Ever wonder about the crash survivability of your Class A coach?

[rrrr]

This crash occurred NW of Houston on a pretty busy two lane highway. The Acura SUV crossed the double yellow centerline and hit the motorhome head on. The video shows that the SUV submarined under the motorhome, and was instantly dragged a couple hundred feet in the opposite direction.

The SUV driver died at the scene, the two people in the motorhome were hospitalized in good condition. It must have been a helluva hit. Check out how far the front axle of the motorhome was displaced rearward. It moved back enough for the front tire to crush the generator (7:45 in the video). The county highway department used a Broce Broom to clean the lane after the vehicles were removed.

I was really surprised that the motorhome occupants only received minor injuries. There was a huge amount of energy dissapated in an instant. It's obvious they were belted in. This must be of great interest to owners of diesel pushers. This coach handled the impact much better than I would have predicted. I know that some of the more expensive Class A coaches have driver and passenger airbags. Does yours?

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

Damn. Hard to imagine what the suv driver looked like to those first on scene, brutal.

 

[DILLIGAF]

RIP

Amazing that the RV couple survived

 

[fmo24]

A good friend went from a class A to a super C for this very reason. He did not like sitting out front with no real protection.

 

[PaPaG]

A good friend went from a class A to a super C for this very reason. He did not like sitting out front with no real protection.

And that is EXACTLY why I would want a Super C as well..

 

[OCMerrill]

Thats a well built coach for sure.

Generally these thing scatter like a box of dropped toothpicks.

 

[X-rated]

Dont forget….Honda SUV weighs maybe 4500 lbs. The coach and contents at least 10 times that! Physics kinda takes over in this case.

 

[EmpirE231]

Class A pusher... is on a huge heavy duty raised rail chassis. And weigh 30k+. So that Vs. any car / suv/ truck... you will fair decently well. Now Vs. another motorhome or semi, and you are screwed. The class A gassers wont hold up as well, as the chassis are not so heavy duty and you don't sit near as high as you do in a pusher.

slow sown and try not to crash.

in that example above, which is unavoidable... you could be in a volvo and still be screwed in that situation.

 

[Ziggy]

Class A pusher... is on a huge heavy duty raised rail chassis. And weigh 30k+. So that Vs. any car / suv/ truck... you will fair decently well. Now Vs. another motorhome or semi, and you are screwed. The class A gassers wont hold up as well, as the chassis are not so heavy duty and you don't sit near as high as you do in a pusher.

slow sown and try not to crash.

in that example above, which is unavoidable... you could be in a volvo and still be screwed in that situation.

Any vehicle that would not submarine under the pusher will not be good for driver/passenger.

 

[dribble]

Towing my boat to the river one Sunday morning I came across a head on between a Subaru and a Class A Gas Coach. One dead 19 year old in what was left of the Subaru. The top was completely sheared off. One dead 19 year old in the field and the Subaru driver was badly injured but survived. An older couple in the motorhome standing outside not knowing what to do. The motorhome had minimal damage. Maybe 5-6k to fix.

 

[92562]

It appears to me that the injuries to the motor home occupants was likely due to hitting the tree, not the SUV. Looks like the tree pushed the dash into the driver's space. If the RV dragged the SUV 100 feet, their momentum was mostly conserved, then lost when they his the tree. Not good!

 

[92562]

Just noticed the Gen 1 CTS-V being towed by the RV, cool.

 

[spectras only]

Friend has a 43 Monaco signature tag. He hit a deer crossing the highway, driving only at 50 mph, the left corner were taken out pretty good. Any head on center hit would do major damage to a Pusher. I prefer the Super C over any flat nose bus.

