Camper escape

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Tamnative wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
If you have to use that escape hatch during an emergency you will NOT have the time to roll out the chain ladder.

Just jump, fall, flip-flop..whatever is necessary to get out and then run, roll, crawl, scoot as far away as possible.

I have the same set-up and have also wondered what to do, I think I may have to put a foot against my wifes back side to speed things along if I want to get out also. Any suggestions on how I should land on her?

SOFTLY......

I guess I'm lucky that my DH sleeps on the side with the escape window so he'll go thru first and I can land on him :B

rutzbeck wrote:
I've had to get out of mine. I have a 99 bigfoot and the scissor stairs repositioning themselves and locked me in. I am only 5'3". I slid out the window and my truck window was down. Stood on that then stepped to the jack base and finally let go of the window and got to the ground. Not fun but it worked!

First time out in my new Bigfoot I had to do the same thing! Stairs locked the door closed overnight, had to go out the roof. Fixed the stairs, back in for breakfast, locked in again! Neighbors in the campground must have thought I was daft. I have since fixed the stairs.

This camper has the side window escape because the Heki skylight is not a legal escape hatch. However it is much easier than the side window. I think if I had to use it I would go out first, feet first, then open the truck window and try to help the wife down using the window sill. But the roof is much easier.

I have a 2010 Travel Lite 690FD and it has a window in the cab-over area for escape.

When I was configuring my CampLite I wanted a roof escape hatch. They do not typically have one on the roof. I cheaped out as I did not wish to pay the extra $300-$400 it would have cost. Extra framing, engineering, the hatch itself.

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
I think I would just install an escape hatch in the roof instead. I don't know why your camper doesn't have one. I think 99.9% of self contained type truck campers made in the last 50 years have had an escape hatch on the roof.

IIRC...AF do not have a hatch...

I've had to get out of mine. I have a 99 bigfoot and the scissor stairs repositioning themselves and locked me in. I am only 5'3". I slid out the window and my truck window was down. Stood on that then stepped to the jack base and finally let go of the window and got to the ground. Not fun but it worked!

I dont know percentage of camper that have roof or side escape but ours has side windown in cabover. Our old MH the rear window popped out. Ive thought about a rope ladder, though only rung or 2 or even knotted rope, mostly to have something to hold onto so we dont land on our heads. Exterior grab handle might help or maybe inside. But yes in a panic it'd be leaping..evertime I think about getting out it I wince.

I think I would just install an escape hatch in the roof instead. I don't know why your camper doesn't have one. I think 99.9% of self contained type truck campers made in the last 50 years have had an escape hatch on the roof.

Tamnative wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
If you have to use that escape hatch during an emergency you will NOT have the time to roll out the chain ladder.

Just jump, fall, flip-flop..whatever is necessary to get out and then run, roll, crawl, scoot as far away as possible.

I have the same set-up and have also wondered what to do, I think I may have to put a foot against my wifes back side to speed things along if I want to get out also. Any suggestions on how I should land on her?

SOFTLY......

Old-Biscuit wrote:
If you have to use that escape hatch during an emergency you will NOT have the time to roll out the chain ladder.

Just jump, fall, flip-flop..whatever is necessary to get out and then run, roll, crawl, scoot as far away as possible.

I have the same set-up and have also wondered what to do, I think I may have to put a foot against my wifes back side to speed things along if I want to get out also. Any suggestions on how I should land on her?