camping in thunderstorms

[Kicker]

Have any of you experienced camping in their teardrop during a thunderstorm? I'm headed out for the Eastern Sierra this weekend and possible thunderstorms are predicted. How safe are you inside an aluminum skinned tear?

[Shadow Catcher]

Yes we have camped in thunderstorms and the skin is no more a danger than the skin of a car, but do not be touching metal inside the cabin! If you are using leveling jacks pull them up, If you have a plastic jockey wheel on your front jack you are about as good as it gets. I have a Royalex canoe that was on top of a vehicle that was hit by lightening and there is about a one square foot area that is a bit melty. If you get hit there will be damage, but the more likely occurrence is that a tree nearby will be hit, so beware. I will also say we have a Recom whether radio that warns of impending weather.

[bobhenry]

Guess I am a bit more of a fatialist. I never worried about the lightning as the trees were a hell of a lot taller then the teardrop. However I did kinda worry about where that giant limb or for that matter the entire tree would land if it gave way in the storm.

[len19070]

I'm about as concerned about being hit by Lightning as I am winning the Lottery!

In over 60 years of camping, and a lot of that in the rain. lightning has never been even close.

Now Meteors and Space Junk....that's your real problem.

Happy Trails

Len

[stumphugger]

It depends what part of the country you are in. Our PNW storms are usually pretty mild. Of course, there were a couple last month that weren't. We do not associate them with tornadoes, or humongus hail, or other nasties. I've continued working in the forest during thunderstorms.

But, in other regions, like Arizona, you might not want to be beneath tall trees. The lightning is ferocious there, and trees can kind of explode when hit. It is best to be out of the timber and inside your car or trailer.

That's all I know. Not much....

[NathanL]

Twice in the previous 10 or so years I've had the 1/8" plywood of my camper punctured by a falling limb while camping on forest service property. Thunderstorms are just part of life in the south/southeast - you can't really avoid them. My current build I'm going to 1/4" ply for that very reason.

If you camp in well maintained/groomed campgrounds all the time then you probably don't need to worry. Even a pine cone from a coulter pine falling from the top of the tree will go right thru an aluminum skin with east and put a pretty big dent/pass thru in 1/8" ply as well. A friend of mine had one fall on his truck while out in that area and it was a pretty big dent.

[jeff0520]

I have TENT camped in a thunderstorm many times. A teardrop is not really a whole lot more protection than a tent. I'd say the biggest worries you have camping in the woods in a thunderstorm are 3 things listed here in order of liklihood.
1.) Flash flooding. Look at the lay of the land. Where is the natural drainage? Where will water flow if it really rains. Just be sure you aren't in a low spot that will be
a natural run off course. Otherwise you might have to see if your teardrop can float like Carawhale. http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=46755&start=90#p945317
2.) Falling trees. Again, this is site selection. Make sure the trees around you are green, lush, and healthy. if a big tree falls on your teardrop, it wont protect you
much more than a tent.
3.) Lightening, and forest fires caused by lightening. If you are camped between tall trees, the chances you'll get struck are really pretty slim. Pulling up the jacks is
a good idea, but I'd go a step farther, and hitch up to your tow vehicle. Don't leave anything out you aren't willing to abandon. If you are hooked up to the TV, with
all jacks up, the only thing touching the ground is rubber tires. As a bonus, if lightening causes a forest fire, you can get the heck out of there in a hurry.
We've had thunderstorms on our last 2 camping trips in the tent. It's not that big a deal so long as you plan ahead for it and are set up right.
Have fun

[starleen2]

3.) Lightening, and forest fires caused by lightening. If you are camped between tall trees, the chances you'll get struck are really pretty slim. Pulling up the jacks is
a good idea, but I'd go a step farther, and hitch up to your tow vehicle. Don't leave anything out you aren't willing to abandon. If you are hooked up to the TV, with
all jacks up, the only thing touching the ground is rubber tires. As a bonus, if lightening causes a forest fire, you can get the heck out of there in a hurry.
We've had thunderstorms on our last 2 camping trips in the tent. It's not that big a deal so long as you plan ahead for it and are set up right.
Have fun

From: http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls ... trike.html
"Rubber tires provide zero safety from lightning. After all, lightning has traveled for miles through the sky: four or five inches of rubber is no insulation whatsoever."

