I'm making this a new post, but referencing a a previous discussion on exiting in a fire. In our Class B we have 4 exits: driver's door, passenger door, cabin door, and rear van doors. We cannot understand how a vehicle the size of a Class A can have only one door! Many folks are not physically able to dive out of a window emergency exit and could easily become trapped in an emergency. And as a driver I could not live without the ease of getting in and out of a driver's door. If we did ever look at "upsizing" I would never look beyond a Class C for the exit door reason alone, as appealing as some of the Class A features might be. Any comments?

Your point is well taken. If you were to design a structure to burn it would look like an RV. They burn quick & hot once they get going. Aside from an LP leak & explosion, however, there is usually time to get out being warned by the smoke detector. What other safety devices would you consider?

ryegatevt wrote:I'm making this a new post, but referencing a a previous discussion on exiting in a fire. In our Class B we have 4 exits: driver's door, passenger door, cabin door, and rear van doors. We cannot understand how a vehicle the size of a Class A can have only one door! Many folks are not physically able to dive out of a window emergency exit and could easily become trapped in an emergency. And as a driver I could not live without the ease of getting in and out of a driver's door. If we did ever look at "upsizing" I would never look beyond a Class C for the exit door reason alone, as appealing as some of the Class A features might be. Any comments?many Class A's have a std or optional driver's door...which does absolutely no good if a fire occurs while the occupants are in the rear sleeping area. just as most apartments have but one entrance it's a calculated risk. our home has three exits...a front door, patio door and rear door...none of which would help us should a fire break out while sleeping. also a calculated risk.

Another thing to consider with an RV is that when you need to exit, the vehicle may be laying on its side...

It has happened before: 1965 Ford Condor

Life is a series of decisions and tradeoffs. A class A motorhome offers a degree of comfort, and convenience not offered in other models. It's what you consider important. Consider this: If you ever travel in a jet airliner, and you are flying at 35000 feet, you don't even have ONE exit! Yet thousands do it every day because the odds of such a happening is small.Some people get into airplanes, climb to 15000 feet and then jump out!!! With only one safety backup! And they call that FUN!!! These choices are what make life interesting.

Exits in an emergency | Good Sam Community

26 Replies

rk911
Explorer
Apr 07, 2015
Dtank wrote:
...But - *DON'T* test it on *your* car/truck window!.:E
(Unless you want to buy a replacement window)

true story. just the other day I heard the local PD dispatched to a broken window on an automobile. seems that Beavis and Butt-Head were trying to get into Beavis' car and the key wouldn't work. so Butt-head, being Butt-Head, suggested that Beavis just break a window to gain entry. Beavis complied. then and only then did Beavis realize that this wasn't his car. I give them credit for reporting it to the local police rather than scampering away.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Apr 07, 2015
I worry more about my pickup that I pull the TT with going into the lake. (Not while pulling the TT of course) On Chevy pickups the doors lock themselves and can not be opened from the inside. If you crash into water you are going to drown because there is no easy quick way to open the door.

Same way if it catches on fire.

And, the windows are electric your never going to get them to open when you really need them too.
Dtank
Explorer
Apr 07, 2015
Naio wrote:
I worry about this with power windows. Car/SUV doors are often heavy enough to be hard for most folks to open if the vehicle is on is side. And I don't have a lot of faith in those little hammer thingies.

My van has power windows, but I consider them a serious drawback. I plan to install a method for opening the rear doors from the inside, this summer. Manually. But manual windows... probably not.

No need for the "little hammer thingies"....:R

A $3. spring-loaded HF center punch will do just fine..:W

Press against a side (door) car or truck window.
When it "triggers" you will have a pile of glass "pebbles" where a window once was.

Any thief -or F/F- knows that.

But - *DON'T* test it on *your* car/truck window!.:E
(Unless you want to buy a replacement window)

If you have a friendly Salvage yard - or know when your local FD is doing extrication training.....go see a demo.
Bring along your center punch - maybe they'll let *you* be the magician!..:C

.
loggenrock
Explorer
Apr 07, 2015
For a really cool, innovative feature, check out the American Coach "Eagle". This top-line Class A has a fold-down rear emergency exit with built-in stairs as an option - like what you would see on aircraft. I like the fact my little B has 4 ways out - nice to see an A with this safety feature! ST
myredracer
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2015
It's going to the dealer shortly for a few warranty things and the door locks is now one of them.

rk911 wrote:
myredracer wrote:
I just learned on our TT this past weekend that if you have either one of the two exterior doors locked from the outside (not deadbolt), you can't open the door from the inside. That means that the bedroom door that we rarely use, could be useless as a fire exit when it's needed the most. Is this normal or is something not working? Seems rather scary and also means an angry spouse could lock you inside?

if that's the case my first call tomorrow morning is to a locksmith.
Sport45
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2015
captnjack wrote:
larry cad wrote:
Life is a series of decisions and tradeoffs. A class A motorhome offers a degree of comfort, and convenience not offered in other models. It's what you consider important.

Consider this: If you ever travel in a jet airliner, and you are flying at 35000 feet, you don't even have ONE exit! Yet thousands do it every day because the odds of such a happening is small.

Some people get into airplanes, climb to 15000 feet and then jump out!!! With only one safety backup! And they call that FUN!!!

These choices are what make life interesting.

Apples and oranges. How many hours do most people spend on a plane per year vs how many hours do most people spend in an RV per year. One is a mode of transportation. The other is a form of housing.

I spend over 200 hours a year on airplanes and can't imagine a case where I'd want to exit when it's not on the ground (or in the water). There are planned emergency egress routes on all commercial aircraft, but the exit strategy only becomes important if you survive the landing...
rk911
Explorer
Apr 07, 2015
myredracer wrote:
I just learned on our TT this past weekend that if you have either one of the two exterior doors locked from the outside (not deadbolt), you can't open the door from the inside. That means that the bedroom door that we rarely use, could be useless as a fire exit when it's needed the most. Is this normal or is something not working? Seems rather scary and also means an angry spouse could lock you inside?

if that's the case my first call tomorrow morning is to a locksmith.
myredracer
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2015
I just learned on our TT this past weekend that if you have either one of the two exterior doors locked from the outside (not deadbolt), you can't open the door from the inside. That means that the bedroom door that we rarely use, could be useless as a fire exit when it's needed the most. Is this normal or is something not working? Seems rather scary and also means an angry spouse could lock you inside?
Halmfamily
Explorer
Apr 07, 2015
I don't care how disabled I become I will still jump from the front bedroom window of our fiver if its on fire. I'm not about to burn to death in a fire.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Apr 06, 2015
In my 20 foot TT with rear bath the biggest problem would be getting caught in the bathroom when a fire started. There would be no way to get to the door or egress window. The egress window is kinda silly on the model anyway. It's right across from the door and the TT is only 20 foot long anyway.

In my house the bedroom and bathroom are on the second floor. In a emergency it would be tough to get out of either one. The windows are not that big either. I have no windows and only one exit out of my basement but, I don't use the basement for anything. I only have one smoke and carbon monoxide detector and it's on the main floor. I do have a dog though. He might panic in a fire, bark, and wake me up.