Jayco Swift 184BH safe during lightning

[reneegavin]

Does anyone know if you are safe inside the Jayco Swift during lightning, or if you should go inside your car? I know aluminum trailers are safe, but I'm pretty sure the Swift is fiberglass??

[clubhouse]

I recall the Swift line being aluminum same as the traditional JayFlights. That said, I didn't think any trailers were particually safe during thunderstorms. If someone else know differently please correct me, I live in California where thunderstoms and lightening isn't something we see all that frequently.

[reneegavin]

I called Jayco directly about this and they said there is a grounder built into the frame made specifically for lightning. That is quite a relief, because we live in the northeast and we've been getting some bad storms lately!

[mcfarmall]

Everybody has their limits, but I'm not going to dash out to my car when lightning comes to town. Here is another interesting idea called the Faraday Cage Effect. http://suite101.com/article/understa...ay-cage-a53389 Basically anything inside a metal cage is safe from the effect of electrical current passing through the cage. The article doesn't state how much of a metal cage is needed. The aluminum framing in any Jayco trailer is minimum at best...cost down you know.

[DieselX]

My house go hit by lightning once, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in a car that was hit by lightning. It was so powerful it blew all the drywall off the wall and knocked over a dresser full of clothes. It shook the house so hard that light fixtures in other rooms fell off the ceiling. The force of the lightning scares me worse than being electrocuted, I'm staying in the camper.

[exjay1]

^ yea, Id stay inside the TT. Not sure how much if anything is going to protect you in a direct hit. Alot of items are sold aimed to play off of peoples fears these days and rake in the $.

[reneegavin]

Originally Posted by mcfarmall

The article doesn't state how much of a metal cage is needed. The aluminum framing in any Jayco trailer is minimum at best...cost down you know.

This is what concerns me. There is not much metal on the Swift. However, the company said that all of their products do have a grounder specifically for this purpose. Hopefully, they are not just telling me what i want to hear! My husband thinks I'm crazy for being worried about it, but these crazy storms we've been getting scare the heck out of me! Of course the forecast for our out of state trip next week is nothing but storms!

[LBL 1206]

the 184 bh outside skin is all aluminum w/rubber roof. no more dangerous or safer than the rest. inside framing is wood.
bad storm, leave TT and head to CG office or permanent structure.

[reneegavin]

Where do you guys go if a bad storm hits in the middle of the night?

[tinlizzie23]

IMHO, nothing will really protect you 100% from a direct lightning hit. Even if you are enroute to a "safer" location, and happen to be under a tree that gets hit, you are in danger. However, I believe you are safest inside something that is low to the ground, so as to not attract lighting, and something that is insulated from the ground, like rubber tires. Lastly, if there is something that can act as a lighting rod to direct the current around you and into the ground, that would be better. I may be wrong, but logic says to me that a trailer on rubber tires, with a metal jack or landing gear touching the ground, would be about as safe as possible, so long as you are not directly touching any metal that is part of, or connected to, the trailer frame. Think of it this way, if you are in a car on which a live electrical wire has fallen, they tell you to not touch anything metal until the current is turned off, and you will be fine. Seems to me the same principle as in a trailer. Sorry for the rambling, but that is my humble opinion.