Bad Motorhome accident in Ohio

[ramanth]

How tragic. It's as if the motorhome had no frame at all and the undercarriage simply crushed it under it's own weight.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Thanks for the additional links, Craftlady.

Kimmy, that appears to me like exactly what happend. The chassis (or undercarriage) is an extremely heavy and solid part of the motorhome, made of all heavy heavy steel beams and this was a diesel pusher (diesel motor in the back) so the engine alone is quite heavy. It's really hard to say whether they were coming or going, but there's a good chance their tanks were full of water which again, is quite heavy. It looks like a little older model (mid to late 90's maybe) but I really can't tell what make it is, which would make a difference in how crushable it was. Needless to say, the higher end more expensive models are less likely to totally collapse like this than the lower end cheaper models. Also, with some manufacturers we know, the ONLY thing connecting the walls to the chassis are nails. Yes, nails - not even screws! They build the wall then nail it to the floor which is attached to the chassis. Needless to say, construction like this will totally collapse under a lot less stress. Terry is on his way to the factory right now to see how our walls are connected to the chassis. He says we're going to install a roll cage, similar to what the Nascar guys get in their cars.

Seriously though, this is such a freak thing that there is no way the manufacturers can predict and build for it. I say he HAD to have been going more than 25 - 30 miles per hour because at that speed, you're just not going to have the force to flip a ~30,000 - ~40,000 pound vehicle end to end!

[Craftlady]

Thanks for the additional links, Craftlady.

Seriously though, this is such a freak thing that there is no way the manufacturers can predict and build for it. I say he HAD to have been going more than 25 - 30 miles per hour because at that speed, you're just not going to have the force to flip a ~30,000 - ~40,000 pound vehicle end to end!

Your welcome.
I agree about the speed. They were also towing a vehicle behind the motorhome. I'm sure that factored into the motorhome flipping if the vehicle was swinging around. That cut-in-hill area in a bad stretch of highway, your either going up hill towards Northern Kentucky or down hill towards Cincinnati and the Ohio River.

[Cataholic]

That is an incredibly bad stretch of roadway. Very curvy, very steep grade.

[ramanth]

Agreed. Driving down I-75 to Atlanta, that stretch of highway makes me nervous because I can be doing 80 mph, and I'll still have semi's right on my bumper. Freaks the hell out of me.

Debbie, that is scary thinking about that kind of construction. I wonder how my parents 5th Wheel is assembled. If that were ever to flip, it'd either have to tear free of the hitch or take the pickup with it.