 

[Mcob25rg]

I LOVE to drive fast, and see time between locations as a challenge, but in the RV, there’s too many things to go wrong to trust any of it. No breaking/handling/and extremely back yard construction - safety isn’t part of the rv industry, so I’m usually well under posted speed limits. Just did 3M miles, and I was never over 60mph - they aren’t meant for it. If you really need to get somewhere, leave the rv @ home. By the way, slowing down also has a HUGE impact on gem, just sayin

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

We are at 44,000 pounds not including what we are towing. There a lot of mass to hit a car head on.

 

[rrrr]

Dont forget….Honda SUV weighs maybe 4500 lbs. The coach and contents at least 10 times that! Physics kinda takes over in this case.

This is true. But still, I was taken aback by the telltale signs on the highway. When the collision occurred, the Acura's fluids blew out. The kinetic energy of the coach instantly prevailed, and the SUV's forward motion was reversed.

I used the size and length of things like other vehicles at the scene to try and estimate how far the coach traveled with the SUV under it. I guessed it was around a couple hundred feet.

I wanted to calculate the forces involved in the collision, and used assumed weights for the vehicles. A Newmar Dutch Star's (not the coach involved in the collision) dry weight is 40,300 lbs, and an Acura MDX with typical options weighs 4,350 lbs.

The kinetic energy calculation is 1/2 mass X velocity squared equals KE. I used the exemplar weights above, and conservative (55 mph each) vehicle speeds. The ½m*v^2 figures, using weights and speeds of both vehicles, are 21,320 kilograms times 55.8 meters per second. The answer is 33.2 kilojoules.

That's a lot of energy dissapated in a few seconds.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

This is true. But still, I was taken aback by the telltale signs on the highway. When the collision occurred, the Acura's fluids blew out. The kinetic energy of the coach instantly prevailed, and the SUV's forward motion was reversed.

I used the size and length of things like other vehicles at the scene to try and estimate how far the coach traveled with the SUV under it. I guessed it was around a couple hundred feet.

I wanted to calculate the forces involved in the collision, and used assumed weights for the vehicles. A Newmar Dutch Star's (not the coach involved in the collision) dry weight is 40,300 lbs, and an Acura MDX with typical options weighs 4,350 lbs.

The kinetic energy calculation is 1/2 mass X velocity squared equals KE. I used the exemplar weights above, and conservative (55 mph each) vehicle speeds. The ½m*v^2 figures, using weights and speeds of both vehicles, are 21,320 kilograms times 55.8 meters per second. The answer is 33.2 kilojoules.

That's a lot of energy dissapated in a few seconds.

I’ll take kinetic energy knowledge for $500 please

 

[mash on it]

Right of weigh.

That's how I always understood it.

Dan'l

 

[WildWilly]

This is true. But still, I was taken aback by the telltale signs on the highway. When the collision occurred, the Acura's fluids blew out. The kinetic energy of the coach instantly prevailed, and the SUV's forward motion was reversed.

I used the size and length of things like other vehicles at the scene to try and estimate how far the coach traveled with the SUV under it. I guessed it was around a couple hundred feet.

I wanted to calculate the forces involved in the collision, and used assumed weights for the vehicles. A Newmar Dutch Star's (not the coach involved in the collision) dry weight is 40,300 lbs, and an Acura MDX with typical options weighs 4,350 lbs.

The kinetic energy calculation is 1/2 mass X velocity squared equals KE. I used the exemplar weights above, and conservative (55 mph each) vehicle speeds. The ½m*v^2 figures, using weights and speeds of both vehicles, are 21,320 kilograms times 55.8 meters per second. The answer is 33.2 kilojoules.

That's a lot of energy dissapated in a few seconds.

yea.

what he said.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Just did 3M miles, and I was never over 60mph - they aren’t meant for it.

3 million miles?

 

[Dr Rob]

Right of weigh.

That's how I always understood it.

Dan'l

I always thought it was the one with the most lug nuts wins

 

[JDKRXW]

It appears to me that the injuries to the motor home occupants was likely due to hitting the tree, not the SUV. Looks like the tree pushed the dash into the driver's space. If the RV dragged the SUV 100 feet, their momentum was mostly conserved, then lost when they his the tree. Not good!

