Lightning sucks

Mopar_Earl · by Mopar_Earl on 6/25/2009, 4:57 am

Trailer is in for repairs after lightning hit a tree 15' from the camper. It took out the refer, A/C, converter (fire and sparks), electric side of water heater, LP detector, shoreline cord, shoreline inlet, and tank panel. Major pain in the butt, but I'm lucky we didn't get killed as we just came in the trailer 10 seconds or so before it hit. Also lucky that my insurance is paying for it.

It skinned the tree of bark to the bare clean wood and blew out the ground and roots in two places about 10' from the power post and threw rocks on the roof of the camper. If it wasn't for the power awning not liking the high wind, we'd of been out grilling food when it hit and may have gotten killed or hurt. I said we need to get that awning in so we got in the trailer, and ran the awning in and shortly after, bang like I've never heard before. Was so loud it shook everything and vibrated. Darn nature, trying to kill me. lol

We had to run to the nearest town and get a cooler and ice for our food and drinks. It was very humid and we no longer had A/C but we still had a good 3-day weekend other wise

Earl

KHUBER · by KHUBER on 6/25/2009, 5:43 am

Wow!! That's real scary Earl. Just glad that everyone's o.k. Your material things can be replaced and at least your insurance got you covered. I'm not real fond of thunderstorms and after seeing your photos I'll be even more cautious when getting t storms in the future. If I'd have enough warning I'll be pulling the power plug. I know these things come up real quick. I hope your dealer does a good job for you and gets you fixed up real fast.

KH

TC · by TC on 6/25/2009, 6:02 am

Glad you and yours are alright Earl! I'd categorize that one as "too close for comfort"!! affraid

TC

Ole Yella · by Ole Yella on 6/25/2009, 2:27 pm

OMG. Where were you at when this happened?

schrowang · by schrowang on 6/25/2009, 2:27 pm

Earl,

What a bummer!

Be sure to have them check the internal 120VAC wiring, especially close to and on the house side of the breaker panel. Unfortunately that's the route that the overload took to get to the major appliances. BTW, those were really great pix of the damage and the route that the strike took underground.

In someone elses' misfortune there is always a lesson to be learned. Mine today is, unplug the trailer when severe weather threatens. I was looking at my Cat this morning after reading your post and noticed that if not connected to the park power, it's pretty well insulated by the tires and the pads under the front landing gear. If I'm rolling in the awning, I'm sure going to disconnect from now on.

Sorry it had to happen to you but very glad you and your family are safe and sound. Stuff can be replaced, people can't.

Admin · by Admin on 6/25/2009, 3:46 pm

Rule of thumb is, if you can hear the thunder your close enough to get struck.

I'd be pretty sure if you'd been standing on the ground you would have cashed in your ticket. I learned real early in life not to take cover under a tree,,, saw it take out a few cows on the farm that were standing under a tree, threw one of them into a fence a few feet away. its unreal how much power a light'n bolt can unleash

shooter · by shooter on 6/25/2009, 5:26 pm

Wow, that's scary, glad y'all are OK.

RichGeorge · by RichGeorge on 6/25/2009, 5:34 pm

Yikes, glad everyone's OK.

Scruffy and Tater · by Scruffy and Tater on 6/25/2009, 7:44 pm

Thank goodness you're okay. This should serve as a "heads up" for all of us..... but, how many times do we wake in the night and find there is lightning all around.

Scary.

Mopar_Earl · by Mopar_Earl on 6/28/2009, 10:59 pm

Ole Yella wrote:OMG. Where were you at when this happened?

I was at the Gifford Pinchot State Park, PA

Site 309

Earl

Mopar_Earl · by Mopar_Earl on 6/28/2009, 11:14 pm

Thanks and we're glad we're ok too. I already ordered a surge protector from Camping World. Nothing will fully protect you from a direct or close lightning hit, but it was on-sale for 65 bucks off and figured its cheap insurance. No surge protector would of helped me since it was a direct hit, so I stopped blaming myself for not having any protection. Surge protector I ordered Click here Its 65 bucks off plus my membership discount saved me $93.88.

Other than my deductable, it was more a pain in the butt than anything. I have a trip for 4th of July and right after a week and a half trip. It's too late to cancel and get my money back on either trip, so the dealer is rushing me and so is Progressive. I dropped the trailer off Wednesday morning and the adjuster came right after and approved everything. As of Friday, They already had most of the parts in (I approved overnight shipping) so They're trying to have the trailer done or at least the refer, A/C and converter repaired for me to pick-up the trailer no later than Thursday Morning. Than hitting the road early Friday morning.

