Fleetwood Excursion - Emergency Exit

[jondrew55]

I like my new 2014 Fleetwood Excursion, but there is a serious issue I think I want to take up with Fleetwood- Emergency exits. There are really only two ways out of my coach in an emergency (other than breaking a window). The emergency window at the back which has a red handle and pushes out, and the passenger side door. The door has two locking handles on it, one on the top and one on the bottom. There is something about the design of that bottom latch that seems to somehow get inadvertently locked and really causes a delay in getting out. I'm not sure what exactly the deal is, but it has happened more than once. In a fire or similar emergency I can easily see someone who is disoriented by smoke getting trapped trying to get out. I seemed to remember on my travel trailer that even if you engaged both locks on the door that if you moved the bottom lock (with the red "Emergency Tab" on it), it would unlock both mechanisms so you could get out. Not so on this design. My 6 year old occasionally will lock the door and then we have to fumble with it for many seconds to get it unlocked, seconds that could mean life or death. I plan on writing Fleetwood about this. I was also wondering if anyone else has noticed this.

Another thing that really bothers me is the fact that both emergency exits are located on the passenger side. What about in a roll over accident where maybe you end up on that side and can't get out? You could be trapped. Even if there were another emergency exit window on the driver's side, it would be pretty tough to get to that window if the coach was laying on the passenger side. This is why buses have roof exits. I'm thinking of putting a couple of fire axes in the coach just in case. You could break any window including the front windshield in an emergency .

[TonyDi]

I suppose you could get a fire axe to break out the windows or just get a couple of these.


Amazon.com: Seatbelt Cutter Window Breaker Emergency Escape Tool: Automotive

[brobox]

If your MH is built to RVIA certification The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association: Certification then the complaint will be with the industry that sets the building codes. It is too bad that these items were not noticed before the purchase. Our last two MH's had escape windows on both sides of the MH, one front and one rear. I was also concerned about that at the time of purchase.