cm
Dillon, CO USA
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Definitely a bad situation and a terrible loss for the family.
They crashed in a ravine that looks like it is at least 30 to 40 feet below the highway. There are not any RVs that could survive that kind of crash.
I looked at several news reports and the information on what kind of motorhome are not very accurate. One report showed a picture of a diesel pusher motorhome and said that the wrecked motorhome was a Freightliner like the DP pictured.
While it could be debated if 18 people was to many. number of seats, seat belts, etc. I doubt if the motorhome was overloaded from a weight standpoint. They describe it as a box truck but is is a truck conversion motorhome. These are usually built to the same RVIA specs as other motorhomes.
The cab and chassis look like a Freightliner Columbia. This is the same equipment used for semi tractor trailers that are rated for up to 80,000 lbs. From pictures you can tell that it has a full tamden rear axle. And while the trailer is a triple axle these truck conversion motorhomes come with a hitch rated for up to 40,000 lbs and are designed to tow these types of trailers.
There is a slide out in the living area on the drivers side. I could not see enough detail of the body to tell which manufacturer.
As I mentioned landing that far below the road would destroy any motorhome. Actually the cab survived intact. The hood and fenders are torn off but thay are designed that way. A typical class A would have a lot less protection for the driver and probably had more damage to the drivers compartment.
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AstroRig57
near Tehachapi, CA
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As I was posting in an other thread about the same incident, apparently when cm was posting his:
The article does say, "Investigators in Kansas said the motor home was a Freightliner box truck set up with living quarters." Some of the images appear to show windows that are smaller than you might expect in some "off the shelf" commercial RV's.
Also, in some of the pictures, especially blown up, it appears to have a either a tag axle or tandem drive axles (more than likely the latter). It was a very large truck chassis.
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John S.
Northern Virginia
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Very sad. It is to be expected though when you put a box on the back. The bus that went over the bridge was not destroyed. A full steel monocoque chassis can survive a lot. Driver may not depending on the situation. I saw a Foretravel after it rolled down a 90 foot embankment. The passengers walked away. They did total the rig but with the exception of the TV, everything stayed on the walls. After looking at the construction of the house part on the super C style coaches I will stay with a few brands of class A.
John
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Two Jayhawks
lenexa ks
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wallynm wrote:A couple of the jpeg show a triple axle trailer or something.
Possibly a stacker trailer. Either way it sounds like it was full of motorized toys for the 18 people.
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RHR
Tecumseh, Kansas
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It was a triple axle box truck converted into a RV pulling a triple
axle box trailer. It happened near Willamsburg Kansas on I-35 that is not in NW Kansas but East Central
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jerold222
Southern Minnesota
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Latest report is that the driver of the vehicle was only 17. I don't even want to comment on that one. What a tragedy.
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jones4110
Champlin, MN
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According to Minneapolis local news, they were traveling home (south of Minne) from a motorcross event in Dallas. Several kids with some being from outside of family.
Very tragic.
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Klueck
Florida
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My guess would be the 17 year old driver was not experienced or mature enough.
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2inAlabama
Huntsville, AL
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Why would the adults involved allow a 17 year old behind the wheel of a rig of that size with so many lives at risk! Just seems pretty stupid to me.
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pusherpilot
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If the driver survived and is honest about what happened we may get a good account of what happened. A blown tire on the front axle can cause a rapid veer if the driver isn't up on how to keep it on the road.
Ron
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