How does the fire escape really work?

[davlin]

All,

Let me start by saying "I was wrong."

The second thing I want to say is that this has been a very valuable conversation, and one I hope never have to put to practice.

And the third, and perhaps the most important for all TM owners, especially those that have king beds is this: your first course of action should you be trapped on your rear bed and a fire is forward of you in the trailer is to quickly evaluate, and make every attempt to go out through the door of the trailer. This is the same action you would take in a "conventional" trailer. The time you might waste trying to figure out how to get out over/under the bed might kill you.

Here's the "I was wrong" part. Rvcycleguy is correct, at least for the king bed (queen bed owners should respond) that one or even two adults can't generate enough leverage at the window end of the bed to tip it down, and thus fall out of the unit. Is it POSSIBLE that you could do it? Maybe, but we're talking about a fire in a trailer, probably at night, probably with limited lighting.

So this means that you must get off the bed and into the hallway. If there are two adults, that's going to put one of them very close to the door when you start trying to use the "bed escape route." This is why the door should be your first choice. Once you are off the bed, you follow the instructions that are printed on the label below the window at the back of the trailer. Unlatch bed, lift, and climb out. Here's what's problematic about following the instructions. At the "optimum angle" the hallway side of the bed will be about 50" off the floor. At that angle, there will be about 20" of clearance between the outer edge of the rear storage compartment and the bottom of the bed. This is enough room for an adult laying prone on top of the storage compartment to scoot out of the trailer, assuming they don't encounter the aforementioned problem of getting stuck in storage compartment. Once one adult is out of the trailer, he/she can hold down the bed from the outside, so the second adult can escape.

Are you thinking this sounds hard? So am I. Are you thinking, "What do I do if I'm alone in the trailer?" So am I. Are you thinking, "I need to practice this"? Maybe. It seems from previous responses that queen bed owners can play around with the bed without much risk of damaging the tracks for the outer bed supports. Perhaps it's the additional weight of the king bed, but my guess is that if you tip the king bed up too high or too often, you're going to crack the plastic covers that keep your bed support guides in place.

I almost thinking that if there was a raging fire in the trailer and I couldn't get through it to the door, it would almost be easier to kick a side window out.

Dave

[B_and_D]

I was talking about taking out the pins, getting on top of the bed, as close to the rear wall as possible, and hoping to get dumped out on the ground. I've jumped up and down on it and have never had it happen.

I've also had the bed support slide nuts/bolts pop out of the nylon (or whatever they are, they're very flexible) guides that keep the nuts sliding along in place and it usually didn't break either of the guides. We did crack one once, but it was from having it seized up while sliding it in and out.

Another possible, but not necessarily quick option at least on a 2720 or like TM would be to quickly swing down the bathroom walls and hanging closet and slide the bed forward. Far from ideal as one has to move toward the center of the TM to do so, but it would open up a hole on the other side of the bed to escape. Certainly easier on the front bed.

[Riwright]

Excellent responses, thanks.

I did a test.

I got into the bed in my 3124KS and went to the far end of the bed. I laid across the end of the bed so my entire weight was to the rear of the bed supports. I am a big guy, 6' 2" and somewhere north of 250 lbs.

My wife stood in the hallway to keep the bed from popping up and dumping me out. We unlatched the bed.

Nothing happened. My wife's end of the bed became much lighter but my weight was not sufficient to pop up the bed and dump me out of the trailer.

To check on the other method I stood in the hallway and raised the end of the bed. The storage compartments have solid tops and you could slide out fairly easily. The bumper gives you an easier transition to the ground.

This exit system could really benefit from having a piece of broomstick handy to the hold the bed up. Having to crawl out and hold the bed up at the same time could be tough. If it was propped up, no problem. I think I will cut a piece and put it at the end of the bed under the mattress.

Although it is a viable altenative exit I think that standing in the hallway puts you so close to the door that you might as well use that.

If there was something that blocked the main door like a fallen tree, this alternative exit would be great.

I think I'll look into using the windows as exits. A glass breaking hammer like they use to escape cars would shatter window glass quickly and the covers could be used to keep from cutting yourself on any glass fragments left in the window.
A knife might be required to cut the screen.

[rvcycleguy]

Originally Posted by Riwright

Excellent responses, thanks.

I did a test.

