Lightening and Bad Luck

[Jeff426]

Good Morning Everyone,

You're not going to believe this! We don't!

Two days after a wonderful buying and orientation experience at Steinbring Motorcoach and a year long search for the right coach, we're towed into a Freightliner Shop in Rapid City, South Dakota. After what, as we later found out, was a complete chassis computer failure brought about by an indirect lightening strike!

It seems that over 200 people die a year from lightening strikes, 10 times that number are injured from lightening strikes! Based on what I have observed in my 60 years of life, lightening is unavoidable! In our lifestyle, it seems impossible to avoid. In the 80's and on a place we owned, lightening took out a well pump on well that was 1350' feet deep!

Before I proceed, Newmar and Freightliner have been flawless in their customer service and in helping us resolve the issues! I would like to tap the vast amount of experience that is present on this forum so that others may be spared this heart wrenching and potentially pocket emptying experience!!

1) My research indicates that the only way not to be effected is to not be proximal to a strike when it occurs! That seems kind of improbable that we could avoid this kind of experience and be in this life! There also seems to be quite a bit of conflicting information about what you should do if you find yourself amidst a lightening type storm. We have talked to a bunch of people regarding their opinion and the consensus opinion is that lightening enters the coach through the Jack Pads!

Lightening strikes are RANDOM in nature!

Watching the weather is a part of life and we will find ourselves being hyper sensitive to it in the future!

Slides in? Slides out? Jacks down? or Jacks up?

Plugged into the Pedestal or Not? I have had folks tell us that your safest plugged in ( which seems unreasonable ), I have had others say they unplug. How much lightening goes off when we're asleep in the relative comfort and safety of our coaches?

Surge Protection seems imperative and should be standard equipment!

Great Insurance is also imperative!

The coach will be fully repaired on Wednesday of next week ( two weeks down ) and we will be on our way. We are excited to get going. The coach is awesome and we have learned an immense amount! Eddies Truck Center, Newmar and Freightliner have done a fantastic job. There are no effects to any of the Coach functions above the chassis but that will be evaluated in Grand Junction at the Transwest Newmar shop!

And so the adventure continues!

Can't wait to read your comments and thank you in advance for your input!

Jeff and Lynn

[Campin Cajun]

If it's true that lightning enters a coach through the jacks, then maybe use some rubber jack pads. I've heard of some using horse stall mats from Tractor Supply cut in 12x12 squares.

There's not much a person can do about Acts of Nature tho.

[Jeff426]

I think that is a great suggestion and we plan to do that, we did have nylon pads under our jacks!

Thanks,

Jeff and Lynn

[VP Chianese]

What happened to Jeff may have and probably was not a direct hit. We had this problem with boats many times. In fact as with all new things there was a rant going on for several years that the use of Cummins electronic fuel injection engines was dangerous, because there were several engines affected at sea by near strikes. The computer on the engine picks up a power surge in the air and blows up. You know how the hair on you neck stands up if there is a close strike. The engine goes to default and runs at 1,200 RPM. On a boat 1,200 rpm max in six to eight foot seas is useless. I'm not sure if or how that has been over come on boat engines.

A boat next to us loose all of it's electronic gear, radar, depth finder, chart plotters and radios. Ours was not effected one bit. The boat that was the direct strike was three fairways over.

I't nature. Even the US Navy doesn't have a full proof answer and they fight it all the time. Rubber mats under your jack stands may let you sleep better but IMO that is all they can do for you. The arc on a lighting strike would take a foot of rubber or more to be effective.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Campin Cajun

If it's true that lightning enters a coach through the jacks, then maybe use some rubber jack pads. I've heard of some using horse stall mats from Tractor Supply cut in 12x12 squares.

There's not much a person can do about Acts of Nature tho.

I've been using them for years.

