Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

In the wee hours of this morning my cats and I were sound asleep in our trailer when all of a sudden--BOOM!!!!!!!!

Pouring rain outside (NOT leaking into the trailer, though, thanks to the vent cover and window weep holes; thanks again, Cindy!), crashing thunder, and lightning strikes apparently pretty close by, considering the thunder. And there I was with my cats, inside a big metal box in the driveway.

When I came into the house, evidence from digital clocks indicated there had in fact been at least one power outage or flicker during the night.

If there had been a violent electrical storm going on before I went to sleep, I would not have spent the night in the trailer. But everything was clear and dry when I went to bed. And if a person is camping somewhere, not taking refuge in their own driveway because their house is toxic, there might not be a handy storm shelter nearby.

Are there lightning rods or grounding wires or other storm safety devices for trailers?

Jim

I would say that in general you should be pretty safe inside the trailer. Clearly the preferable shelter would be a house, but I wouldn't worry if I was out camping and a storm blew up. If we start with the assumption that the trailer is water tight, I think I would prefer to be in an aluminum skinned trailer over a foamy or woodie. Just like in a car, you are basically inside a person sized Faraday cage. In the unlikely event that lightening DOES strike the trailer, the charge travels over the outside, then jumps through the tires to ground. As long as you are not touching the outer skin of the trailer, you are safe. You may wind up with flat tires and smoked electronics, but no human or feline damage.

A grounding rod is typically driven eight feet down into the soil, not something I would want to do every time I made camp. And short of a hydraulic piston or a hi-lift jack, also not something that would come back out. If it makes you feel better, you could put one in your yard where you park your trailer when not traveling, but you need to remember to connect it when you park and more importantly, DISCONNECT it when you hook up to drive away.

I can imagine it would be quite loud inside there though!

Glen

jisincla & WoodSmith, Howdy;

Don't forget about the jack at the front and any stabilizers at the rear or some-other location
that run from the frame to the ground or a water soaked wood block or other material that
would also be wet and promoting a 'path' to ground... Paranoia ... don't let it get the best of ya ...

hank

As the others have said, you are probably safe in the trailer. Same principle as with airplanes and cars. The metal around you deflects the charge around and away from you to the ground.

Glad to hear that you are dry!

hankaye wrote:jisincla & WoodSmith, Howdy;

Don't forget out the jack at the front and any stabilizers at the rear or some-other location
that run from the frame to the ground or a water soaked wood block or other material that
would also be wet and promoting a 'path' to ground... Paranoia ... don't let it get the best of ya ...

hank

Yes they would be grounding, assuming you are not parked on a concrete pad. Not "good" grounds as they would simply be in contact with the surface, but grounds. Which is generally a good thing and may even save the tires.

The important part is being inside a conductive "cocoon" and not touching the cocoon itself. This video demonstrates the concept: http://youtu.be/3y5aLtfi6_k
The performers are inside full body chain mail suits, over top of an insulating layer. The high voltage charge conducts harmlessly through the chain mail, and is insulated from the body. Just like in a car, an airplane or a tiny trailer skinned with aluminum.

Don't believe the myth that the reason you are safe in a car during a storm is because of the tires "insulating you". That lightening just jumped through several hundred feet of air, a few inches of rubber is NOTHING.

http://www.snopes.com/science/tires.asp

Glen