I’ve seen RVs like these being built. The quality of this motorhome, I’d guess, is somewhere between the houses of the first two little piggies — not quite as flimsy as a straw house, but not as strong as a stick house. And not even close to a brick house.
The good news about this crash is nobody was badly hurt. Hard to believe, but true.
The RVing couple onboard was likely belted in. Good for them. But now do you understand why you should not let people walk around inside a coach while it’s moving? How do you suppose a couple of kids sitting unbelted at the dinette would have fared? Okay, erase that thought: It’s too painful to ponder.
The frames of most coaches like this are put together with thin pieces of wood (to be lightweight), assembled using staples and glue, with some screws here and there. A coach like this is never crash tested, like cars. Hardly any RVs are ever crash tested, at least not in North America. You can see a crash test conducted in Sweden in the first video below. Oh, it’s ugly.
In the case of the accident in the photo above, the RVers were likely driving along just as they always do, and then something suddenly and totally unexpected happened. Maybe the front tire blew. I can’t tell from the photo. But two seconds later, they were tumbling and then all was quiet and they were upside down, and likely shell-shocked from the ordeal.
So stare at this photo for awhile, and be glad it’s not your rig, and maybe understand a little better that an RV wrapped around you as you speed down the highway offers only a pittance of protection.
After watching the video immediate below, watch the next one about how to react if you blow a front tire. We show this to our readers often. Some told us that what they learned from the video likely saved their lives.
Be safe out there, my friends.
And now watch this video about how to handle a front tire blowout. Knowing this could one day save your life.
Happily, there ARE Class A rigs which don’t come totally apart in a crash. But buying one of them new today is for the very well off only. Prevost is the undeniable champ with a stainless steel monocoque chassis, but to get one you need to fork over something north of $2 Million! I believe Newells and Foretravels are similarly well made, and I know that Country Coach made their dynamax chassis very much like the Prevost, but of mild steel vs stainless. These high end rigs also offer really superior build quality in all of their systems. Any of these rigs can be had older than 10 or so years for a small fraction of what they sold for new, and offer far better value for money than anything new. Moral of the story: if you want to survive a serious crash in a diesel pusher, spend your money on an older, high end rig like one of these instead of the new crackerboxes that almost every manufacturer is producing today.
👍 A member on the IRV2 forum bought a late 1990’s Prevost. He had the Detroit 60 engine (a proven long haul workhorse) overhauled and the chassis inspected and new components installed where needed. He had a new paint job and the interior upgraded. In total he ended up with $250K spent, but has the equivalent of a new Prevost! He posted pics and it was gorgeous! You can’t even come close to that price on a new mid level Newmar, Tiffin, or Entegra! And even their top end units would be far less in quality.
10 YEAR RULE!?!?
This is just one of the reasons we bought a Class B campervan from Winnebago. It has the original van construction complete with the full complement of automotive safety features built into the driver and passenger part of the van. And No seating for anyone back in the house portion – perfect for us.
Exactly, our Class B suits us fine and it is built to standards, unlike many RVs. If it rolls over it ain’t gona look purdy, but it will be recognizable.
It is hard for me to believe any Rv vehicle involved in a crash as depicted in the rollover here would fare much better – regardless of how it is or was constructed. The violence and shear forces when encountering the ground surface at speed could only be imagined as being very similar to a stix and brix home being torn apart by a tornado or hurricane force winds! Not many structures or vehicles can survive a direct hit either on a foundation or a direct contact with the ground! Drive with care, stay alert and be prepared. IMO!
Again, my Born Free Class C rises to the occasion with three roll bars!
It’s too bad Born Free went under. Was a very high quality unit.
I believe the overturned image is a Winnebago Class A gas…might even be the model 27n as the compartments and dislodged slide outs match my 27n. Yes it is disturbing to see the damage but heartening to hear occupants did survive. Winnebago does claim on the sales brochures for 2020 that the cab is surrounded with a steel SuperStructure for the occupants.
We had a terrible wreck in our RV. The rig was pushed by a semi passing us on the left, into a parked rig on the right. We rolled down a slight hill and then rolled over. One of us suffered a broken kneecap and the dog had a slipped disk. The RV and everything in it was a total loss. We now have a van conversion which we believe is far safer than any Class A.
