If you've had damage from lightning, please share your experience.

I've never had a direct hit but, a tree about 10 feet from our Southwind got hit.I was lucky, all I lost was my converter. The TV's, microwave, etc. survived.

A friend of mine got hit while driving his wife's car.The lightening hit the SAT antenna on the roof, when through the car, then exited out the front grill. The bolt then hit the road in front of the car and made a hole in the asphalt. A bowling ball could fit in the hole.Luckily, he's OK.

When I was a child, we were driving through Orego around Burns. There was heavy rain and lightning and it was night. Suddenly, there was a light so bright that we were blinded and thunder so loud that we were deafened. Everything instantly was dark and silent and we realized that we were rolling along in the darkness with no lights and no running motor. My mom stopped the truck and we surmised that we had been struck by lightning. We stayed in the vehicle for hours in the dark until the storm passed. It was very scary.When the storm passed, we got out and examined the truck. The hood and roof had burned and peeling paint. We had an aluminum canopy that had several holes you could put your fist through and hundreds of tiny holes. It had been melted. My mom replaced several of the fuses and we were able to get the truck to start and we had lights. We drove slowly to Bend and all we had to do was replace several fuses and the truck was mechanically back to normal. The truck got reprinted and the canopy was replaced.I don't know if the lightning hit the truck or the most cloud created when you drive on rainy roads, but I remember the experience of going from driving with the radio, lights, and engine noise to the flash and boom, and then silence vividly.

Could anything reasonable be done to a truck camper to be protect it from a lightning strike?

Not a truck camper but relevant; I was camping a few years back and got first hand experience with lightning. It was not raining but was cloudy, I heard one rumble in the distance and started preparing my campsite for rain when lightning struck a nearby pine tree (10ft away) and jumped to my awning that I was standing near (just outside the arm). I never saw the flash but heard the explosion and was knocked off my feet several feet away. After wiggling around in the dirt for a few seconds and mumbling "I'm hit" with my feet feeling like they were on fire several campers came to my aid and EMT's responded. After checking me out and pronouncing me alive I refused transport. I did have a very uneasy feeling for several hours afterward. The TT took some damage (close to $2k). Several other persons felt the charge in their legs and some other campers nearby had minor damage. It was an event I will not forget and I will never take lightning lightly again.

Been struck by lightning? | Good Sam Community

DWeikert
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2014
fla-gypsy wrote:

Interesting that the burn marks are on the power terminals while the ground looks unscathed.
Veronica26
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Last year, lighting stroke a tree right next to me, it was a very frightening experience and I haven't been out camping since than
sabconsulting
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
sleepy wrote:
tony lee wrote:
except the rubber tires which don't conduct electricity... no ground.. . no worry maybe.

If lightning can jump several miles through air, a little bit of rubber isn't going to worry it too much.

Lighting will always seek the best ground and the easiest circuit... won't it?

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.
camperpaul
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
My trailer (with a 32 ft high radio antenna) was about 50 ft from this tree when lightning struck at about 11:00 PM a few years ago.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jun 30, 2014
No.

Wo.ody wrote:
Could anything reasonable be done to a truck camper to be protect it from a lightning strike?
blw2
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
I was in a boat struck by lightning years ago.... a boat just like this one.
http://www.buyanad.com/Privates/B635QQ04.jpg

In a rainstorm so we were in the cabin and not on the flying bridge. Vis was bad and we were motoring at idle speed a mile or two offshore I was standing at the back door open to the deck and the rain splash was hitting my legs.
Flash/Bang
I felt the tingle in my wet legs.....
Everything in the boat electrical that was switched on melted. Every lightbulb, every windshield wiper motor, the fuses for thos circits, the electronic ignition module.... all melted or fried.
The wiper motor, lights, etc.. that were switched off were still fine.
We didn't know it untill after the tow to the dock, that the lightning had hit the lightning had struck the CB antenna and blew the top half of it off.

Being in a car is one of the safest places to be. The metal box forms a faraday shield around you. The lightning is only trying to find it's way to ground, and will follow the easiest path. That path is through the metal and AROUND you.

As a pilot, i attended a safety lecture by an engineer envolved with a NASA lightning strike study, and the affects on aircraft. Very fascinating. He was the guy that rode in the back seat of a F-106 intentionaly flown to induce strikes.

Why are you asking?
sleepy
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
tony lee wrote:
except the rubber tires which don't conduct electricity... no ground.. . no worry maybe.

If lightning can jump several miles through air, a little bit of rubber isn't going to worry it too much.

Lighting will always seek the best ground and the easiest circuit... won't it?
tony_lee
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
except the rubber tires which don't conduct electricity... no ground.. . no worry maybe.

If lightning can jump several miles through air, a little bit of rubber isn't going to worry it too much.
Shadow_Catcher
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Statistically you are about as likely to win the lottery, BUT
I have a canoe that is a bit melty (was on top of a van) one tree that had to be cut down because of multiple strikes and a number of times when the only thing saving the electronics is a whole house surge suppressor and surge suppressors for computers, TV etc.
And no there is no way.
sleepy
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Have truck campers being hit by lightning been a big problem... ?

Have automobiles or trucks had a big problem with lightning?

I'm sure that you have already looked into lightning....

what did you find... ?

Do the rubber tires keep campers from being a ground potential for lightning strikes?

If your camper is in contact with earth through the jacks, or the shore power will that make it more likely to get pounded with a lightning bolt?

I never park under lone, tall trees.

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...

It will be interesting

maybe I can go back to worring about RV home invasion