I got into the bed in my 3124KS and went to the far end of the bed. I laid across the end of the bed so my entire weight was to the rear of the bed supports. I am a big guy, 6' 2" and somewhere north of 250 lbs.

My wife stood in the hallway to keep the bed from popping up and dumping me out. We unlatched the bed.

Nothing happened. My wife's end of the bed became much lighter but my weight was not sufficient to pop up the bed and dump me out of the trailer.

To check on the other method I stood in the hallway and raised the end of the bed. The storage compartments have solid tops and you could slide out fairly easily. The bumper gives you an easier transition to the ground.

This exit system could really benefit from having a piece of broomstick handy to the hold the bed up. Having to crawl out and hold the bed up at the same time could be tough. If it was propped up, no problem. I think I will cut a piece and put it at the end of the bed under the mattress.

Although it is a viable altenative exit I think that standing in the hallway puts you so close to the door that you might as well use that.

If there was something that blocked the main door like a fallen tree, this alternative exit would be great.

I think I'll look into using the windows as exits. A glass breaking hammer like they use to escape cars would shatter window glass quickly and the covers could be used to keep from cutting yourself on any glass fragments left in the window.
A knife might be required to cut the screen.

Nice update. Glad you figured out a plan of some type. yes, I would agree that a prop for the bed would be a great assist. I may have to add that to my list of things to do.

I'll share a story with you all for a camper that was trapped in their trailer. Conventional tow behind trailer, sleeping one night when a hard rain and wind storm came through in the middle of the night. The awning had been left open and level making it difficult for rain accumulation to run off. The awning arms collapsed due to the weight of the rain and the struts and fabric hanging down. The loud crash of the awning hitting the side of the trailer woke the occupants. They tried to exit the door and realized they could not open it. The awning was blocking an escape. It took several minutes to push on the door and use a knife to cut a slit to ease the awning open a little for leverage. Finally tore the fabric enough to allow the door to open.

Certainly an eye opener experience and future reference for all of us.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Riwright

To check on the other method I stood in the hallway and raised the end of the bed.... This exit system could really benefit from having a piece of broomstick handy to the hold the bed up. Having to crawl out and hold the bed up at the same time could be tough. If it was propped up, no problem. I think I will cut a piece and put it at the end of the bed under the mattress.

That's a good idea. I'm not familiar with the construction of the 3124, but would it be possible to use a piece of 1X2 instead of broomstick, and hinge it to the underside of the bed so that when you lift the bed, it drops into place automatically? Last thing you want to be doing in an emergency is rummaging around under the bed in the dark, muttering "now where did that darn broomstick go?"

Bill

Originally Posted by rvcycleguy

Nice update. Glad you figured out a plan of some type. yes, I would agree that a prop for the bed would be a great assist. I may have to add that to my list of things to do.

I'll share a story with you all for a camper that was trapped in their trailer. Conventional tow behind trailer, sleeping one night when a hard rain and wind storm came through in the middle of the night. The awning had been left open and level making it difficult for rain accumulation to run off. The awning arms collapsed due to the weight of the rain and the struts and fabric hanging down. The loud crash of the awning hitting the side of the trailer woke the occupants. They tried to exit the door and realized they could not open it. The awning was blocking an escape. It took several minutes to push on the door and use a knife to cut a slit to ease the awning open a little for leverage. Finally tore the fabric enough to allow the door to open.

Certainly an eye opener experience and future reference for all of us.

This has actually happened to me in the trailmanor! The awning arms collapsed during a storm. Just happened to be camped with my parents, so they could come out and lift the awning so we could get out to fix things. If a fire had started, we would definitely have needed an alternate exit.

[lost_again]

I have a 2005 2431KS. would it be possible to retrofit the rear window with the new emergency exit window?

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by lost_again

I have a 2005 2431KS. would it be possible to retrofit the rear window with the new emergency exit window?

Don't see why not, just a case of ordering the correct window to fit.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by scrubjaysnest

Don't see why not, just a case of ordering the correct window to fit.

Agreed. But just a quick word of advice. There is no guarantee that the rear window (EXIT) on today's trailer is the same size as the rear window (NON-EXIT) on a 2005 model. If you decide to do this, be sure to measure existing window, rather than simply ordering today's EXIT window from the factory.

Once you have measured the window, you might (repeat, might ...) do better to order the replacement direct from the manufactuer (Hehr) or one of its dealers. Look for a Hehr model number on the existing window.

Bill