FWC safety modification

[WjColdWater]

Being new FWC owners got me thinking. What if an undetected fire started in the rear of the camper? What if an exterior fire prevented exiting the rear door? If the smoke alarm doesn’t function as expected, how would you escape? The fire extinguisher is mounted on the floor in the rear so it’s not a good spot for a rear fire. Sleeping in the cabover bed you would have trouble exiting the rear door. It’s probably a low probability, but a good escape strategy could save your life. I have added a simple modification to help in this scenario. I dug out an old Gerber folding knife to repurpose for this modification. I cleaned and sharpened to razor quality to mount in the cabover. After looking at the best possible mounting location, I mounted the knife. Now, in the event of a rear fire, we will have a knife close at hand to cut the sidewall and escape from there.
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Repurposed Gerber.
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Sheath modification to except zip ties.

Mounting location on the underside of the push bar. After trimming the ties I filed the cut ends smooth. This location doesn’t interfere with the bar function and can be easily accessed. Hope to never have to use while camping, but it’s there in case.
Wayne

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Great idea.The side window even though it is the emergency exit
might not be usable.
We have a side dinette and it probably would
be easier to exit through the liner.
There are lots of things to make the campers safer/easier to use.
It just takes using the camper and seeing what works/is needed.
Frank

 

[klahanie]

Great idea.
But I hope you follow that old marital advice to never go to bed angry ...
and that you're not a terrible snorer !

 

[longhorn1]

What year is your camper? FWC's have a side window escape hatch, required by law. jd

 

[WjColdWater]

What year is your camper? FWC's have a side window escape hatch, required by law. jd

2019 Grandby with a front dinette. And it does have the escape side window. But in a life or death scenario I’m thinking it would be tough to escape quickly.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

2019 Grandby with a front dinette. And it does have the escape side window. But in a life or death scenario I’m thinking it would be tough to escape quickly.

I think you’re correct.

 

[WjColdWater]

Great idea.
But I hope you follow that old marital advice to never go to bed angry ...
and that you're not a terrible snorer !

Good point!

 

[Mark G]

85% of the stuff we worry about never happens. 12% we just deal with. 3% we read about later.

 

[XJINTX]

I have many kitchen knives in the drawer right by the bed but I may make this mod for many reasons THANKS!

 

[Advmoto18]

ColdWater....your pictures are not loading. At least I can't see them on this web page.

You have normal egress through the back door. All campers are required to have an emergency exit. This exit's location is dependent on model and interior configuration.

I always go to bed with a serrated knife near my pillow. If I need to escape the camper right now (while in bed) due to fire in the rear of the camper, I'm cutting the fabric at the front of the camper and exiting out over the truck's cab and down onto the hood.

As a retired airline pilot, FAA requires fire extinguishers to be placed through the cabin and in the cockpit. While they can be used to put out small fires, they are not intended to for fire fighting per se. They are installed primarily to put out the fire on people. I approach the camper's itty bitty fire extinguisher in the same light; put the fire out on people. An itty bitty extinguisher isn't going to do much for fighting a big fire.

 

[Wallowa]

Yup side window [side dinette] escape is not realistic with an interior fire blocking the door. Extinguisher in our '16 Hawk is at RR corner, OK for putting out a stove fire I guess.

Box cutter seems sensible and safe until needed. Often wondered how tough the side wall material is. Going out the front would be difficult with the lift panel in the way.

Thinking "what-if" makes sense; obsessing about it doesn't. Has anyone first hand knowledge of occupants being trapped by fire in a FWC? For that matter has anyone experienced a fire inside a FWC?

 

[Advmoto18]

Yup side window [side dinette] escape is not realistic with an interior fire blocking the door. Extinguisher in our '16 Hawk is at RR corner, OK for putting out a stove fire I guess.

Box cutter seems sensible and safe until needed. Often wondered how tough the side wall material is. Going out the front would be difficult with the lift panel in the way.

Thinking "what-if" makes sense; obsessing about it doesn't. Has anyone first hand knowledge of occupants being trapped by fire in a FWC? For that matter has anyone experienced a fire inside a FWC?

The space between the corner and lift panel is kind of small. I'm confident I could get through a hole cut between the corner and lift panel, but I'm on the small side.

I suspect the lift panel might get in the way for some folks egressing that way. But in a fire event, I think people can overcome obstacles and escape IF they can keep the fear factor from running rampant.

The fabric used today is the same fabric used on MB and BMW motor vehicle carriers to protect new cars in transit to dealers. I got my hands on a big piece from a MB carrier that had been involved in an accident. It is a tough, durable material. My knife, with its serrated edge has no problem punching through and slicing open the material. I suspect a box cutter can make a hole fairly quickly as well.

 

[WjColdWater]

Posted 16 October 2019 - 09:12 AM

ColdWater....your pictures are not loading. At least I can't see them on this web page.
Not sure why you can’t see the pics. I’m not a techy to know why.
Wayne

 

[Kolockum]

The bug screen is the weakest part on the camper. I imagine most people could push their way though that

 

[DavidGraves]

One cannot be ready for every emergency but it is good to go thru the thought process.....

I went out thru the egress window recently just for fun and it was a good exercise....higher off the ground than I thought.

Could I get out the roof vent ? yeah probably but have not practiced that.

David Graves