A vs C HELP
We are retired in good health and ready to make the plunge! Having a hard time deciding on the right Motorhome. We will use the Motorhome in the winter in the (Lower 48") snow birds and bring it hom...
Forum Discussion
Desert Captain,
Good Luck finding those "honest politicians"...especially during election season. :)
I remember a front end collision involving a Class A (a member of these forums) and an SUV. I believe that the SUV crossed undivided highway lane and hit the RV head on. I believe both occupants in the SUV were killed. The driver of the Class A sustained some damage to his ankles/lower legs(?), but was otherwise uninjured. I believe his passenger was shaken up, but uninjured.
Air bags are only helpful in specific accident scenarios. Most of us drove vehicles for years without them, and most of us survived. The majority of vehicles on the road are much smaller than our motorhomes. I also believe that most motorhome drivers are better drivers than the average population. :) Two huge benefits in our favor.
Since the motorhome is so much more massive than the average passenger car, the momentum is MUCH greater, meaning that it takes a lot more to bring it to a stop. Airbags deploy in thousands of a second, then deflate equally as quickly. Picture a possible alternative scene to the accident above: The class A had air bags and they deployed. Now, the driver, instead of being able to bring the motorhome to a safe controlled stop, gets stunned by the exploding air bags, loses control of the still moving RV and causes further damage, perhaps even further injury or even loss of life to those who weren't involved in the original accident. Airbags work best when the vehicle comes to a sudden stop. If the initial collision does not stop the vehicle, then the airbags provide no occupant protection against any further collisions. Hit a tree and stop. They work. Hit a guard rail and keep traveling, they probably won't be of much help unless you land in a vat of marshmallows. :)
Anyway, momentum DOES matter. You want it in your favor. Not that I gave it a lot of thought, but I feel my family is much safer in our 22,000 lb. motorhome than our 4,500 lb. minivan, or even the 14,000 lb. Class C's we were looking at.
Other aspects of safety include operating the vehicle within the factory specified weight limits. There's an active Topics here in the Class C Forums about his motorhome being overloaded. I knew our weight requirements when we were doing our research and chose a vehicle which can safely carry all of the weight we needed. The available class C's on the E-450 chassis could not offer what we needed. If you're going to talk safety, you have to look at all aspects. I'll gladly forego airbags (which I will probably never need) in favor of adequate carrying capacity which I need everytime the rig rolls down the highway.
We can debate our positions for ever. Personally, I'm not sold on any safety benefits of air bags for large vehicles. But as far as I know, we can both be right because I've never seen any statistics to show otherwise. :) If we ever meet around a campfire, we can keep each other engaged in conversation! LOL
Safe travels to all! :)
~Rick
Good Luck finding those "honest politicians"...especially during election season. :)
I remember a front end collision involving a Class A (a member of these forums) and an SUV. I believe that the SUV crossed undivided highway lane and hit the RV head on. I believe both occupants in the SUV were killed. The driver of the Class A sustained some damage to his ankles/lower legs(?), but was otherwise uninjured. I believe his passenger was shaken up, but uninjured.
Air bags are only helpful in specific accident scenarios. Most of us drove vehicles for years without them, and most of us survived. The majority of vehicles on the road are much smaller than our motorhomes. I also believe that most motorhome drivers are better drivers than the average population. :) Two huge benefits in our favor.
Since the motorhome is so much more massive than the average passenger car, the momentum is MUCH greater, meaning that it takes a lot more to bring it to a stop. Airbags deploy in thousands of a second, then deflate equally as quickly. Picture a possible alternative scene to the accident above: The class A had air bags and they deployed. Now, the driver, instead of being able to bring the motorhome to a safe controlled stop, gets stunned by the exploding air bags, loses control of the still moving RV and causes further damage, perhaps even further injury or even loss of life to those who weren't involved in the original accident. Airbags work best when the vehicle comes to a sudden stop. If the initial collision does not stop the vehicle, then the airbags provide no occupant protection against any further collisions. Hit a tree and stop. They work. Hit a guard rail and keep traveling, they probably won't be of much help unless you land in a vat of marshmallows. :)
Anyway, momentum DOES matter. You want it in your favor. Not that I gave it a lot of thought, but I feel my family is much safer in our 22,000 lb. motorhome than our 4,500 lb. minivan, or even the 14,000 lb. Class C's we were looking at.
Other aspects of safety include operating the vehicle within the factory specified weight limits. There's an active Topics here in the Class C Forums about his motorhome being overloaded. I knew our weight requirements when we were doing our research and chose a vehicle which can safely carry all of the weight we needed. The available class C's on the E-450 chassis could not offer what we needed. If you're going to talk safety, you have to look at all aspects. I'll gladly forego airbags (which I will probably never need) in favor of adequate carrying capacity which I need everytime the rig rolls down the highway.
We can debate our positions for ever. Personally, I'm not sold on any safety benefits of air bags for large vehicles. But as far as I know, we can both be right because I've never seen any statistics to show otherwise. :) If we ever meet around a campfire, we can keep each other engaged in conversation! LOL
Safe travels to all! :)
~Rick