nfisherman
IL
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Joined: 04/17/2005
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I would be more worried about wind than lighning. Thunder is just noise. Unless you're camped out in the open, your chance of being hit by lightning is about like your chance of being hit by lightning. 
If the wind strong enough, you might have to worry about falling trees, limbs, etc. When it storms on us, I sit up with my kids and we enjoy the show. If it gets too severe, we head for the car or a sturdy building.
It's a good idea to take a weather radio along so you know if something dangerous is approaching.
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Coyote2cool
Denver, Colorado
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Joined: 07/13/2007
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The truth is, the rubber tires don’t deter lightning in the least bit. By the time a lightning bolt reaches your car, it has been traveling for miles and miles through the air which is many orders of magnitude more resistant than a few inches of rubber. So if the lightning bolt can overcome the resistance of air, it can easily overcome the resistance of a rubber tire.
tires dont help
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Stumps
valley of Virginia
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Joined: 02/11/2004
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tires don't help...
but your car is in essence a "faraday cage"
your pup isn't.
with lightening, get in your car.
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bonscott
Michigan
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Had some serious storms on Thursday. Lots of lightning and thunder and eventually some winds. Nothing severe though. It was a rocking and a rolling in the PUP but no big deal, just rode it out and slept as much as we could. So did everyone else in the campground.
I guess lightning could hit my PUP but there are a lot of tall trees and other things such as the big trailers and class A's that have a lot more metal in them then my PUP. I guess I just don't worry about it.
Scott
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lamehawk
Indiana soon to Florida
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Here in Indiana we just had a teen male struck by lightning while driving his car but I would feel safer in a car than a PU!
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nipnjean
Wild Wonderful WV
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Joined: 04/13/2004
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did anyone think about the pup being grounded through the power cord? Tires won't do much to insulate the pup if you are plugged into shore power. Just my thought. Actually we've camped in a few good storms. We stayed in the pup and rode it out without any problems.
Life is not a problem to be solved, it is an adventure to be lived.
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Hiker3
Florida
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Joined: 01/21/2007
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nipnjean wrote:did anyone think about the pup being grounded through the power cord? Tires won't do much to insulate the pup if you are plugged into shore power.
Good point! And yes, we unplug when lightning is around and on top of us.
Some friends had their TT fried this way when a bolt hit their neighbor's site.
Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0 (Folding Tent Camper) only 900 lbs!
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GrimmReaperSound
Canada
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Joined: 10/13/2007
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Tires would be good isolators, but the following items will ground out any TT, 5ers, pups and RV's:
1. Stabilisers/jacks, you know those nice metal legs that dig into the ground.
2. Tongue jacks, same as stabilisers (except maybe those with the plastic wheels)
3. Shore power cords
4. Water connections, yes water is a conductor
5. Awnings legs
6. Any metal object leaning on RV/TT/5ers/pup (bicycle for example)
By the way, the faraday cage idea won't help a bit if you are grounded. And the energy in a lightning bolt will probably blow away an entire wall of an RV/TT/5er. Not to mention what it might do to the propane tanks!
The only reason a car is OK, is because nothing other than the tires contact the ground (unless you have those static discharge strappy thingies underneath).
I would not worry about being in a pup since lightning looks for the straightest path to ground. A pup with a non-metalic roof and the canvas is NOT the easiest path to ground. The only thing to worry about in a pup is falling trees/limbs when a bolt hits a nearby tree. And what are the odds of that?
For the truly paranoid, you can buy portable lightning towers that will protect you, but I can just imagine the pain of carrying it and putting one up.
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