Wow! That’s awful, Nelsie. But we’re glad you all made it out fairly unscathed. Take care, and have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Although I always wanted a Class A diesel pusher, when we started looking at motorhomes my wife asked if they had airbags. Although I sold into the RV industry for years, I had never asked or thought about this feature. Since they do not have airbags, we opted for a Super C to have both airbags and the convenience of three doors. The trucks and van chassis that C’s are built on do have both the airbags and a cab that has undergone some impact testing during development. I believe that they also offer some additional protection with the “cage” of the cab. The RV manufacturers are great at developing new ways to provide all of the creature comforts of home while on the road, but their primary focus is not safety. Just my opinion.
FACT NOT OPINION!!
Thank you, Chuck! Yes, you’re absolutely correct. I sometimes wonder how aware of their safety are those driving or pulling an RV that goes blowing past me as I drive the interstate at 62-65 mph, and less when the speed limit is beow 70 mph. Thank you for this column. It saves lives because it must at least briefly make readers aware of the fragility of what they are inside or pulling.
Absolutely agree, we are in a 38’ diesel pusher towing a car. We never go over
65 mph. My husband doesn’t ever take any chances with tires either he’d rather spend the money and be safe. This is such a tragedy and tugs at my heart 🥲
To those that think they’re safe in a Class C, Super C or van, ponder what’s tumbling around you as you’re rolling – Anything not bolted to the frame becomes a missile.
A toaster, framed picture on the wall or even that can of corn stored securely in the pantry can be lethal if it hits your head at 60 miles per hour while your airbag, roll bar or stainless steel frame “protect” you.
TLDR: Cupboards explode, refrigerators unseat and walls disintegrate. It’s scary amazing how RV contents are missile barrages right before they become debris fields. Don’t wreck….
While true that flying debris is dangerous and injuries are likely in either case, at least the cab in a van is far more likely to stay intact around the driver and passenger. The walls in my van will dent, but they won’t disintegrate. That’s far safer from being totally exposed in a Class A that has exploded around the occupants.
I hear ya Roger. Whether the walls of the blender are glass that might shatter and spill the smoothie or stainless steel that’ll keep the juice inside with the blades, my point is it’s the contents that nobody seems to think about when they’re cruising down the road. Myself included!
Safe travels 🙂
I would hope that people put away their potential projectile items BEFORE leaving their parking spot. I know we do.
It amazes me every time I see a RV passing me doing 70-75 mph, I drive 55 and feel very comfortable at that speed. That doesn’t mean crap can’t happen at that speed but at least I have a better chance minimizing it versus driving at 75mph.
Standard issue when buying any RV needs to be a large can of common sense…something that is severely lacking across America now days.
If you studied it, you’d know at 60 miles per hour you are traveling at 88 feet per second. That’s pretty quick.
One thing I did notice on this second viewing was the importance of the rear facing car seat for infants. It appears that the only oe that might have survived would have been the infant. This is a good video for infant seats.
Auto safety started with removing hood ornaments, high centered horn buttons from the center of steering wheels and other dash protrusions, then adding headrests, seatbelts, collapsable bumpers and crumple zones. Even farm tractors now have ROPS (roll over protections), forklifts have cage protection, AND RVs, have no protection/crash standards? Gov’t Regs many times drive me nuts, but… Is it time for RVs?, if the industry doesn’t do something?
Our Newmar LondonAire comes with the Tyron Bands in the steer tires, not to mention we buy new steer tires once a year and we have air monitors on all tires. I seriously think anything you drive over 30 feet should have this automatically. We maintain ours and have a maintenance list on each trip. Ours is kept in garage with electricity, septic, and water if we ever need it for a second home.
I understand some accidents are unavoidable, we had a empty cargo truck come into our lane and hit our rear view mirror and awning. He told my husband a car cut him off? It was minor damage and his company insurance paid for it. I report crazy drivers.
Thank you, Chuck! Our DP is a bit better than you describe, but your point remains; it isn’t comparable to a brick house. Thank you, too, for calling attention to the tire-blowout video. That is extremely important! Happy new year and safe travels!