UPS Truck + Winnebago = ?

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 09/12/2015 at 10:20 • Filed to: None

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What happens when a Winnebago collides with a UPS truck? Better phrased: “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object ?” Well, thank the good folk of Ontonagon County (Michigan) for running the experiment for us.

Yesterday around 5:00 p.m., the UPS truck you see here reportedly pulled out into the roadway. Said roadway being used at that time by a Winnebago traveling to and/or fro. The two behemoths collided and ended as illustrated in the pics. I remember studying this in Physics but that was a long time ago.

No one was killed and the best we know is that the RV driver exited through the handy gigantic hole in the back of his unit. I suspect that was not there before the accident, but !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . That’s the kind of thing a manufacturer would tell you is fixable if it happened without colliding with a big brown truck.

As for the UPS guy? I am sure he just waved and headed out to finish his route as efficiently as possible, once he had swiftly dealt with law enforcement at the scene.

I will keep you updated on any further experiments of this sort performed by the good people of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Shortly, they will be conducting them with snowmobiles.

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Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > SteveLehto 09/12/2015 at 10:30

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Why do RV’s have the structural rigidity of water vapor? It’s amazing how poorly RVs survive ANY crash. Compared to even like a base model Hyundai elantra. I bet the driver was 146 and also legally blind but were still allowed to have a drivers license.

XJDano > SteveLehto 09/12/2015 at 10:33

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I bet the UPS driver will get fired.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > SteveLehto 09/12/2015 at 10:34

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How did they get two vehicles within close enough proximity to collide up there? So few people/cars... Beautiful area, though.

duurtlang > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man 09/12/2015 at 10:34

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Why do RV’s have the structural rigidity of water vapor?

In an RV you want large size combined with low weight and a low price. Result: materials that don’t do well in a crash.

SteveLehto > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man 09/12/2015 at 10:38

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In all fairness: That RV may have looked like that before the crash. Other than the “lying on its side” part.

SteveLehto > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 09/12/2015 at 10:39

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Yes, it seems like someone was asleep at the switch on this one.

facw > SteveLehto 09/12/2015 at 10:47

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Sadly, I couldn’t find a good delivery van camper conversion, though this comes close:

Here’s a pretty clean Penske moving van conversion though (incomplete at the time of the post I saw, he plans to add a kitchen and bathroom):

The translucent ceiling is a good choice for creating a nice light space (UPS truck would have that too), though I have my doubts that the little vent to the cab would be sufficient for climate control.

ThreePumpTrump > SteveLehto 09/12/2015 at 10:47

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TIL: There are ProMaster RVs... *Shudder*

Urambo Tauro > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man 09/12/2015 at 10:47

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RVs are not built to handle much more than a fastball. That’s about as far as their “crash testing” goes.

VincentMalamute-Kim > ThreePumpTrump 09/12/2015 at 11:29

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ProMaster RV’s make complete sense - FWD should mean they have low floors?

ThreePumpTrump > VincentMalamute-Kim 09/12/2015 at 11:50

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It’s based on the ProMaster chassis cab, so I’m not sure if the low floor carries over?

My Shudder was more from seeing a Winnebago logo on a Fiat.

VincentMalamute-Kim > ThreePumpTrump 09/12/2015 at 12:12

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“My Shudder was more from seeing a Winnebago logo on a Fiat.” - yeah, I knew that and know what you mean. But everything’s international today - Lambo owned by Germans, Jeep/Ram/Viper owned by Italians, Jaguar owned by Indians?, Land Rover owned by Chinese? Can’t remember who owns what. Wasn’t Lotus owned by Indonesians at one point?

I haven’t been inside a ProMaster, only seen a couple on the roads. So the FWD layout doesn’t translate into a low floor because of the rear frame? That would be disappointing - it would have been one of the major reasons for me to wait for an old used ProMaster instead of a Sprinter (plus Sprinter rust) or Transit. You give up a lot of towing capacity for the FWD layout.

And it’s hard to tell how low the floor is on that Winnebago in the pictures!

BATC42 > VincentMalamute-Kim 09/12/2015 at 12:28

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Over in Europe, the Fiat Ducato (on which the ProMaster is based) is actually the leader when it comes to RV conversion. Second place goes to the Renault Master I think.

ThreePumpTrump > VincentMalamute-Kim 09/12/2015 at 12:29

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I just did some digging! The ProMaster chassis cab does have a different frame than the van (ladder vs unibody), but it still retains a low load height!

In theory, this should mean more headroom, but I wouldn’t be surprised if RV builders don't add extra height to the interior.

VincentMalamute-Kim > ThreePumpTrump 09/12/2015 at 12:48

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Thanks! Why bother google when you can get someone else to do it? ;)

That’s going to be a difficult choice. I heard the ProMaster has a 5000 lb tow capacity vs up to 10,000 lbs for the others. Which means you can’t tow a trailer and race car.

BTW, what does “TIL” mean?

VincentMalamute-Kim > BATC42 09/12/2015 at 12:51

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I don’t have any issues with Ducato’s/ProMaster’s being made into RV’s. It will take time and kindess for our rigid American minds to get used to the idea of foreign companies underlying our traditional American brands.

jkm7680 > XJDano 09/12/2015 at 12:53

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Undoubtedly.

Amoore100 > BATC42 09/12/2015 at 14:07

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I would have thought Transit caravans would be more common...

BaconSandwich is tasty. > VincentMalamute-Kim 09/12/2015 at 14:19

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It stands for "Today I Learned".

BATC42 > Amoore100 09/12/2015 at 18:04

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Depends where. In Continental Europe not so much, in the British Isles definitely. They have this weird fetish for Ford.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > SteveLehto 09/14/2015 at 14:35

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Beacon!

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man 09/14/2015 at 14:36

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Unless they had their tuning done by Abarth...

Titan-E34 > XJDano 09/14/2015 at 14:57

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Absolutely not. They are Teamsters. They don’t get fired.

Randonymity > SteveLehto 09/14/2015 at 15:23

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*picks up phone* Hey, Mr. Dealer, on second thought, I'd prefer to have the full bathroom instead of the wet bath. Any chance I can swap them out? Yes? Great. I'll work on uninstalling the wet bath right away.

Britt > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man 09/14/2015 at 15:36

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our laws concerning roadworthiness for RV's are virtually non-existent... at least that is my guess after knowing/working with ambulance drivers/paramedics.

Leon711 > ThreePumpTrump 09/14/2015 at 18:07

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you better believe it!