sad, but that is a spectacular launch. That dude went out in style. No doubt about that.

I hope she makes it.

That RV collapsed like a house of cards. Completely obliterated.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:
That RV collapsed like a house of cards. Completely obliterated.

It's not a Dodge Charger, what do you expect. Them Duke boys coulda don it and not broke a single Mason jar.

Having been around RV's I can safely say that most brands of RV's are VERY poorly constructed. Watch any video of an RV crashing and you will see that most all disintegrate on impact. The walls are just thin wood core walls screwed to a wood floor.The roof is screwed to the walls. Higher end Motorhomes($$$$$$$)have steel framed walls and roof and are built in tub sections making them and there passengers able to survive a serious crash. They can actually roll over and not fall apart.
This RV looked older. MANY Motorhomes are WAY overweight right off the showroom floor, add a normal amount of cargo and people and they are grossly over weight, way more weight than the chassis/brakes was able to deal with. Add to that poor maintenance of the drive train and you have a disaster ready to happen, coming down a steep hill, with an old ,overweight RV, with poor condition brakes and brake fade and loss of stopping power are easy to forecast.
I feel sorry for the driver and passenger, what a horrifying experience.

"He just sailed right out there!".

I wonder how far it would have went if it didn’t slam into the upper structure of the ferry.

That was a spectacular crash.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
If the RV did indeed lose its brakes - the driver probably thought he was going to be launching it safely into the water - not realizing the ferry was still close to the dock.

I was wondering about that...
He may have thought he could survive by landing it in the water and just swimming away.
It seems his better chance would have been to jump out, if possible, as soon as he realized that his brakes had failed.
If the girlfriend survives, I bet she will have an interesting tale to tell.

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
"He just sailed right out there!".

Fool watched too many movies and thought this will work.

quote:

Originally posted by kramden:
Fool watched too many movies and thought this will work.

^^^posted without reading.

It will be interesting to see more video and get more details.

The tiny bit we see is more just a visual or a spectacular launch as I said.

I am really curious to get more details. I understand panic and split second decisions. Riding that one out as he did seemed like one fraught with catastrophe though.

The momentum he had coming down that ramp was
incredible to do what he did.

I am not sure it was just a simple brake failure.

quote:

The video shows the RV careening down the hill toward the ferry that's already pulled away from the shore, hit the launch ramp, fly through the air, and come crashing down onto the deck of the ferry.

Technically and by design, I believe it's a loading ramp.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:

Lost his brakes? Correct me if I'm wrong but, short of sabotage, isn't it almost impossible for a modern vehicle to completely lose it's brakes?

A year or two ago, the brake pedal in my delivery truck -- 2001 GMC 3500 -- went right to the floor with no effect as we were pulling into a parking space. Fortunately it was in a large parking lot, we were moving very slowly at the time, and the space in front of us was empty, so we did get it stopped with the parking brake.

Got out and looked under the truck. It was pissing brake fluid all over the parking lot. It got a ride on a flatbed to a repair shop, where the faulty section of brake line was replaced.

---

I have also had similar situations in airplanes, but it's a little different, as the left and right brakes are separate circuits. I was taxiing slowly, VERY slowly, on the ramp. The FBO was watching through the office window and asked on the radio if I was having a problem; I informed him that I was looking for a parking slot that I could get into and out of with right turns only.

RIP Mr Lelec.

What a way to go.

What amazes me is the lady walked just past that section of the deck seconds before and it crashed 10' behind her, something like a large piece of diamond plate or grating flew at her and narrowly missed her.

RV's losing their brakes or at least having major brake fade on hills and things of that nature, are somewhat common. A lot of them are under braked (brakes too small) for the weight of the RV as the manufacturers take a normal truck frame and build an entire house on top of it.

Has to be stuck throttle, or he had it mashed to the floor in a suicide run..

Even with failed brakes you can lift the throttle and reduce some speed, down shift the transmission, run into vehicles on the side, lots of ways to scrub off speed. Heck at the worst you'd run into the ramp and stop there..

That sucker looked to be WOT and gaining speed downhill and for an RV to carry that distance and go high enough to get out of the frame of the camera it was hauling ass....

So either the throttle was stuck WOT or he had the throttle to the floor...

I realize a RV is large, but not very heavy. I am still surprised it went that far.

I also would have guessed against launch and more that it would have just stopped, more or less, at the barrier.

He really stuck the landing.