum said:
...He had just enough time to disconnect the truck before the trailer burned to the ground.

I think I would have let the truck go. Can there be a worse place to stand when a TT catches fire than between 60 pounds of propane and 25 gallons of gasoline?!  :eek:
 
I had one catch on fire once.  I'd just pulled a several mile 6% grade, no hurry.... just geared down and trudged along keeping the RPM up to prevent overheating (460 Ford).  At the top of the hill, I smelled something and stopped to investigate.  The cheapo plastic hydraulic lines for the hydraulic jacks were close enough to the exhaust headers that one of them ruptured and sprayed ATF on the hot header and caught on fire.  I put it out with a fire extinguisher, but not before doing some damage to the entire vacuum system and a few other rubber and plactic parts on the engine.  We were real lucky, but I thought it was unnecessary since poor design was the cause.
 
If you look at some of the wiring in them you would see some good reasons. I found a connector worked loose, these things take a lot of abuse going down the roads.  On this one they have wire nuts and taped wires too, I don't know if they all do but even then one can work loose over the years. So far that's the only one I have found and it wasn't taped. It was the main switch in the bathroom, didn't short out just didn't work.
 

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