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Old 12-22-2013, 05:00 PM   #1
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Question Experience with using emerency windows

I would love to hear from anyone who has had the missfortune to have actually had to use an emergency exit in their TT. At age 40 or less I could see myself performing some sort of feet first move while sliding backwards off the bed. Even then, I would expect injury in the form of cuts, scrapes, and strained muscles. As a senior citizen who just had knee replacement surgery and now am running well above average in total joint replacements; that same feet first plan might be a bridge too far for me. My wife has more original parts but I think we could cut our way thru the wall faster than trying to get us both thru that window.

I know they are there to save lives. I would love to hear from folks who have actually used one.
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Old 12-22-2013, 05:18 PM   #2
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I have only used them for ventilation. I was told during the walk through if you push them out too far they will fall to the ground. Its a wonder my kids have not investigated that theory yet.
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Old 12-22-2013, 06:17 PM   #3
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I have the same opinion Bassdogs, and no replacements yet, still running on original but with difficulties. LOL.....Merry Christmas !
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Old 12-22-2013, 07:22 PM   #4
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I have the same opinion Bassdogs, and no replacements yet, still running on original but with difficulties. LOL.....Merry Christmas !
Raising the family, I always gave thought to evacuation plans for our home and bedrooms in our two story house. Actually had a emergency ladder at one point that you hung over the window sill and thru over the side. Rungs were about 12 inches wide and I think that a navy seal would have needed all their skill to climb down. We finally ended up with the idea that broken legs were better than burning to death. Fortunately we never had to throw that chair thru the window and jump. Now that the wife and I are spending more time in the TT, the thought hit me about the window. I noticed there is nothing in the owners manual about how to use the exits. Opening the window and removing the screens are not the issue. The actual act of exiting is where the problem is. Fire is the obvious danger that might cause you to need to evacuate the TT. The most likely one I think is when some wise a*s kid slips thru the campsite and flips the outdoor safety rail closed across the door so you can't get the door open. My solution to that would be to call the CG office or probably even consider using 911 before I would actually give the window a go.

Someone here on the forum must have actually used the emergency windows. Please share your experience with us.
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Old 12-22-2013, 07:32 PM   #5
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Dropping out the window on our TT would not be bad. I often wondered about the escape on our old 5th wheel. It was a long ways down from the bed room to the ground.
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Old 12-22-2013, 08:18 PM   #6
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As I told the tech during our walk through, if this thing catches on fire I will make a way out, whether it be the window or a size 11 boot through the wall. If push comes to shove, in that scenario, I would hazard a guess that the adrenaline rush would help get you through the window. Yes, maybe a bone is broken, maybe you are really sore the next day, or maybe you get skinned up on the way out, but it beats the alternative.
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Old 12-22-2013, 09:15 PM   #7
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Last summer while leaving Yellowstone somehow our emergency exit window unhooked and was flapping in the breeze on a narrow and windy two lane highway. No issues other than I was worried I would come across another rig going the other way before I could find a place to pull over.

Here is a video of a 5ver burning. I was surprised how fast it went up.

[video=youtube;QaqXdHy1jU4]
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Old 12-23-2013, 09:14 AM   #8
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Lets see, cuts, bruises, dislocated joints, broken bones OR being roasted extra crispy... your choice.. I bought 4 liquid foam fire extinguishers from Mac the fire guy. One at the head of the bed one at the foot, one by the door and one in the living room.. they fit very nicely in bicycle water bottle holders and are non toxic to your pets unlike the powder ones..

http://macthefireguy.com/
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Old 12-23-2013, 09:50 AM   #9
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I haven't had to exit thru the emer window but I did have to crawl IN thru it once tho. As far as "making" an exit, I'm not too sure. I was a vol firefighter for 15 yrs and we had call to a trailer fire with an infant trapped inside. Our guys were unable to get thru the wall in time.
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Old 12-23-2013, 01:16 PM   #10
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Did a little googling on the topic and It all came back to what is being said here. No one on any of the forums said they had actually used the window to escape the TT in an emergency. Guess I'm surprised that trailer regs require a safety feature that almost no one has ever tried or for that matter question their ability to use it. Seems like an emergency exit hatch [kind of a half sized door] that could only be opened from inside but would offer relatively easy egress for most anybody. But then logic has never been a driving factor when regs are written.
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Old 12-23-2013, 07:19 PM   #11
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very interesting- I dont know what we would do and that is terrible. Plan "fire" will be figured out before the new camping season. we just our TT in September and only camped in it twice. there was a lot of learning curves and i am glad that wasnt one of them!
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Old 12-23-2013, 07:55 PM   #12
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Lets see, cuts, bruises, dislocated joints, broken bones OR being roasted extra crispy... your choice.. I bought 4 liquid foam fire extinguishers from Mac the fire guy. One at the head of the bed one at the foot, one by the door and one in the living room.. they fit very nicely in bicycle water bottle holders and are non toxic to your pets unlike the powder ones..

http://macthefireguy.com/
Its really not about scratches or bruises, its about Seniors [A really major segment of RV'ers] being able to perform the dance necessary to exit via the window. Some of us have difficulity getting in and out of our trucks. This is not a matter of "Choice" but rather about ability. My focus is to minimize fire risk as much as possibility. We don't smoke so I think we're ahead of the curve since that is a cause of many home and rv fires. Over loaded electrical circuits is another.
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Old 12-23-2013, 09:25 PM   #13
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I had to use my fifth wheel trailer bed room window once but it is so high off the ground I had to go out the trailer door and get my 8-foot ladder setup on the outside of the window so I could climb down it hehe...

