What to do in a Thunderstorm

[jhgf]

Just a quick question, what should you do in the mother and father of thunderstorms especially silly like the ones in the Alps at the moment. Do you…

1. Unhook the power cable
2. Lower the pop top roof
3. Pray
4. Nothing and keep calm

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[jhgf]

Apologies for typo. Not sure where “silly” came from!

 

[Corradobrit]

No2 and stay away from overhanging tree limbs and anything that could be blown into the van.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Set up the flux capacitor?

 

[WelshGas]

Just a quick question, what should you do in the mother and father of thunderstorms especially silly like the ones in the Alps at the moment. Do you…

1. Unhook the power cable
2. Lower the pop top roof
3. Pray
4. Nothing and keep calm

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Nos 4

 

[Meoncoast]

number 4 let the big motorhome take the hit on their skydish.

 

[jhgf]

Ooooo, that’s not very friendly, but probably accurate


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[JuanVecino2023]

The van is a faraday cage, it will just safely ground the strike if you're hit.

 

[Perfectos]

Vehicles have to undergo testing for lightning strike , you'll be fine, incidentally the EHU offers further grounding

What Happens When a Car Is Struck by Lightning?

Discover the risks of driving in thunderstorms and whether your car can protect you from lightning strikes.

www.stoneacre.co.uk

Lightning and Cars

 

[Peter84]

The van is a faraday cage, it will just safely ground the strike if you're hit.

Does this include the pop-top roof? (when open)

 

[WelshGas]

Does this include the pop-top roof? (when open)

Well it's bolted to the struts which are bolted to the vehicle - so Yes.

 

[Corradobrit]

Well it's bolted to the struts which are bolted to the vehicle - so Yes.

Aren't the ends of the struts plastic?

 

[WelshGas]

Aren't the ends of the struts plastic?

Who cares, it’s aluminium anyway. More likely to strike the steel bodywork.

But , as seen below, bolted to elevating roof and roof frame via front struts and rear scissors mechanism on hydraulic roof.

versa.

Similar on the manual roof.

versa.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

4. Nothing, same as you do at home.

Try and take some photos of the lightning,
count the time between thunder claps whilst watching the film ‘poltergeist’

(Local church spire will most likely take the hit. Van & EHU are properly earthed / grounded.)

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Or 5. Goto the website below to monitor real time lightning strikes. That way all of the noise and excitement of an alpine thunderstorm can be geolocated.

YOU CAN SEE IT COMING TO GETCHYA

Real Time Lightning Map

See lightning strikes in real time across the planet. Free access to maps of former thunderstorms. By Blitzortung.org and contributors.

www.lightningmaps.org

 

[ThomasHJ]

Havn't read many news articles of people in Cali's getting killed by lightning. Wouldn't go windsurfing or fishing though

In all seriousness, at some point you might want to close the pop top, because of really strong winds. To avoid damaging the roof, not to avoid lightning strikes. But the roof can take a lot of wind, especially when parked with the lower part of the roof into the wind. We've taken the roof down once in quite some years of ownership.

 

[jhgf]

Yes, we already lower the roof in very strong winds but it the electrical aspects of storms that we were interested in!

Thanks everyone for your yourself and entertaining replies.


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[Deskman]

A cage is defined by the 12 ribs, not the holes in between.

When the car is on the main, it is grounded but not built for lightning impact. Nor is the rest of your electronics.

Being on four rubber tires keeps you isolated and makes the van less attractive for a strike

Lower the roof and turn on the kettle. Make sure you have already grabbed the cookies from the booth.

 

[Up10]

We were also in storms in Freiburg recently and felt safe even sleeping in the roof. The wind was not gale force but the rain was torrential all night and we could hear the thunder and lightning moving around the area. At one point it was pretty much overhead. I can honestly say I have never experienced that intensity of storm in Europe before.
Anyway, we survived. Assured by other half that we were in a Faraday cage and rubber between us and the ground.
We did bring in the canopy though and had to mop up after a leaking poptop
So perhaps we should have lowered the roof!

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Calm before the storm in SW France 2018…:

]

View attachment IMG_2195.jpeg

 

[Cali-donia]

I’d go for option 1, just in case the local network you’re connected to gets struck.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

4

I'm usually in the pop top. Happened to us in Whitstable 2 weeks ago btw. No casualties.

 

[jhgf]

I’d go for option 1, just in case the local network you’re connected to gets struck.

Interestingly my brother in law who is a retired consultant electrical engineer is not so much worried by a direct strike to the Campervan but more by the possibility of a big electrical surge coming through the EHU frying the internal electrics caused by lightning strike to the ground nearby or local power system. His recommendation is to unhook the can from the external power source.

At home once in the UK, all of our domestic telephones were fried and sockets burned out by a lightning strike close to our house a couple of roads away. It does make you wonder, what if….


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[Perfectos]

Interestingly my brother in law who is a retired consultant electrical engineer is not so much worried by a direct strike to the Campervan but more by the possibility of a big electrical surge coming through the EHU frying the internal electrics caused by lightning strike to the ground nearby or local power system. His recommendation is to unhook the can from the external power source.

At home once in the UK, all of our domestic telephones were fried and sockets burned out by a lightning strike close to our house a couple of roads away. It does make you wonder, what if….


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With the odds of it actually happening, You'd be better off buying a lottery ticket !

 

[Corradobrit]

Interestingly my brother in law who is a retired consultant electrical engineer is not so much worried by a direct strike to the Campervan but more by the possibility of a big electrical surge coming through the EHU frying the internal electrics caused by lightning strike to the ground nearby or local power system. His recommendation is to unhook the can from the external power source.

At home once in the UK, all of our domestic telephones were fried and sockets burned out by a lightning strike close to our house a couple of roads away. It does make you wonder, what if….


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That's what theatric fuse above the gas compartment was for I would have assumed.