Lightening Strikes on FWCs?
- Thread starter Wallowa
- Start date
ntsqd
Custom User Title
I can't say that I've ever seen any type of RV that had been hit by lightening. Interested to see if anyone else has.
We have ridden out so many thunderstorms in our All Terrain Camper - similar enough to a FWC I feel it appropriate to post here - that I'm convinced the camper/truck do not add any additional attractiveness to draw a lightning strike.
Smokecreek1
Smokecreek1
Ya, I have the same reaction and impressions as Ski. Just sit tight, enjoy and don't use the time to clean your tire iron -just kidding 
! Seems to me that vehicles all have some type of system that bleeds off that type energy, but I tend to still not touch metal things during the storm.
Smoke
! Seems to me that vehicles all have some type of system that bleeds off that type energy, but I tend to still not touch metal things during the storm.Smoke
PaulT
Need gumbo
Remember that the camper is insulated from strikes by the same rubber and air that the vehicle is, although sitting in your camper on the summit during a thunderstorm may not be recommended.
Paul
Paul
PaulT said:Remember that the camper is insulated from strikes by the same rubber and air that the vehicle is, although sitting in your camper on the summit during a thunderstorm may not be recommended.
Paul
I was kinda wishing this was true about the tires...sadly the tires do nothing to insulate from lightening..not certain but this sounds like a Faraday Cage...charge on outer shell...but still, it would scare the crap out of me!
Most people believe the rubber tires on a car prevent lightning strikes. Ironically, it’s not the rubber tires insulating the car, but rather the conductive metal framing which protects you by conducting the electricity around the vehicle and its occupants. The truth is, rubber tires don’t prevent lightningstrikes in the least bit.
Do Rubber Tires Prevent Lightning Strikes? | WeatherImagery
www.weatherimagery.com/blog/rubber-tires-protect-lightning/
longhorn1
Ouch, that stings!
There was a guy on a motorcycle about 3-4 weeks ago that a lightening strike went through his fiberglass helmet, causing him to crash, and he didn't survive. jd
Wallowa said:
longhorn1 said:
Hey thanks for the cheery thought!
What killed him the crash or a millions of volts or thousands of amps?I leave soon on a two off road MC trip across Idaho and Montana....will "keep my head down"...
Phil
Amps in Lightning
A typical lightning bolt carries 1,000 to 300,000 amps. A typical lightning bolt is rated at up to 125 million volts. The “average” lightning bolt is very hot.
Lightning by the Numbers - Thompson Lightning Protect
www.tlpinc.com/lightning-safety/lightning-by-the-numbers.html
craig333
Riley's Human
I"ve wondered if the Faraday cage effect would be improved if you lowered the top. Only been in one storm where I thought my odds of getting struck were pretty good.
I've talked to a couple of lookout operators who say its still pretty scary even if the structure is designed to take a direct hit.
I've talked to a couple of lookout operators who say its still pretty scary even if the structure is designed to take a direct hit.
ntsqd
Custom User Title
Just had a look at dielectric strength of air. Consensus of the pages that I've looked at so far is 3,000,000 V/M. If we go with the voltage number presented above then your tires will need to be about 84 meters in diameter before they would have a chance of raising the vehicle far enough off the ground to insulate it. This assumes no steel plys in those tires.
Otherwise a lightning strike will have enough voltage to ionize the air between the metal of the vehicle and the ground and jump the gap.
https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/AliceHong.shtml
https://www.reference.com/science/dielectric-breakdown-strength-air-ec6ed7979ed41124
https://www.physics.byu.edu/faculty/christensen/Physics%20220/FTI/26%20Capacitance%20and%20Dielectrics/Dielectric%20Constants%20and%20Strengths.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_strength
Otherwise a lightning strike will have enough voltage to ionize the air between the metal of the vehicle and the ground and jump the gap.
https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/AliceHong.shtml
https://www.reference.com/science/dielectric-breakdown-strength-air-ec6ed7979ed41124
https://www.physics.byu.edu/faculty/christensen/Physics%20220/FTI/26%20Capacitance%20and%20Dielectrics/Dielectric%20Constants%20and%20Strengths.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_strength
Andy Douglass
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2017
- Messages
- 221
We were in a pretty good one in McClendon Springs BLM CG near Malta ID in May. It was amazing but I did start thinking about getting struck. We were about 20 yards from a big oak tree, but no other cover. I started thinking about lighting rods for campers and wondered if anyone ever set something like that up when staying in high risk areas. It would be a pain, but less pain than getting hit. We ended up not seeing any strikes anywhere near us.
I've been tenting twice and our campsite was struck by lightning. My enamel camping mug has holes to prove it. Scary sh!t.
nope, just water or tea. We were hiding in an outhouse! The hail was 2" across...
If you had been struck by lightning while hiding in the outhouse....................oh the stories all your friends would still be telling.Vic Harder said:
Gaseous anomolies abound!
ntsqd
Custom User Title
With all of the methane in an outhouse that could've been grim.
Wonder what lightning-struck beer would taste like?
Wonder what lightning-struck beer would taste like?
Espresso
Senior Member
If a sailboat survives a lighting strike, what are the odds a camper would escape unscathed?
https://imgur.com/gallery/wghny3s
https://imgur.com/gallery/wghny3s
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