Most likely, if you have seen a fold down trailer that is along the road and on fire, it could be caused by someone forgetting to turn off a light. Or in your case, once the rear top has been folded down and the light makes a strong enough contact with anything on the bed (covers, pillow, extra mattress), as the light switch rubs these items, it can turn on your light. Whenever this has happened to me in my TM, it is the light next to the clothes closet that gets turned on. If the light bulb turns on as a result of this rubbing, the blankets, etc, can easily reach kindling temperature. Most likely, you won't be aware of the smoldering until people passing you call your attention to it. By then, it could be too late.
Fortunately, when my light switch is turned to on, the kill switch located under the folding bathroom rear wall, will have cut the power to the light and all is safe. For me, I became aware that this switch was turned to the on position when I raised the rear bathroom wall into position and that particular light would emit light.
The kill switch is a grand idea and one that you may not find on any other folding type trailers. But, there has been a little conversation about its effectiveness in only a few trailers. It was suggested that something that would add thickness to the contact point of the wall could help.
I am not aware of a single TM that has caught fire as a result of this rubbing action on the rear bed. I think it is a great enough idea for the factory to include a kill switch for the front shell as well.
Hal
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