WILD experiences this past weekend!

[my4cuties]

We were camping in Lancaster County... Country Acres Campground (very nice & clean!)

Friday night after my husband arrived with our 13 year old son and our Dog, we had a campfire, then went to bed.  Around 11:45 we heard our Dog whimpering, and a sound on the front step of our camper!!  I woke my husband (since he didn't hear a THING!), and he turned on the light to investigate... the door of the camper was still locked, but the DOG WAS MISSING!  Turns out, she must have jumped onto the twins' bed (the dinette), and either snuck out, or FELL out through the Velcro!  She came back around to the front door to be let in!!  WHAT A DOG!

We'll be re-telling THAT story for years to come!

2nd thing... Thursday night we got a DOOZY of a storm, and it so happened that my husband hadn't arrived yet with our 13 yr old son, so I was alone in the PopUp with my 10 year old son, and 7 yr old boy/girl twins (dh tried to console me by phone that our camper was "grounded" with those rubber tires, so we'd be FINE!)!  As I heard the thunder start to rumble, I tried to convince myself it was far away and wouldn't come where WE were... WRONG!  It was intense lightening and thunder for the next 25 minutes!  Let me just say, it's a very good thing I remembered some Psalms, and believe me... I was praying, too!  Thankfully, the storm DID pass, and incidentally, all the kids slept STRAIGHT THROUGH!!

Laurie & Mark, Pennsylvania
4 kids (3 sons & a daughter), and 1 Dog
1999 Starcraft Spacemaster

[Chez Way]

Laurie,

Glad to hear that everything turned out okay for you...camping is always an adventure!

[wavery]

Sounds, to me, that a good time was had by all. :J

[mountainrev]

(dh tried to console me by phone that our camper was "grounded" with those rubber tires, so we'd be FINE!)

Actually, not to scare anyone off, but rubber tires on campers or cars do not protect you from lightning strikes.  I'm no physicist, but from what I understand, the metal in the car or camper disperses the electrical current so that it passes around you (provided you're not touching anything metal in the car or camper).  A few inches of rubber wouldn't protect you from the tremendous amount of voltage in lightning!  Since there's a lot more metal in a car, you're probably a bit safer sitting out a storm in your TV than in your popup.  There was a thread on this topic over at PUX recently, I believe.

But probably the most dangerous threat in a lightning storm comes from falling branches, not getting hit by lightning.  

But don't let the threat of lightning scare you off from camping!  All in all, I would think we're very safe in almost every circumstance.

[kampingkoge]

"(dh tried to console me by phone that our camper was "grounded" with those rubber tires, so we'd be FINE!)! "

What about the jack / support stands that are cranked down to the ground, those are metal and thus would un-ground your camper.  This brings up a question, what is the best advise if your stuck in your pup in a thunderstorm.  I have not been caught in one yet.

[AustinBoston]

OK, this is something that sometimes drives me crazy because of 1) all the misinformation out there, and 2) improper use of terms.

Electrically speaking, a ground is a mechanism that is directly connected (electrically) to planet earth.  The term "ground" is often used to refer to things that are more correctly called "chassis," "return," or "neutral."

Lightening is attracted to ground, particularly one that is higher in elevation than the surounding terrain.

Insulators stop the flow of electricity (up to a specific voltage called the "breakdown voltage" at which point the electrical current will flow anyway).  

Rubber is an insulator, so can not possibly act as a ground.  The rubber tires on your pop-up can protect up to their breakdown voltage.  In order to protect against lightening, they have to be about a mile thick.

But it wouldn't matter anyway.  The stabilizers bypass the tires, effectively grounding the trailer, rubber tires or not.  Even without the stabilizers, that little plug in the post over there grounds the trailer well enough to attract lightening, but not well enough to drain it away when it arrives.

A farday cage is a device that can direct high-frequency, high-energy electricity around its outside surface.  It is basically a series of closely spaced electrically connected conductors.  They do not have to be grounded, but they work better for lightening if they are.

A car can serve as a poor man's faraday cage with most lightening, but understand that you may be temporarily blinded and deafened if lightening makes a direct strike on your car.  It can break windows.

I used to question whether a pop-up has enough metal to serve as a faraday cage, but no more.  The core (the box) between the uprights might, but the bunk ends are not.

