Roof torn off in high winds

[kerry]

This is a picture of a Palamino camper whose roof was torn off while driving in high winds (60-80mph) in Denver last weekend. (Not mine) Anyone seen this happen before? Owner had installed 4 additional latches and all were latched when the roof let loose. Anybody have any hypotheses as to how this happens?

 

[calicamper]

75mph ground speed, 40-50mph head winds. 125mph winds are no joke.

 

[skyfree]

If the owner had added 4 additional latches, they must have suspected weakness. I noticed there aren't any latches in the middle section. The wind probably caught it in the middle, bowed it up, and popped the front and rear latches. Adding 2 latches in the middle rather than alongside the existing ones probably would have helped more. Also, the front latches are not on the front of the camper where the strongest wind is so the front could gap a little adding to the problem.

 

[krick3tt]

Perhaps a window might have been open enough to create upward pressure for air lift.
Difficult to see any latches in the front of the camper.
I had a window blow out in my new Dolphin camper in a rain storm while traveling, made for rough sleeping in that loft area. Did not realize it had happened till I stopped for the night. Think it may have been a poorly installed seal.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

On my northstar I have the same latches , I use small carabiners to secure the latches from letting loose. On time, not necessarily high winds but a rough mountain road when I stopped one of the latches was just hanging unattached from the roof still with the carabiner attached. Moral of this story is, pull the roof down fairly tight
And put some type of latch lock .

 

[billiebob]

Mother Nature knows no limits.
Obviously he needed roof latches equal to his camper tie downs.
At least it is a pretty simple fix. The rest of the camper seems to have survived.

 

[kerry]

He dropped it off at an RV salvage yard in Denver

 

[frgtwn]

Years ago, yes, in the mountains in Colorado, a guy's overhead camper blew off his pickup truck, he went back, found it upright, wife and two kids inside were just fine. And, yes, it was tied down correctly for the time.

 

[calicamper]

For reference you may wish to read Hydrodynamica by Bernoulli.

The faster a fluid flows the less pressure is created so in this case the fast moving fluid (air) created less pressure on the outside and lifted the top enough to break the clamps and counter the force of gravity.

Lol its called low pressure or lift. ie sucked the lid right off. However windows scooping air flow could have blown off due inside pressure also. Roof panel could have partially separated caught wind and poof gone. Lots of failure possibilities with high winds?.

 

[schmugboy]

I would not want to be the person or persons behind this guy when it came off. Talk about needing a change of pants, seeing a roof come flying your way. For some reason the PO(s) of my used camper removed the part of the latch that I could use to secure with a carabiner or lock. Bailing wire to the rescue, because I've found my latches unlatched many times on back roads, so I always check when I get back on the highway. I am surprised someone on this forum isn't posting a new build for the camper they just "acquired" at a Denver RV salvage yard.

 

[beef tits]

RVs are cheaply built in general. I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

 

[vintageracer]

The driver who delivered my Bronco with the Hallmark camper on it last month showed me a pic of a similar pop top camper another one his companies driver was delivering where the latch's failed, the top came up and blew off!

ALWAYS secure the pop top latches and if necessary use a ratchet strap across the camper roof for safety IF you think you might have problem.

 

[Nailhead]

There was an Alaskan CO for sale on the company classifieds some years back that was a "hobbyist special", comprised of only the lower section. The upper had blown off in high winds somewhere out here in the windy west.

 

[RJ Howell]

Had the winds open mine in the Shenandoah Valley last winter heading south. That gust rocked the semi in front of me! It took off my front latches!! Actually tore out the lower portion. I ran the remainder of the trip with a ratchet strap around the over-cab section. I just didn't trust an on-the-road fix to those latches. Ya... wind is no joke!

 

[roving1]

The seals and the tent will compress and flutter in turbulence and those compression latches can get slack and come unlatched.

A simple ratchet strap would let you drive in high winds right up until the whole thing got blown on its lid.