Exits in an emergency

fred42 wrote:
It has happened before:

1965 Ford Condor

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful old RV!

captnjack wrote:

rk911 wrote:

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.

Apartments generally have two means of egress unless they're in fireproof buildings or sprinklers are present.

yeah...if you count the windows. plenty of apartments around here with a front door, window next to the front door and a small window in the bedroom. 'spose that counts as multiple exits.

rk911 wrote:

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.

Apartments generally have two means of egress unless they're in fireproof buildings or sprinklers are present.

RCMAN46 wrote:

rk911 wrote:

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.

Most building codes require an egress window in all sleeping areas of a home. If you think it is too difficult to get through an egress window I would suggest building a ramp or something to aid in the egress. A large percentage of home fires are at night when the occupants are sleeping.

I have a 36 inch dresser that is same height as the window in my bedroom. To get out I only need to open a drawer and I have a ladder to climb. The drop to the outside is a little rough but the alternative of burning I will take a broken leg or what ever any day.

Same goes for my 5th wheel. I have had the wife practice opening the egress window as I have also done. The 5th wheel is a longer drop but when possible I park the truck with the truck bed below the window.

our bedroom at home is on the 2nd floor and the wife is not built to climb onto or out of just about anything. although she may surprise me if the time ever comes. :)

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.

rk911 wrote:

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.

Most building codes require an egress window in all sleeping areas of a home. If you think it is too difficult to get through an egress window I would suggest building a ramp or something to aid in the egress. A large percentage of home fires are at night when the occupants are sleeping.

I have a 36 inch dresser that is same height as the window in my bedroom. To get out I only need to open a drawer and I have a ladder to climb. The drop to the outside is a little rough but the alternative of burning I will take a broken leg or what ever any day.

Same goes for my 5th wheel. I have had the wife practice opening the egress window as I have also done. The 5th wheel is a longer drop but when possible I park the truck with the truck bed below the window.

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

I did that, but only from 12500 feet. Safer than 15000 feet! Did it for 8 years.

This is one plus about a class "C". Something catches on fire while driving that is larger than what an extinguisher can put out, open the door, get out of the vehicle and run. It would be nice if more class "A"s had the option that the Winnebago Via does, and have a driver's side door.

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.

Our Class A has a mid-ship primary door, a driver's door, an emergency exit window in the bedroom, and two windows in the living/dining area slide opposite the primary door that open far enough to be used as exits. And we have plenty of space for the two of us, even during a week long rainy stretch.