“Motorhome Damage at Yellowstone……”

Hello Fellow RVers,

In the October 23 issue of “The Dynamo News” I related a story about Pete and Connie and what happened when lightning struck a power line that just happened to be providing power to their Motorhome. It was indeed, a scary experience and, according to Pete, one that they will not soon forget. “in all of our years camping, I never thought that lightning would ever find us” he added.

I would have certainly been quick to agree. And then a recent Email popped up on my laptop’s screen. Bob and Bernie are retired and make their home in eastern Washington State. Bob, a retired mechanical engineer and Bernie, a retired teacher, own a five year old 36 foot Diesel pusher. Both Bob and Bernie lived for many years in the suburbs of Portland, OR. where they practiced their trades. “We are now 50/50 full timers” writes Bob. “We love going to the Rallies and having time to be with our four kids and the many grandchildren.”

Bob told me that he had read the article about Pete and Connie and their lightning encounter and felt compelled to write about their experience with lightning. According to Bob, they had decided to travel with some friends on a long weekend trip to the Yellowstone National Park area. “All went well on the drive” says Bob. “We were on a site by early afternoon and our plan was to take it easy after the days drive.”

“It was early evening by the time we all decided to head out to have our meal” writes Bob. “We had just given our orders to the hostess when we noticed that it was growing quite dark and starting to put down the rain” says Bob. He adds that since he and Bernie had grown up in the Portland area, they were familiar with dark clouds and plenty of rain. “It did not bother us to see it” he added.

Bob writes “Within a half hour, the rain had passed on and the stars showing up. “We finished our meal, walked around town a little, and then headed back to the Camp.

“What we saw when we arrived was beyond our belief” says Bob. “The large sign by the road was completely dark as was the campground.” He continues “We pulled up to our Motorhome and could not believe our eyes. The power boxes on the posts were all badly burned. Our RV power cable was charred and split in several places. The Motorhome was dark as were all of the other RVs in the Campground.”

Bob did find, as had Pete, a burned ring around the Motorhome’s power entry connector. “With everything dark and no park power, I wondered if the Gen set would work. I started it but could not bring it on line to power up the Motorhome” he adds.

He and Bernie agreed that there was nothing left to do but find a Motel for the night and check out the Motorhome in the morning.

Bob adds to his Email that he felt that the Motorhome was as safe as he could make it. He had installed a boost transformer and a surge protector at the Motorhome’s power panel. “However when we examined the power panel, we found that the whole area was black. The surge protector could not be found” he continued.

There traveling companions all had a similar experience.

“Fortunately we could start the Motorhome, and at this point, all we could do is drive back home.”

Lightning had again intervened in a well-planned trip and had damaged some nice rolling-stock. “You just never know when or where it will strike next” writes Bob.

Tech Support