But in most circumstances, it's the tree limbs (and occasionally whole trees) that form the greater hazard.

Between the pop-up and your car, the car is the safer place to be in a thunderstorm.  But the real monster in a thunderstorm isn't lightening, it's tornado.  The only safe place in a tornado is in a storm shelter.

This all sounds scary and hopeless.  Even so, few of us have ever even seen a tornado, and few of us have ever  known someone that was struck by lightening.  How many of us have never known someone seriously injured or killed in a car crash?  The ride on the freeway is probably a greater risk than the thunderstorm.

Austin

[aw738]

I've been struck by lightning on the telephone. DO NOT use a corded phone in a thunderstorm.

[pershingd]

Well put Austin.  

I've ridden out some hefty thunderstorms in all sorts of RVs and I would rather be in my pup than in a tent on the ground. If you are in a campground that has trees and other such tall items, they are far more likely to be hit than you. If you're out in an open plain with no tall objects, then your likelyhood of being struck increases. What I'm not sure about is if the increase is satistically significant enough for you to notice.  :confused:

I haven't changed my plans for thunderstorms unless they were showing signs of having potential tornadic activity. If you live/camp in an area prone to tornados, then I highly reccomend that you take a course in tornado spotting if they are offered in your area. It was the best spent time of my life.

David

[Azusateach]

Another reason I like living on the left side of the country ...  You can ride out an earthquake in just about any type of RV.

[badabing67]

we had an experience like yours but without the rain, we were woken about 4:30 am this past weekend by a police cruiser announcing on his pa system that he had a 2 yr old boy that was lost and would the family please come get him. seems he fell out of his bunk to the ground and didn't get hurt so he went for a walk fortunatly there was a couple who went to walk their dog  and they found the boy by the lake. then we find out the police were knocking on doors and actually woke the kids parents, they said "we're all here" and went back to bed!!! imagine that

[jeffdjeffd]

ABs simplified electricity is right on.  And a car can make an excellent faraday cage.

I was involved in some research back in the day in college that showed conclusively that an automobile is one of the safest places you can be in a storm/tornado.  There was much physics involved, but the premise is simple.

An auto is designed for high winds (65 MPH speedlimits with 40 MPH headwind?).  It is also designed to protect its occupants in collisions.  I would feel much better being under a falling limb in my truck than in my canvas bunk  

If a storm is bad enough it would get you to a basement at home, it would be bad enough to wake my kids and get 'em in the TV at camp.  

All that being said, I've never thought to inquire at parks/campgrounds about designated storm shelters, etc.  Do these exist?
jeff

[AustinBoston]

I was involved in some research back in the day in college that showed conclusively that an automobile is one of the safest places you can be in a storm/tornado.

I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that last word.

There was much physics involved, but the premise is simple.

An auto is designed for high winds (65 MPH speedlimits with 40 MPH headwind?).

That's 105 MPH.  Some tornadoes have had winds measured (radar) at three times that speed.  Also, cars are only designed for those winds head-on.  Tornado winds can (and, if you get a direct hit, they do) come from all directions.

It is also designed to protect its occupants in collisions.  I would feel much better being under a falling limb in my truck than in my canvas bunk  

If a storm is bad enough it would get you to a basement at home, it would be bad enough to wake my kids and get 'em in the TV at camp.

If it's bad enough to get them to the basement at home, then a car is a terrible place to be (but better than a pop-up).  Tornadoes have often moved cars many miles from where they were parked.  Tornadoes pick up entire houses - do you really think your family is safe when your car falls hundreds of feet from the sky (with every window broken out by tornado-borne debris)?

All that being said, I've never thought to inquire at parks/campgrounds about designated storm shelters, etc.  Do these exist?
jeff

At most campgrounds, the closest thing you'll find is the bath house, which is usually cinderblock.

Austin

[HrH PrincessLeia]

At most campgrounds, the closest thing you'll find is the bath house, which is usually cinderblock.

Austin

Oftentimes the bathhouse is a storm shelter.

On a side note to the OP, If it's the same campground, I loved it too. Was interesting getting into the pop-up spots though. That hill was steep.

AND, as tenters, AB and Pjay weathered a massive thunderstorm when I and my sister where little(PEI, if I remember correctly). I have no memory of this, I slept through the whole thing!