Earl

scottz · by scottz on 6/29/2009, 3:01 am

That is the surge protector I have, except I have the hard wired version. That is a good price.

Your right, nothing will help if you are struck that close. I have maintained radio sites for 30 years. We spend a lot of money on protection and we still get zapped.

Glad everyone is ok; they can always build more stuff.

oldelmer1 · by oldelmer1 on 6/29/2009, 4:03 pm

Earl,
That's the surge protector we have too. You'll find that the top power cable is a little short, some power post doors will not close all the way and in some posts, the top of the protector will hit the bottom of the post, sometimes causing the plug not to seat all the way into the outlet on the post.

Also, the lights are so small, that if its in the sun, you will not be able to read which light is on of off. It does take a few seconds to check the voltage, so don't expect it to power your camper as soon as you plug in. I plug it in first, then setup the camper, then connect the camper cord.

Also, it hums....

But, after all said and done, it still should protect you...

And it the storm is going to be really bad, as stated above UNPLUG!!!!

scottz · by scottz on 6/29/2009, 6:32 pm

oldelmer1 wrote:Earl,
It does take a few seconds to check the voltage, so don't expect it to power your camper as soon as you plug in. I plug it in first, then setup the camper, then connect the camper cord.

Mine takes 2 minutes to come on line.

oldelmer1 · by oldelmer1 on 6/29/2009, 7:26 pm

Scott, yeah, sounds about right, but when your standing there waiting, it seems to take forever.....

Mopar_Earl · by Mopar_Earl on 6/30/2009, 4:46 am

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah I heard the inlet cord can be too short. I looked all over Camping World's site for a short extension but must be something people don't need. Yeah, the surge protector has a 2 minute, 16 second time-delay to protect the A/C compressor as per the manual. I guess it hums cause it has a contactor/relay that's not latching. Meaning cheaper. Also I shouldn't have a prob hooking it to my generator. I do some checking and there aren't many companies making surge protection for RV's. I was going to get the hardwired model, but my layout doesn't allow me to mount it where I can see it. It would be behind a screwed access panel. I guess it's better for the post style cause I wouldn't want that humming inside the trailer to drive me nuts.

Earl

gkeager · by gkeager on 6/30/2009, 4:49 am

Been there, done that, got pictures! I'm just scared anymore. Makes you want to hide under the bed. My surge protector fried along with most of the electronics in the house. I guess those are really for the power company surges and not the Norse God Thor. Happy you and yours are all okay! Cool

oldelmer1 · by oldelmer1 on 6/30/2009, 4:51 pm

I also bought a chain and a padlock to lock it to the power post. Although i've yet to use it.....

Mopar_Earl · by Mopar_Earl on 7/22/2009, 8:21 am

The dealer had my trailer fully repaired in time for my 4th of July trip. I dropped it off on a Wed afternoon and picked it up the following Thursday morning. They were planning to have at least the important things fixed in time, but they had it all fixed and no issues. They didn't even get dirt in my trailer!! They were great!! It was Ben's RV Center in York, PA. I'll post what the final bill to the insurance company is when they mail me a copy. Also they didn't order any parts overnight and still got the trailer done.

Also the Progressive agent Jeremy Wolfe was great to deal with. I told him about my two back to back trips and he got to the dealer 20 mins after I dropped it off and checked it out and cleared the dealer to do the work without getting estmates. If it wasn't for him doing that and the dealer busting butt to get it done, I wouldn't of made my trips and it was too late to get refunds. It was worth towing the trailer two hours away to York for the repairs.

They replaced the following:
A/C board
T-stat
Refer board
Refer heater
Furnace board
Shoreline inlet
Power converter
Tank panel
LP detector
Water Heater 120v limit switch

Earl

moo2613 · by moo2613 on 7/22/2009, 1:09 pm

Glad to hear it worked out so well!!

KHUBER · by KHUBER on 7/22/2009, 2:38 pm

Great news Earl. I am glad they got your unit back together promtly and with no issues. Fortunately you were able to find someone to provide great service. The wrong dealer doing this could have been a nightmare. Happy camping!!

Kh

Mopar_Earl · by Mopar_Earl on 7/24/2009, 4:34 am

The insurance company cut a check to the RV dealer for $2500.00 and the dealer also go my $500.00 deductable as well.

Earl

Wildcat Owners from around the world. 5th wheels and TT's. A place to share your Thoughts, Mod's and Idea's.

Lightning sucks

Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks

Re: Lightning sucks