Just joking of course... It would be along way down for me...

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Old 12-24-2013, 09:39 AM   #14
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Seann thanks for the idea and website resource. I'm going to look in to the foam extinguishers. Another bulkier trick is adding a fire fighting foam concentrate to a pressurized water extinguisher for use on ordinary combustibles. The foam helps the water penetrate the combustible. Most RV's don't have much ordinary combustibles involved in their manufacture. If you use the dry chemical type and you are successful, then you spend a lot of time with the clean up of extinguishant, never mind the residue from the fire.

As for the video posted by Jagiven, someone should thank the owner for parking where he did. If there is a fire of any consequence you aren't going to extinguish it with any hand held extinguisher. The biggest concern, after occupancy, would be the on board propane. If it vents the fire gets bigger. If not when you hear the ka, then the boom is happening before you know it so in my opinion evacuate the area, yourself and everyone trying to help. Let the responding Firefighters deal with it. The fire in the video diminished as soon as the combustibles were consumed. It had nothing to do with the water applied. The Firefighters probably sized up the situation and looked at exposures as opposed to extinguishing the 5er. The end result is one burned 5er, only exposures affected might be the down wind rv and the tow vehicle hitched to the 5er involved. Safety first, always.
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Old 12-25-2013, 08:17 PM   #15
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Never had to use ours (except for ventalation) but typically we place out large cooler outside just below our window that could act as an step assist if having to exit in an emergency. Now if I can only remember not to bump my head on an open window while getting a drink out of the cooler happens way too much unfortunatly.
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Old 12-26-2013, 04:51 AM   #16
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Not real surprising about the 5er in the video. The wind was probably a steady 30mph based on how the people had to lean forward to walk and the wind noise on the microphone!!
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Old 12-26-2013, 06:27 PM   #17
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As a career firefighter, I think about this kind of stuff a lot. I'm sure I could get out the emergency window being young and in pretty good shape, but it makes me nervous that my young kids are on the far end of the trailer in the bunkhouse. Likely, any fire would be in the kitchen/living area since that is where all of the electrical, appliances, and furnace are. I wouldn't count on being able to breach a wall - especially in a Jay Flight with metal sides. If you did, the studs on center are probably too close together to get through. The longer you're in there, the thing will be filling up with highly toxic smoke. When a significant fire is going, you only have a few breaths of that stuff before you're going unconscious, so getting your head out into that fresh air will be key. When conditions are too bad to make it too the door, that's the reality of what you'll be dealing with.

I don't think I could break into the back bunks of my trailer from the outside in a reasonable time (too high off the ground for one thing). I'm not leaving without my kids, so I guess I'm going to be fighting my way down the middle of the trailer one way or another (and then pitching my kids out the emergency hatch back there). All in all, an ugly scenario. Breaking out any of your skylights that are close by might buy you a bit of time with the smoke.

I think after reading this post, I'm going to buy a decent sized dry-chem extinguisher to keep by my bed. With some training, you can put out a surprising amount of fire with one of these and I think it would greatly improve my chances of making it to the back of the trailer for my kids. I've done some training on using a large dry chem in a team of 2 for pulling victims out of a vehicle fire. It gives just enough push to create space to grab someone.

I'm also going to add another smoke detector or 2 (I've found that sometimes the cheap ones from the store go off sooner than the built-in ones, at least in houses). By far your best shot at getting out safe is being awake before the smoke and flames get heavy.

Thanks to the OP for posting so everyone can have a plan to stay safe!
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Old 12-26-2013, 06:32 PM   #18
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Yeah one positive note is that it does not take much to set off the smoke detector. Just cooking something on the stove or oven can set mine off, even with no smoke and the vent fan on!
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Old 12-27-2013, 08:41 AM   #19
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Like KFAn said, time is the key. My next purchase will be 2 more smoke detectors from W World. They can be annoying when the wife [never me] sets them off with the toaster or cooking bacon, but will give you a few seconds of time in an emergency. My wife and I will sit down before our trip in 3 weeks and discuss an evacuation plan. We will include the dogs in the plan, like kids they will need our help to escape. My thinking is that my wife will make a run for the door which is about 6 feet from the bedroom and then evaluate the situation while I locate and grab the first dog. When that dog is sent to the door, I'll then locate the old guy by first checking the status of the emergency and then going to his 2 favorite overnite locations. I know I am talking about seconds to get this accomplished which means there is no time to figure out who is doing what. We will have to know the plan and follow it. A drill the first day that we get set up will be followed by a discussion about problems and suggestions to improve the plan.

Questions for the fireman:

Is it smart to open a roof vent? Won't that suck air to the fire?
How much good do RV extinguishers do if fire is in the wall or under a cabinet like a furnace?
Isn't it smart for the first person out to trip the breaker on the post since many fires are electrical?

I'm not freaking out about this, but as I've gotten older [a bit wider] and we are spending extended "living" time in our RV: the subject has taken on greater focus. I feel better just talking about it with you guys.
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Old 12-27-2013, 09:37 AM   #20
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Its really not about scratches or bruises, its about Seniors [A really major segment of RV'ers] being able to perform the dance necessary to exit via the window. Some of us have difficulity getting in and out of our trucks. This is not a matter of "Choice" but rather about ability. My focus is to minimize fire risk as much as possibility. We don't smoke so I think we're ahead of the curve since that is a cause of many home and rv fires. Over loaded electrical circuits is another.
I think you will be surprised how dexterous you are with flames licking at your rear end.. You may hurt later from diving headfirst out the window but it is better to hurt than the alternative.
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