Escape Hatch?

[Optimistic Paranoid]

A discussion came up on another forum with someone claiming, that by law, all RVs must have an escape hatch. Are any of the windows on an Alaskan also escape hatches? To me, they don't look like they are big enough to serve that purpose. Just wondering.

 

[buckland]

I forget who suggested it but since I read the idea I have mounted a sheath for my knife on the push panel over the bed. If it comes to escaping something bad I will have no compunction about slicing a hole in the soft wall and making myself scarce!

 

[wagoneer]

Hello been a while, interesting question. Kick the window out? 14" x 14" may not get me out on top. Just can't see some inspector 'commin around but a disgrundled or frustrated LIO,could push that button. I would opt to go to the cabover and open it up.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Not sure about Alaskan Campers, buy many of the pop-up camper manufactures use an egress window instead.

With the right sized opening lower window, it replaces the need for an escape hatch on the camper roof.

 

[Honda-50]

Alaskan cabover models utilize the folding panels in the cabover as their escape hatch.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The claim was that ALL campers have an escape hatch because it was mandated by law. I was pretty sure that Alaskan's didn't have windows that popped out. And, of course, Alaskan still makes their NON-cabover model.

 

[Denver Alaskan]

So, did the person who claimed that post a link to, or citation of, the applicable law that mandates an escape hatch be installed in all campers so the claim can be verified? If not, then I usually follow Abraham Lincoln's prognostic advice: "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet."

 

[kimosawboy]

Their are laws on the books BUT they are state to state/Prov. to Prov. and can also depend on what camper ''Class '' your in..Some places have them some dont. Look into your local laws if your really interested.. I can see regulations for all new ''campers'' to have an alternative egress but for us older smaller ones, I'm not loosing any sleep over it.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Several years ago, I posted here my adventures of using my "escape hatch" after one of my "door latch lock screws" unscrewed itself enough to let the lock slip and locked me and my faithful hound inside my FWC. That said, it was not in itself hard to push out the window, the problem was letting myself out the window and then down to the ground. I was lucky in that there was another camper in the area, who heard my yells for help and put a chair under the escape hatch so I could more easily step down to the ground. To complicate matters I had just had one of those "noninvasive back operations " and this was the first time my doctor had let me out to play as long as I was careful. Anyway it worked, however while opening up the door was not that bad, unscrewing the lock, fixing it and reassembling everything was a different story by myself (the other camper by then had left).

Smoke

I should note here that many of us began to check and tighten up the lock screws as a part of our usual maintenance SOP's after I posted this adventure!.

 

[PackRat]

I would suggest that all Alaskan owners mount their portable fire extinguisher where the table converts to their bunk instea of near the stove or heater…..or, have two of them, each near those locations.

A camper is an excellent example of the basic instinct of most life forms: "Fight or Flight".
You have to decide if a fire CAN be fought before you run out of a fire extinguisher to knock it down....or if it is too big and too dangerous and requires you to GET OUT as fast as you can.

That may mean cutting a soft-sided camper to get out or, trying to get out the rear door of an Alaskan which is where the stove that may be the source of the fire is before it is too big to do that. In that case, if you have time, slide a window open and knock out the screen to escape or just use the FE to smash the glass and the screen.

Fires in campers can quickly kill you with smoke inhalation so TIME is of the ESSENCE when one breaks out.

Fight it or just immediately attempt to exit the camper.