This.
Same with the damage to the car being towed. The suv was crumpling while the MH converted its forward motion into rearward motion.
The tree stopped it in its tracks.
You don't have a lot to worry about in a 40k lb. bus as compared to just about any other passenger vehicle on the road.

 

[Bigbore500r]

So the whole "motorhomes are the best, your wife can make you a sandwich while you drive and kids can use the bathroom without stopping" argument would fare pretty poorly in an incident like this.

I think about it from time to time. We're always yelling at the kids to sit back down and put their seatbelts on. The seatbelts in the dinette are complete BS - they appear to be thru-bolted to wood lol

I don't think any of the seatbelts in the motorhome are gonna do too much in a crash like this, i figure I would just fly thru the front window strapped to the chair taking a piece of subfloor with me

I drive the Moho 55-60 and leave plenty of space and an out, dont wanna experience a high speed flat or an accident in that bitch

 

[pronstar]

Class A pusher... is on a huge heavy duty raised rail chassis. And weigh 30k+. So that Vs. any car / suv/ truck... you will fair decently well. Now Vs. another motorhome or semi, and you are screwed. The class A gassers wont hold up as well, as the chassis are not so heavy duty and you don't sit near as high as you do in a pusher.

slow sown and try not to crash.

in that example above, which is unavoidable... you could be in a volvo and still be screwed in that situation.

100%

A diesel-pusher’s front crumple zone is the passenger vehicle you just hit.

 

[spectras only]

Came up on a moose in the middle of the road during time of dusk riding motorcycle. Luckily I was riding slow because of the curvy road and aware of wildlife. I stopped and honked, flashing headlight hoping the fucker move on. Those bastards can kill you if they want. Even a large deer can do significant damage to your car in a collision.

 

[ArizonaKevin]

This is true. But still, I was taken aback by the telltale signs on the highway. When the collision occurred, the Acura's fluids blew out. The kinetic energy of the coach instantly prevailed, and the SUV's forward motion was reversed.

I used the size and length of things like other vehicles at the scene to try and estimate how far the coach traveled with the SUV under it. I guessed it was around a couple hundred feet.

I wanted to calculate the forces involved in the collision, and used assumed weights for the vehicles. A Newmar Dutch Star's (not the coach involved in the collision) dry weight is 40,300 lbs, and an Acura MDX with typical options weighs 4,350 lbs.

The kinetic energy calculation is 1/2 mass X velocity squared equals KE. I used the exemplar weights above, and conservative (55 mph each) vehicle speeds. The ½m*v^2 figures, using weights and speeds of both vehicles, are 21,320 kilograms times 55.8 meters per second. The answer is 33.2 kilojoules.

That's a lot of energy dissapated in a few seconds.

Where does "every action has an equal and opposite reaction" play into this? Would the MDX have experienced the same amount of force if it had hit a stationary, immovable wall?

 

[rush1]

That 2005 Holiday Rambler Navigator was built in Coburg Oregon and used the same S Series Roadmaster chassis as the the Signature series and the Executive . Its built like a brick shit house so it has a 10k or a 12.5 K onan diesel generator in the nose, a solid steel firewall , solid front axle mounted to a steel H beam on top of it that holds the 4 air bags and then a solid steel 150 gallon fuel tank in back of that. Not to mention an all steel monocoque chassis . I'm not surprised that coach did so well , not to mention it weighs in over 42000 lbs. That SUV went right under the chassis just like its supposed to do.

 

[ArizonaKevin]

According to the manufacturer of this unit (showhauler) it is still on the road today. After driving home from the incident, they replaced the slide that was damaged by the car.

Driver and passenger also supposedly both survived, they were able to get down low enough in the car to not get squished.