[Roger W]

We have camped in thunderstorms, and did so this past weekend. The TD is not completed so we were in a tent. All went well and we stayed dry. I am very cautious during periods of heavy lightening. Several years ago I was struck by lightening while on a construction jobsite. Not an enjoyable experience, recieving electrical burns inside my left arm. My elbow was bent and luckily it stopped there. Felt like my arm was broken, but only bruised.

My great-grandfather was killed by lightening years before I was born. My garndfather was with him at the time and was knocked off his feet but not hurt. Don't know, maybe it runs in the family.

Just use some commen sense during storms.

[Engineer Guy]

There's typically all sorts of smaller Lightning 'branches' off the main path. Those can get cha, too. We watched a wonderful Storm 2 nights ago from ~3 miles away, and ducked inside when the Storm got ~1 mile away.

The really big Strikes are 10 to 20 megaVolts, and up to 10,000 Amps [or so I recall reading in Nat'l Geo Mag]. However, the associated EMP can be a Heart stopper from yards away. It disrupts your Nervous System, and you go into a type of Fibrillation despite not being hit directly.

The low/high Target assumption re: Trees is considered a myth. The ionizing path goes where it goes. It can hit a Rock even though a taller Tree is nearby.

In one Analysis of an unusual scenario, a Mountain Biker hit in CO in clear Weather was struck non-fatally by a Bolt that appears to have emanated ~20 miles away. Weird stuff...

[nevadatear]

We don't have an aluminum td but do left eastern sierra
S. never been concerned.

[redg8r]

The low/high Target assumption re: Trees is considered a myth. The ionizing path goes where it goes. It can hit a Rock even though a taller Tree is nearby.

yup,... statistics have shown a majority of strike victims were unwittingly sheltering under trees.

[48Rob]

Lightning has never been a big concern for us, wind however is another story!

Here in the Midwest, lightning and thunderstorms are common (never rains until you go camping... )
Wind is our big concern. Out on the prairie/farm ground there aren't many trees.
Trees abound however in bottom land along rivers and rough ground that isn't tillable, so that is where the campgrounds are.
Wind that comes along with storms is a very big concern!
It can bring down branches, whole trees, and now and again, tip or roll a camping trailer.

When we park, we make sure there aren't any obvious dead branches above us, or any questionable trees in falling distance.
When big storms appear, or are forecast, we re-connect the trailer to the truck.

Few years back we did just that as the tornado sirens blazed away.
From our safer vantage point in the concrete wall restrooms, we watched as the winds tore awnings from trailers, and snapped trees like toothpicks.
Several trailers blown off their piers, and many destroyed awnings, and holes in siding/roofs from branches.
We suffered only a few hail dents.
Had we left the trailer unhooked, I think it would not have been where we left it...

Rob

[wagondude]

To add to other's info, If you can hear the thunder, you are within striking distance of the lightening that caused it.

[High Desert]

The low/high Target assumption re: Trees is considered a myth. The ionizing path goes where it goes. It can hit a Rock even though a taller Tree is nearby.

yup,... statistics have shown a majority of strike victims were unwittingly sheltering under trees.

I'd believe that. The old timers always said stay away from lone standing tress especially. We get some dandy electrical storms around here, have seen it hit plenty of power poles and lone standing trees and split them like an axe. But a local woman was killed last year while standing under her patio awning, You can't predict it 100%. Saw one strike run through the crowns of several tall pines during a storm once up in the Sierras. That was a sight to say the least. The fire that followed sure brought some last minute changes to a week long stay in that area, it happened the first night. When it hits real close you feel it before you hear it.

Staying off the high ground and ridge-lines during a storm always seemed like good advice. The good news is that aluminum is far more likely to attract twisters than lightning...