Are Motorhomes Safe in Lightning? How to Protect Yourself?

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During a lightning storm being out in a vehicle can be quite scary. So, for anyone planning on going on an RV adventure, wondering whether or not are motorhomes safe in lighting is pretty normal. If you can relate to this then you’re in luck cause in this article we are going to discuss this topic in extensive detail.

Motorhomes are safe in lightning provided you follow some specific steps. If lightning strikes and your motorhome has a roof of metal, there’s a chance that it may damage the vehicle’s electronics, although you will be perfectly safe as long as you are inside. But by taking some steps, this can be avoided.

In this article, I am going to talk about how safe motorhomes are during lightning and also give you guidelines on how to protect yourself and your RV when lightning strikes. Therefore, I recommend you go through this entire article as I’ve tried to provide sufficient information regarding this topic.

Are Motorhomes Safe in Lightning?

Is It Safe to Stay Inside Your Motorhome When Lightning Strikes?

When lightning occurs, it is not all that safe to stay inside your motorhome. The best thing to do is find a solid structure and remain there until the risk of being struck by lightning is avoided. But if you have no other option and plan on staying inside your motorhome, then to assure your safety turn off all the electrical equipment to avoid starting a fire.

Because if your motorhome is directly hit by lightning, it is a possibility that it will affect the electrical equipment it possesses greatly. This could even start a fire and may also result in loss of life. So, even though it is not suggested to stay inside motorhomes during lightning, if you don’t have any other option, make sure to disconnect all the electrical equipment.

Does Lightning Damage Your Motorhome?

Lightning can indeed damage your motorhome quite badly if necessary steps are not being taken. But I’ll talk about those steps later and now focus on how badly lightning damages your motorhome.

As mentioned earlier, nowadays motorhomes are constructed with aluminum or steel roofs to provide great protection from lightning. But there’s still a possibility of getting your motorhome damaged. Therefore, the importance of being aware and knowing how to minimize damage is still there.

Lightning is not only harmful to human beings; this great electric surge is also damaging to motorhomes because motorhomes are electronic systems. And we know that lightning has the power of frying electronic systems even if it doesn’t hit them directly and hits somewhere nearby. And eventually, if it gets out of hand, it can also start a fire inside the motorhome as well.

How to Keep Your Motorhome Safe During Lightning?

There are several things you can do in order to keep your motorhome safe during lightning. Such as- when you see an approaching storm make sure to disconnect all the electronic systems that your motorhome possesses. But there are also many other measures that can ensure your motorhome’s safety. So, let’s go through those for better understanding.

Reduce Danger

As you can’t control lightning, what you can do is try and minimize the risk that it brings. In order to reduce danger, disconnect all the electronic systems due to the reasons mentioned before. But if you have time firstly try to find solid shelter. Don’t seek shelter under any tree as this could make things worse due to trees being a low resistance path for lightning.

This is why it is important to have emergency contacts. Before planning your trip or planning where to park your motorhome, make sure to talk to nearby relatives or friends so that you can count on them in need of an emergency. Because you’ll need shelter during this situation.

But if you hear bolts of lightning within less than 30 seconds then you don’t have much time. So, disconnect all the electronic systems and remain inside for safety.

Ground Motorhome

The importance of grounding your motorhome during lightning is immense. Lightning searches for a path that’s low resistance in order to pass its voltage. Now, if you ground your motorhome, it will find a safe path and reach the ground. But if it isn’t found, it will generate side flashes and this will eventually destroy all the electronic systems your motorhome possesses.

So, just make sure lightning is getting a harmless path to pass by grounding your motorhome so that it doesn’t damage anything around you.

These two are the top most important measures to take to keep your motorhome damage-free and protected.

How to Protect Yourself Inside Your Motorhome During Lighting Strikes?

We all know how important it is to keep ourselves protected when lightning occurs. I have already talked about how to keep your motorhome safe during this period. But what about yourself? You need protection as well during this time when you are planning on living in a motorhome.

There are also a few steps that need to be followed in order to keep yourself protected in case you have to face lightning during your stay in a motorhome. Now, I am going to talk about those few steps so that you take them into consideration as well.

Advanced Planning

Planning ahead of time is very important in order to make sure you don’t have to face any kind of hazards. So, how do you make sure of that? The only way to assure that is by planning the places your motorhome will cross or stay, and then do thorough research on what the condition of the weather will be at those places.

By doing this research you’ll know when there’s a chance of a thunderstorm or any other serious weather condition to occur. This way, there will be no surprises along the way and you’ll be prepared.

Be Prepared

Even if you do proper research, it is very important to be prepared for the worst. Because weather forecasts can sometimes be wrong. So, the best way to avoid facing a hazardous situation is by always being prepared.

To be prepared all you need to do is have some specific accessories in your motorhome, so that, when you face a critical situation you can at least face it without completely falling apart. Now I am going to provide you with a list of a few things that you need to have at all times in your motorhome.

  • First aid kit
  • Flashlight
  • Batteries
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Tool kit

Take Cover

Now that we have talked about the precautions, let’s move on to the measures you need to take during lightning while being inside a motorhome. These steps are to limit damages and also to make sure you get out of this situation without getting an injury.

  • Firstly, get inside your motorhome as soon as you can.
  • If you can gather enough time, what you should do is move your motorhome away from any tree. Because trees act as good conductors and therefore, standing anywhere near a tree can cause serious damage.
  • Disconnect shore power, outside generators to avoid frying it or starting a fire.
  • Flag poles or any antenna should be rolled down.
  • Lock the doors and windows and keep a distance from them.

Conclusion

In this article, I have answered two specific queries that are- are motorhome safe in lightning? How to protect yourself? I have tried to provide you with miscellaneous information to help you get to safety during lightning. I hope this article was of help to you and wish you the best of luck and safe travels.

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Stephanie Lynne
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