Been struck by lightning?

sleepy wrote:

Where I worked I saw special areas in larger buildings where there were stand alone rooms constructed of wood framing and totally inclosed with copper screening... even the door. It had a "floating" floor inside the screen room, along with work benches, tools, etc.

We could communicate through the screen, air could move freely... we didn't touch the screen... but it probably wouldn't have made any difference... those people inside had books, furniture, etc touching the screen on the inside.... and of course they opened and closed the door as needed.
-- snip --

... and the door had RF weatherstripping on it.

The prohibition on touching the screen was because the oils and salts in one fingerprint would corrode the screen wire, causing a leak.

A finger print on the weatherstripping on the door would also cause a leak.

Reply... what could we do?

Where I worked I saw special areas in larger buildings where there were stand alone rooms constructed of wood frameing and totally inclosed with copper screening... even the door. It had a "floating" floor inside the screen room, along with work benches, tools, etc.

We could communicate through the screen, air could bove freely... we didn't touch the screen... but it probably wouldn't have made any difference... those people inside had books, furnature, etc touching the screen on the inside.... and of course they opened and closed the door as needed.

So, could we imbed a wire mesh in a fiber glass skin to take advantage of the Faraday effect?

Or maybe, portable metal screened carports to park inside.

I'll probable just continue to take my chances.

Sleepy

RichieC wrote:
Okay. . .so which would be better: Aluminum frame vs Wood frame ???

The skin of the camper is probably more of an issue than the frame. An aluminum skinned camper should function the same as the metal of your car allowing the lightening to travel around the occupants. (he says with a wood framed filon skinned camper in the driveway...)

When we were living aboard a sailing yacht we used a system similar to Stave's. I cut a clamp off one end of jumper cable and attached it to the forestay (the forward cable holding up the mast) and dropped the other end in the water.

I think we were struck a couple of times, it's hard to tell because lightning often strikss the water near a boat and may enter the vessel through under water fittings like the depth sounder transducer.

At one time on insured vessels it was required that all the through hull fittings be bonded together with a ground wire joining them all together to reduce electrolysis. It was learned that when lightning struck it would flow to the through hull fittings and blow them out, often resulting in sinkings. The practice of bonding has been halted and a ground path from mast top to the water suggested.

I think that getting in the truck cab is prolly best if caught out in a heavy electrical storm.

In a location as pictured above, assuming there is usable wind, I wonder about dropping a mast and a wind turbine. Of course, the power going to the battery would need a lightning surge suppressor, and there would need to be a very good ground from the mast to the earth (i.e. a spike going in at least several feet), but better it fry a turbine than the TC.

Not really sure what is better Aluminum or wood. I do know that my friend was struck twice as a kid, so I stay away from him when there is lightning going on. :)

sabconsulting wrote:


My suspicion is that the 'easiest circuit' might be through your camper. I.e. jumping through the aluminum frames and down the cables, tiedowns, etc, then arcing the remaining foot to the ground might be a more attractive route than taking the 12ft through the less conductive air next to the camper.

When at risk of being struck in the desert I attached a heavy duty jumper cable to the aluminum roof rails to act as a lightning rod so any strike would be earthed through that to ground hopefully avoiding frying the camper and vehicle systems as it searched for the best route.



Steve.

Camping in that situation in a lightning prone area is high risk.
A little prevention might be worth a lot if needed.

Okay. . .so which would be better: Aluminum frame vs Wood frame ???

Shadow Catcher wrote:
Statistically you are about as likely to win the lottery,....

I dunno. There are quite a few people posting on this thread who have had encounters with lightening. I doubt you will get the same number of responses if you asked 'Who here has won the lottery'. :h

I'm happy to report that I have never been struck by lightning, but I have been in many electrical storms while camping in the TC, and even while backpacking with only a tent. A few years back my wife, young son, and I were in a truly spectacular storm in the middle of the night at Jenny Lake in the Grand Tetons. The mountain tops & trees all around us were struck repeatedly for well over an hour and we had no option other than to ride it out and watch. We could feel the electricity and smell the ozone... It was both exhilarating and terrifying! We were close enough that there was no discernible delay between the blinding flash/cracks & the deafening thunder claps. Oh and, it was raining down in buckets. My son didn't like it one bit!

Just a thought... my camper never has any sort of contact with earth except the rubber tires which don't conduct electricity... no ground... no worry maybe...

A lightning bolt can have a potential in the neighborhood of ONE BILLION VOLTS at more than 100,000 Amps!!! As a result, rubber tires (or the boots on your feet) will do absolutely nothing to "protect" a truck camper (or RV or car or person) from a lightning strike! Occupants of automobiles and RV's frequently survive lightning strikes because the shell of vehicle can create an effective Faraday cage. Tires might offer some protection from a fallen power line… but not from lightning.

The best protection is not to be out where the lightning is in the first place! Alternatively if you get caught in an electrical storm, move out of open spaces and toward a lower elevation or into a valley, you want to be the lowest object around. Stay inside your vehicle (the mostly steel truck is likely to be a better spot than the camper). Safer still would be to get inside a building with grounded plumbing and electrical system. If there are tall well-grounded metal objects (antenna towers or power poles) in the area that's great, but remember that they are likely to be struck first, so you do not want to be adjacent to them when the discharge occurs… several hundred feet away (at least) would be a good idea.

Keep in mind that IF lightning is going to strike near you there is absolutely nothing you can do about it… the charge has to go somewhere! While Steve's (sabconsulting) idea of creating a ground path for lightning seems logical, it should never ever be attached to the truck camper! The "best route" is far-far away from you and the ground connection should be made to a tall metal object to create a "lightning rod" (these objects would typically be grounded already unless you erected it yourself). A lightning rod can create a low(er) resistance path where the charge will dissipate instead of passing through/around your truck & camper. You may be lucky enough for the rod dissipate the electrical field since it will represent a lower resistance path to ground. However this type of system must be in place long before the electrical charge builds… If you have heard a thunder clap within the previous 60 minutes it is way too late to think about creating any kind of makeshift ground path and you absolutely shouldn't handle or touch any metal objects.

I do love watching electrical storms from a distance and, strangely enough, I wish they happened more frequently here in the SF Bay Area :C
Cheers,
-Mark

When in college, I was standing in the parking lot by my building and it was overcast. Rain was coming but not raining yet. Actually pretty clear where I was. I saw a bright flash of light (just odd) and then KABOOM. My ears were ringing and all the car alarms went off. I started crying and ran to the building. Turns out, a guy walking on the other side of the building took a direct hit, it hit 7 other people and he died a week later when his family disconnected life support. The other ones were o.k.

A not in a camper, but an experience that has instilled FEAR in me of lightening and of slightly overcast skies. Not many understand that a relatively clear sky can produce lightening.

I was looking at the same idea with our boat and I just don't think there is a whole lot you can do about it. Lightening is going to go where it wants to go and it will take whatever it wants to take.

My 2 cents...