On this site RV Travel Newsletter: June 29-July 5. Issue 592 | RV Travel (http://rvtravel.com/?q=rv-travel-newsletter-issue592) under MORE NEWS is a photo of an RV that was crushed by a bridge Counterweight ( Look under more news ). Looks like it may be a FT with new headlites . Any body here ?
Gary B
Here is the full story ... Door Co Highway Department: Bridge Operator Should've Seen RV - WBAY (http://www.wbay.com/story/22673810/2013/06/24/door-county-highway-department-says-bridge-operator-should-have-seen-rv)
The Sturgeon Bay police department says a 42-foot long recreational vehicle was damaged by a bridge concrete counterweight Sunday morning around 11:00.
Police say the 69-year-old driver and his 72-year-old wife from Merritt Island, Florida were heading southbound across the Michigan Street bridge. The RV, which was also towing a personal vehicle, was caught between the gate and the bridge when the bridge tender, who operates the Oregon Street bridge, brought the counterweight down crushing the front portion of the RV.
The bridge operator lifted the counterweight once he realized what happened.
The RV suffered major front end damage.
The driver and passenger and their two dogs were able to escape from the RV. No one was injured in the accident.
Headlight arrangement and Coleman Mach roof air (you can see this towards the end of the news video) make it look like a 2009 or younger Phenix :(
Color and graphics match the Mayer's coach which was very recently offered on consignment at MOT. That was a 42 foot 2009 Phenix. The description of the owners (and the brief glimpse of the husband in the video) are not Ron and Chris, though, but could be new owners.
Now it looks more like a GV320
Good thing it wasn't a GV, counterweight would have been in their laps. Just kiddin, just kiddin.......
here is a link with a bigger picture
lots more people on that bridge this summer, as 42 bypass bridge is under repair and closed, all traffic going over old bridge.
Foretravel or????
Notice it's still sitting level, didn't blow out front airbags or collapse front frame/suspension. Seems to indicate some robust construction! Wonder what that counterweight weighs?
Impressive, but also sad.
Hopefully the folks in the coach are alright, Looks like Florida Tags on the tow car. This is one way to get a new Coach but not recommended. I hope we hear more about it in the future. AND... What would SOB look like after this kind of damage.
Gary B
Well, that's a way to get some major remodeling done...LOL...also very sad for the Foretravel owners to have their vacation or trip interupted this way. Very inconvenient!
So the operator looks across the water at the bridge from a distance. Sees an intricate mass of gray painted steel with a stationary gray motor-home with it's outline broken up by graphics, against what may have been gray water. Perfect camouflage. If ever there was an accident waiting to happen that was it. Why no CCTV? Why no local operator? What must it be like at night?
Oh! Yes! It's those budget cuts. Cut services, risk lives. Where does all the money saved go to one wonders.
Keith
Oh, but if you could have seen the interior of that coach... not one bit of remodeling needed (if it *is* the one we think it is). It is one of the nicest Steve and I have ever seen (and was one of the handful of newer coaches we were keeping our eye on for the future - we just weren't ready to upgrade this year when it came up for sale).
I think the owner should call NAC and tell them to start building the new Phenix that Sturgeon Bay is going to pay for shortly. :) To say nothing of the compensation they will pay for mental suffering and distress, fear of bridges,mental health counseling interuption of travel, lawyers fees, etc etc etc.
Gary B
That does look like ROn and Chris Mayers old coach.
No joke, Gary! After reading the article and the reference to saving the municipality $250K by cutting staff ... I would say that the savings are GONE and Sturgeon Bay is gonna be in the hole after this incident!!
I think they just spent more than the cost of that person.
To the stockholders.
Roland
Well their insurance rate will probably go up a bit. But I bet they will still not change the way they currently do business.
Roland
MAKES ME SICK!
Inexcusable negligence!
The HORROR that that couple must have experienced, sitting there in the front seats as a huge hunk of concrete came down on them crushing everything in there site! Especially knowing that your ON A BRIDGE!
My heart felt compassion goes out to those elderly people in that gorgeous new to them coach. I'm sure there dreams of travel in there golden years, in that fine RV, are forever shattered. I would be greatly surprised if they ever traveled in a RV again.
WHAT A SHAME!
I wouldn't give up the RV lifestyle if I were those folks. I would probably avoid that bridge again, however. It's impressive how well the FT stood up to the impact of several tons of concrete being injected into the front area. I bet there might be a new IH-45 in the future. :D
Larry
Don't know anything about this mishap , but have been on many bridges , draw , lift and swing . All bridges have had marked stop lines ,flashing lights and or barriers of one kind or other . Don't see how this could happen without driving too far forward . Sure is a sad thing to see a Foretravel messed up like that , but lucky for the owners to get out without being hurt . Brad Metzger
THe driver said he was stopped and then there was no place to go. The bridge tender was on another bridge and should have seen him but did not. The savings by letting 4 tenders go they said was 250,000 dollars. Humm an 09 Phenix might just have wiped that savings out.
Foretravels are not the only thing that bridge operators hit.
This May 12, the operator hit a 670' lake carrier. The ship survived, the bridge did not.
Jefferson Ave. span falls on freighter; bridge operator tested for drugs, (http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130512/METRO01/305120355)
Two weeks ago we passed over that bridge on the way home from a nice stay in Door County.
At the time I was more concerned with the age of the bridge and the "see-thru" metal decking we were driving over than with looking up to see if the bridge counterweight was starting in motion!
What do you expect from an over worked bridge operator, govt. worker ? Where nothing is their fault !
Geez
I got to wondering what ever happened to the coach. The driver was found not to be at fault http://www.doorcountydailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=28&id=84237#.UpuEKeKzJwE (http://www.doorcountydailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=28&id=84237#.UpuEKeKzJwE) , but I haven't seen yet what happened to the coach.
There is some security video showing the actual crushing in the following link. How horrifying this must have been!
LiveLeak.com - RV Crushed By Bridge (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6aa_1384638596)
Michelle, I saw that coach at the Foretravel of Texas factory tour... it is sitting there with the front partially demoed awaiting the insurance company's decision according to that day's tour guide.
What a mess . Some one going around lowering bridges , and not telling any one about it :o :o :o Brad Metzger
Looking at that counter weight, And just having a guess, There is 100 tons in that Block of concrete,
They must have seen it coming down and got out of the way, As they wouldnt be here if they had not seen it lowering,
Very lucky to get out of that one,
The coach can be fixed,
I think I heard it was totaled.
We toured the factory again the week after the Ladies Driving School and they had move the coach down to the factory (from the old service bays) to begin the rebuild. They planned to remove the entire roof and then put it back through the factory line to complete the rebuild.
Ditto on seeing this coach last week while at factory.
Insurance Co said, "Fix it". It was the 09 Phenix.
I was told by our FT rep that the repair will be in the 6 digit range. There was also some rear cap damage when another vehicle hit it.
You know what some say about this kind of a repair. "It will never be the same". But Im guessing FT will do their best to make it so! They do incredible work there.
My info is old and an 09 may be different but the older unihomes and unicoaches were a bolt together structure of pre built laminated steel/fiberglass sections.
Not welded to be one piece. And a certain amount of flex was carefully designed in.
You can see the structure in my 97's pre slides side walls with the slanted steel bars in the walls.
Not doable that way with slides so more steel seems to have been added.
I wonder if the pheonix is all welds?
Bob
Bob,
Based on what I saw in the shop, it is all welds.
Would seem to have to be to put big holes in the sides.