Big White ‘Blown Over’

[BeeBee]

Did you see the ‘Big White’ blown over an embankment whilst parked up, seemingly on a lay-by at Sheildaig .
A family of four plus two dogs, from Oxford, miraculously escaped with only bruising and the hire van wrecked.
Very, very lucky people to be alive .

 

[Mr T]

Did you see the ‘Big White’ blown over an embankment whilst parked up, seemingly on a lay-by at Sheildaig .
A family of four plus two dogs, from Oxford, miraculously escaped with only bruising and the hire van wrecked.
Very, very lucky people to be alive .

Shocking and amazing they all only suffered bruising.

Family's lucky escape after motorhome wrecked in storm

The rented vehicle rolled over several times with the family of four and two dogs still inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[The Blue Merle]

Shocking and amazing they all only suffered bruising.

Family's lucky escape after motorhome wrecked in storm

The rented vehicle rolled over several times with the family of four and two dogs still inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

Very scary and glad no one was seriously hurt, but where’s there common sense.
Storm incoming let’s park on an exposed cliff, with a highsided vehicle

 

[2into1]

Their deposit isn't looking good.....

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Probably opt for a campsite next time.

(….or a hotel)

 

[WelshGas]

A phrase springs to mind " All the gear and No idea ".

 

[KevH]

I sense that we may be being a bit unkind on the family involved, citing ‘no idea’, ‘parking on the edge if a cliff’, etc from a position of relative ignorance, ie the news story.
That may well be the case, but we don’t know the full facts.
The driver may be very experienced, he may have parked up in what appeared to him to be a relatively sheltered spot, I don’t see a cliff just an incline. Would a campsite be a safer alternative? Probably though not certainly.
Personally I wouldn’t undertake the route as a newbie with that forecast, but I bet many on this forum would, based on our experience, etc. Experience that he may also have.
Maybe we could be a little kinder, at least until we know the full facts?
Just trying to balance the discussion given that said driver can’t do so.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

I sense that we may be being a bit unkind on the family involved, citing ‘no idea’, ‘parking on the edge if a cliff’, etc from a position of relative ignorance, ie the news story.
That may well be the case, but we don’t know the full facts.
The driver may be very experienced, he may have parked up in what appeared to him to be a relatively sheltered spot, I don’t see a cliff just an incline. Would a campsite be a safer alternative? Probably though not certainly.
Personally I wouldn’t undertake the route as a newbie with that forecast, but I bet many on this forum would, based on our experience, etc. Experience that he may also have.
Maybe we could be a little kinder, at least until we know the full facts?
Just trying to balance the discussion given that said driver can’t do so.

They may well lose a deposit, but on balance are probably relieved it's a hire van rather than their own.

One of the most consistent bits of advice offered on here is for folks to 'try before they buy' (ie hire), perhaps that's what they were doing?

 

[edzt]

A friend of the hire company owner posted on Facebook.
Apparently, this was the final straw, and his company won't survive

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

 

[flying banana]

Was it this one? Ha. Remember top gear doing this. Was hilarious

 

[pchmlk]

A phrase springs to mind " All the gear and No idea ".

None of the gear? Renting I think.

 

[WelshGas]

I sense that we may be being a bit unkind on the family involved, citing ‘no idea’, ‘parking on the edge if a cliff’, etc from a position of relative ignorance, ie the news story.
That may well be the case, but we don’t know the full facts.
The driver may be very experienced, he may have parked up in what appeared to him to be a relatively sheltered spot, I don’t see a cliff just an incline. Would a campsite be a safer alternative? Probably though not certainly.
Personally I wouldn’t undertake the route as a newbie with that forecast, but I bet many on this forum would, based on our experience, etc. Experience that he may also have.
Maybe we could be a little kinder, at least until we know the full facts?
Just trying to balance the discussion given that said driver can’t do so.

Sorry. When Storm Kathleen struck I believe the Severn Bridge was closed to high sided vehicles, such as that Motorhome, when the wind speed approached 40mph. Yet , hundreds of miles north with forecast wind speeds of 70 to 90mph the family decided to park on the side of a large expanse of water in the teeth of a severe gale. A few miles north or south the road is sheltered by hills on both sides. True they were extremely lucky but they put themselves at risk.

If the post by @edzt is correct then my sympathies are with the Hire company owner.
The Motorhome might be insured but possibly not the lost business.

 

[BeeBee]

University Summer breaks I worked for a Car rental company at Glasgow Airport, one of the big ones. Oh my, the number of tourists in, albeit mostly minor accidents, was incredibly high, the companies are still in business, Im sure the rest pay for the loss.
In those days most cars were manual, autos were found if they could be, but not always available, so the inevitable…. wrong side of the road and ‘gears’ !!!
Having now travelled in our van to fairly inaccessible spots in the UK we are seeing increasing numbers in rental vans without a clue as to the differences between driving a van and their usual mode ‘a car’, the results are inevitable.
The NC 500 can be a challenging route at the best of times let alone in a storm. The last 6 miles to Clachtol Bay camp site brought sweat to my brow as ‘big whites’ blocked the route with no comprehension of the size of their vehicles in relation to ‘passing place etiquette’.
Let’s hope for more educated hirers, or at least well informed by rental companies, this coming year.
Stay safe and enjoy .

 

[Norfolk Jim]

This is one of the reasons I don't want a motorhome which is basically a lightweight caravan on a van chassis. I've seen what happens when one gets hit by another van; the only word I can use to describe it it they 'shatter'. The Cali is very different as it is all metal and weight is distributed across whole vehicle - 100% sure this wouldn't have happened if it were a Cali!! Scary stuff and amazing they got out!

 

[Corradobrit]

Was it this one? Ha. Remember top gear doing this. Was hilarious

View attachment 121914

Ahh the infamous campervan of multiple occupancy.

 

[sidepod]

I recon that’ll polish out

 

[KevH]

Another ‘big white’ blown over.
This was on the guys drive in Stoke.
Maybe this proves that you don’t necessarily have to drive the NC500 to risk writing off your van in a gale.
https://www.independent.co.uk/weath...ing-uk-met-office-staffordshire-b2528948.html

 

[hirsty]

I was up there the week before - Shieldaig area & the Applecross peninsula is all very exposed & windy on a good day.

A very lucky escape …

 

[KevH]

I was up there the week before - Shieldaig area & the Applecross peninsula is all very exposed & windy on a good day.

A very lucky escape …

“all very exposed and windy on good day”…thought you meant Stoke for half a second. It reminds me of Stoke City’s last and only Premier League jaunt when nobody wanted to play at Stoke on a wet windy Wednesday evening. Nobody wanted their big whites blowing over

 

[sidepod]

By the looks of the post code, it was probably an improvement!