Now when we're down South I put them under the tires after we spray for ants. Then spray the top of the pad. I think I paid $26 for a 48" square piece about 1/2" thick. Last fall at TSC. Its heavy.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Jeff426... If I'd seen your post earlier I'd have posted my post as a reply. Not sure how to link a post so I pasted some of my post here.

June 10th, 2015 minding our own business in Colorado Springs, Colorado and lightning struck very close. Damaged some electrical equipment on a nearby power pole.

Wife was inside our 2006 Monaco Camelot. I was in a building about 100 yards away. Just after the very LOUD crack of the lightning hitting something, she called and said we lost some electric in the coach. Also something smells like its burning.

We were lucky in one respect we were and are located at an RV Repair Center in Colorado Springs waiting to get our motorhome serviced, when this happened. They do more then just RV Chassis Service. They have fixed a lot of other Chassis, engine, etc. type problems. I say 'lucky' because the only way this thing can be moved is with a large tow truck.

So far the problems are: Took out our Magnum Inverter, the 300 Amp Inverter fuse, the rear A/C unit, the Dash radio (this was the burning smell), and worst of all the engine won't start. First thing we found was the Allison TCM (Transmission Control Module) was DOA. We found this because when I tried to start the engine the ignition key would light everything up in the ON position but nothing would happen when turning it to START. The Shift indicators showed only gibberish (instead of NN, for neutral) on the two indicators. And the Economy light was on when it shouldn't be. We could press any of the shift buttons but nothing changed. According to Allison the gibberish we were seeing on the display was what they refer to as 'CAT EYES', meaning there's a problem with the TCM.

The shop sent the Allison TCM to Denver to have it tested, sure enough it was toast. A new one was ordered and swapped out. It did make a difference, in that the engine does crank over but it still won't start. The transmission shift indicators are showing something different from before and when we press any of the shift buttons the display goes out, but still doesn't show 'NN' like its supposed to.

So at this point were stuck. We'll be calling Allison back on Monday to see what they say. Could be the Shifter Display unit is bad also.

[GaryKD]

Yes to the plastic or rubber jack pads. I've been using them for many years. Get the thickest pads you can find. These are the pads I use. Super Dolly Bus Jack Pads, Set of 2 - Husky - Chocks & Levelers - Camping World

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Oh, and I wanted to weigh in on the lightning. If you do some research on lightning and Joules which is the measurement of energy in electrical systems it becomes very interesting.

There's been a lot of articles about it. Some very good detailed studies have been done, especially in Florida which is the most prominent state with the most strikes annually of any where in the US.

In my case I was asked if I had a Surge Protector. Due to some of the problems my motorhome suffered with this lightning strike, I was asked if I had a Surge Protector installed. I don't have one installed, and even if I did it most likely would'nt have helped. In my case I think the lightning came in on the electrical power line, but also I think it came in via a earth ground link. Because not only did it take out some electrical equipment, it also took out multiple items that are 12 VDC powered only. The TCM mentioned on my other post is located in the very front of the 40 ft motorhome and the Inverter, fuse is located near the batteries at the back of the motorhome.

Back to the Surge Protector:
A Joule = Amount of Electricity required to light a 1 watt LED for 1 second. Most Surge Protectors are rated at between 10 to 50 thousand Joules of energy. Lightning strikes have millions to billions of Joules of energy. This typically means Surge Protectors will not stop lightning strikes. Lightning may not blow up a Surge Protector, but rather just jump across it and continue along the electrical circuits to wherever it wants to go.

Oh and regarding rubber between the jacks and ground. The research about lightning and RV's says, the best way to prevent a lightning strike to an RV is to disconnect the electrical cord and wind it up, i.e, store it. Don't leave it lying on the ground. And if you have jacks raise them up. At the very least a cushion of wood, or other insulating material between the jacks and ground would need to be at least 6 inches thick. Plus if its raining real hard and the material is wet, all bets are off. Likewise it stated where lightning is concerned nothing is a guarantee.