Emergency exit for back bed 2619

[Bill]

Larry is right. Everyone should do this at least once, so that you know what to do in an emergency. Once you have done it, it is really simple, but under duress, it could be hard to figure out. Remember, it is the forward edge of the rear bed that lifts, not the rear edge.

Don't tell anyone, but I actually removed the red latches from the bed in my trailer. They just don't seem to perform any useful function. I know, I know, people worry about thieves sneaking in through the bed, but I don't believe it.

(BTW, I removed the red latches from the slideout as well. Shhh!)

Bill

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Bill

Larry is right. Everyone should do this at least once, so that you know what to do in an emergency. Once you have done it, it is really simple, but under duress, it could be hard to figure out. Remember, it is the forward edge of the rear bed that lifts, not the rear edge.

Don't tell anyone, but I actually removed the red latches from the bed in my trailer. They just don't seem to perform any useful function. I know, I know, people worry about thieves sneaking in through the bed, but I don't believe it.

(BTW, I removed the red latches from the slideout as well. Shhh!)

Bill

I haven't removed our latches but we've never used them, not even once. I don't think that a thief could figure out that the bed lifts up unless they owned a TM at one time or other. No TM owner would ever think of doing such a thing.

Well, I gave it a try and decided not to actually climb out.

1. It would be easier with a second person present, to help hold it up. If there was an actual fire and I was alone, I have no doubt that I could get out. I am also pretty sure that my wife would require assistance. She has bad knees and requires a step and grab bars just to get into the TV. She needs a grab bar to go up the steps into the TM. It would be best to have two strong people to assist her, one inside and one outside.

2. On the 2720 there is a sheet metal cover over the top of the rear storage compartment. I would likely cause serious damage to it. In an actual emergency I would not care. But I am not interested in damaging it during a test.

3. The rear bed supports were starting to twist the plastic sliders enough that I was not interested in lifting the bed up high enough to climb through. Again, out of fear of damaging it during a test.

My gut feeling is that in an actual emergency I could get out in about a minute, maybe 2. It would take about 10 minutes to get my wife out. 3 if she was willing to break a bone.

The "emergency escape route" by tipping the bed looks to me to be a semi-controlled fall. A young athletic person probably wouldn't have any problem, but us 'experienced' folks would. I don't know if a removable window would be any better unless there was an emergency ladder handy!

[OneMoBear]

I agree that it is good to figure it out when you aren't under duress. We were happy that we figured out the spare tire in our garage when we got all the valve stems replaced. We mentioned several times that we were glad we weren't halfway off some busy road . . .

[Wavery]

I think that you may be amazed how fast a partially handicapped person can move in the face of a fire. Trust me, if your wife had the choice of going head first out that opening or getting burned she may well move a lot faster than you think. She may get hurt in the process but it beats getting burned to death.

Personally.....if I saw that the living area was burning so bad that I couldn't get out, I think that I would kick the back window out and not waste my time trying to get out of bed and lift the platform.

I was thinking the same thing Wayne. If there was a fire or other emergency and the door was blocked, there is little in the TM strong enough to keep me from going through... I would rather be broken than burned!

[OneMoBear]

Ok, I get it. Thanks for all the help! I think the easiest way to "get it" is to have one person inside and one out. If the outside person just pushes up on it a bit, duh, ok I get it. I also wasn't interested in pushing the test too far but I feel much more comfortable that we could bail out fairly easily if necessary.

Malinda

[B_and_D]

If it wasn't an emergency, and you had a minute or so to get out, it would be fairly easy to just fold down the bathroom and wardrobe and slide the bed in, and then climb out.

If you have a front bed, you'd have to take off the velcro flaps and the latches, and then slide the bed in. You'd then have the tongue right underneath to step down on.

[OneMoBear]

My uncle was a fire captain and every story he ever told us about trailers, including mobile homes, indicated that things would happen very quickly. For me, if there were any kind of a threat, I would get out as quickly as possible.

I'm thinking if you could slide the front bed in, you could go out the door

Malinda