 

[pronstar]

According to the manufacturer of this unit (showhauler) it is still on the road today. After driving home from the incident, they replaced the slide that was damaged by the car.

Driver and passenger also supposedly both survived, they were able to get down low enough in the car to not get squished.

Yeah they use Class 8 truck chassis…tough as shit

 

[DLC]

One thing I noticed on the coach…

the man door is no longer working it’s all smashed and crumbled in …. It’s Like you can’t escape from inside the motorhome!

I know you have a 2nd emergency escape window, but your also 4ft plus off the ground! Getting out if semi injured would be difficult!!

really sad to see that! That’s a huge incident to over come W/ the couple in the coach… and then the death - not paying attention! Things happen so fast

 

[92562]

Where does "every action has an equal and opposite reaction" play into this? Would the MDX have experienced the same amount of force if it had hit a stationary, immovable wall?

No. It would just be the kinetic energy of the SUV alone using 4,350lbs and 55MPH. That is even possible survivable. The energy of the crash includes the weights of all vehicles involved (including the CTS-V and trailer) and the fact that they were each travelling at 55MPH toward each other. Nasty just thinking about it!

 

[Mandelon]

I drove my neighbor's mid 90's diesel pusher back from the Reno area last year. I am glad to know the frame is hearty. The dash area is just plywood with carpet over it. You can bet I was careful driving.

 

[napanutt]

We’ve had our pusher 13 plus years now. Yea, that thought has crossed my mind quite often. Not gonna dwell though.

 

[Your ad here]

This.
Same with the damage to the car being towed. The suv was crumpling while the MH converted its forward motion into rearward motion.
The tree stopped it in its tracks.
You don't have a lot to worry about in a 40k lb. bus as compared to just about any other passenger vehicle on the road.

You do have a lot to worry about in any vehicle and more in a larger vehicle. Can't count how many times some idiot pulled out in front of us in a 35K lb. motorhome thinking it's slow so they have time. Nope! locked up brakes or flew right passed them. What I found surprising is how many people would road rage for whatever reason I don't know and most were hell bent on really causing a crash. Blowouts are very violent.

 

[Your ad here]

Came up on a moose in the middle of the road during time of dusk riding motorcycle. Luckily I was riding slow because of the curvy road and aware of wildlife. I stopped and honked, flashing headlight hoping the fucker move on. Those bastards can kill you if they want. Even a large deer can do significant damage to your car in a collision.

Talk about hit and run. Bet the moose didn't have insurance and/or is illegal.

 

[rush1]

Want to talk about tuff trucks , one of our drivers fell asleep at the wheel and drove off of the cliff on interstate 8 coming back from Yuma to Escondido . Driver survived the accident . it cost us just short of 2 million dollars to get this cleaned up. Caltrans had to send in Engineers to make sure the bridge would hold up to the load of the crane hauling it out of the canyon . When I got the tractor back to our main yard in Montebello the drivers door actually opened just fine ! Freightliner Cascadia

 

[1tonfun]

That's why we're in a toter home. Wife didn't like sitting that close to the front, she likes having the hood in front of her.

 

[Dettom]

The old axiom, “the vehicle with the most lug nuts, wins”. Something I learned as a motor cop back in the day.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Came up on a moose in the middle of the road during time of dusk riding motorcycle. Luckily I was riding slow because of the curvy road and aware of wildlife. I stopped and honked, flashing headlight hoping the fucker move on. Those bastards can kill you if they want. Even a large deer can do significant damage to your car in a collision.

One of my buddies in MT hit one.. Totalled his 1 ton duramax, cratered the cab over the passenger seat. He was solo or people would have died. He showed me the pics of the blood/meat/carnage in the cab. Not something I want to experience.

 

[grumpy88]

I have a friend whos parents died in a diesel pusher accident . Dad had a medical incident and hit a bridge over pass leading edge . Mom was killed on impact . Totaled the motor home and hurt the tow vehicle . Sad deal for him