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Old 08-09-2018, 02:13 PM   #1
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2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
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Interstate meets giant hail storm (ouch)

Ever wonder what happens when you drive your Airstream Interstate straight into a hailstorm with tennis-ball sized hail? Well, wonder no more, we solved it for you. LOL

On Monday, we had the unfortunate luck to be driving on I-25 south of Colorado Springs when the mother of all hail storms hit. In addition to the damage you can see in these pics, it punched a hole in our main ceiling vent cover and damaged several other components.

Already in touch with insurance and body shops. Due to several huge storms here, we have a 6-8 month wait on body work. Windshield should get fixed today. We're trying to fix what we can to get it back on the road.
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Old 08-09-2018, 02:49 PM   #2
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Unhappy

Ouch!! Family sent me videos as well... they live in Colorado Springs...not a pretty site if your cars were not under cover... lot of damage from it.
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Old 08-09-2018, 02:56 PM   #3
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You have my sincere condolences. Hail is the #1 fear I have living an Airstream lifestyle.

John
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Old 08-09-2018, 04:29 PM   #4
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You have my sincere condolences. Hail is the #1 fear I have living an Airstream lifestyle.

John

Thank you and I hear you on the hail!

We've had some bad hail storms in the last year or two in our next of the woods. Several dealerships here have gotten hit and have sold or will be selling a bunch of rigs "as-is" with hail damage.

Regards,

Dan
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Old 08-09-2018, 04:40 PM   #5
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That's some scary pictures. Glad you are all OK otherwise!

Considering that hailstones that size can and have killed unprotected humans, I'd suggest you were lucky no one got hurt. The dings in sheet metal and stars in the glass are survivable...getting hit on the head by one that size would not be fun.
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Old 08-09-2018, 04:47 PM   #6
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That's some scary pictures. Glad you are all OK otherwise!

Considering that hailstones that size can and have killed unprotected humans, I'd suggest you were lucky no one got hurt. The dings in sheet metal and stars in the glass are survivable...getting hit on the head by one that size would not be fun.

Thank you.

Yes, I agree 100%! We were very happy to escape unharmed. The windshield, to its credit, managed to "hold" and not shatter despite a crazy onslaught.

Sheet metal and glass can always be fixed.

A number of people at a zoo in CO Spgs were injured and had to go to the hospital and several animals were killed in the storm.
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:14 PM   #7
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Time to upgrade the solar panel!
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:19 PM   #8
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Where is the Airstream Hail Airbag? Deployed at the first ping of an ice ball, the AHA (or A-HA!) deploys to form 12 inches of inflated canvas protection over the entire roof area. Probably out of stock....
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:21 PM   #9
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Time to upgrade the solar panel!
Yes!

What should I upgrade to?
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:24 PM   #10
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Add 3 100 watt panels and a new charge controller that actually works!
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:36 PM   #11
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Thanks for field testing your van so the rest of us wouldn’t have to do so.
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:42 PM   #12
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Years ago, in the mountains west of Rapid City, South Dakota, I survived a hailstorm of that quality in my TrailManor trailer. It was as close to being in a war that I want to experience. The noise was deafening.

The radio kept saying "Get away from windows." Pretty hard to do in a travel trailer. I crawled into my TravSack, pulled it up over my head, and rode the storm out. $8500 damage to the trailer, including a total roof replacement and $4000 damage to my truck. Some hailstones were as large as a baseball. I didn't lose a bit of glass; my truck was parked pointing away from the storm and the hailstones slid down the glass.

Super storms are rare, but they are definitely not pleasant.
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Old 08-09-2018, 05:43 PM   #13
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Thanks for field testing your van so the rest of us wouldn’t have to do so.
Yes, happy to oblige, lol. If you know of any more severe weather activity expected nearby and need us to do additional testing, by all means!
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Old 08-09-2018, 06:48 PM   #14
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Wow, I've heard of big hail damage, but your pictures really brought it home. We get hurricanes on the coast, but only rarely hail, and then only pea-sized.

Must have been a miserable feeling to just have to sit there and take it. Probably didn't last long, yet seemed to last forever. Glad you were ok.
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Old 08-09-2018, 07:09 PM   #15
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Ever wonder what happens when you drive your Airstream Interstate straight into a hailstorm with tennis-ball sized hail? Well, wonder no more, we solved it for you. LOL

On Monday, we had the unfortunate luck to be driving on I-25 south of Colorado Springs when the mother of all hail storms hit. In addition to the damage you can see in these pics, it punched a hole in our main ceiling vent cover and damaged several other components.

Already in touch with insurance and body shops. Due to several huge storms here, we have a 6-8 month wait on body work. Windshield should get fixed today. We're trying to fix what we can to get it back on the road.
VALLEYVIEW - first of all, it's still a great day when such destruction occurs and you get out of it safe & unharmed. I always worry in that section of the country because the altitude, jet stream, & temps make these events common. I have daughter in CO & sister in NM. So I-70 & I-25 is a common route for us. With a brand new AI driving all over, this is one of my fears. Glad you all are ok. But the Sprinter is one strong van. Would rather be in it than my other cars in situation like this. Maybe good excuse to get custom paintjob like NOSTOCK's unit ?
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Old 08-09-2018, 08:12 PM   #16
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Wow, I've heard of big hail damage, but your pictures really brought it home. We get hurricanes on the coast, but only rarely hail, and then only pea-sized.

Must have been a miserable feeling to just have to sit there and take it. Probably didn't last long, yet seemed to last forever. Glad you were ok.

Hi Rowie, thanks. Yes, it was scary to be in that bombardment! And not a great feeling, except that we were safe.

We got to the side of the road and stopped as quickly as we could do in a safe manner. Then got the heck away from the front and went to the back of the rig because we thought the windshield would shatter at any moment.

Even when we stopped moving, the hailstones were hitting the windshield horizontally like line drives, drilling it head on and causing fearsome cracks.

But everyone was good and we made it through the 10-15 minutes of terror. Many cars we saw had both front and back windows completely smashed and we wondered where you could take refuge in that scenario. Yikes!

My wife said it felt like one of those crazy "Day After Tomorrow" climate chaos movies where everything with the weather goes haywire. LOL
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Old 08-09-2018, 08:30 PM   #17
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You were on the road when this happened!!!??? I thought it happened while parked and you were in your house... wow!! So glad nothing happened and you and your wife made it safely through this!!
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Old 08-09-2018, 10:07 PM   #18
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You were on the road when this happened!!!??? I thought it happened while parked and you were in your house... wow!! So glad nothing happened and you and your wife made it safely through this!!

Thank you Wachuko! And thanks, everyone, for your support and empathy. It means a lot.

Yup, we were driving when the chaos hit, and lived to tell the tale.

I hope you guys NEVER have to experience anything like it!
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Old 08-09-2018, 10:27 PM   #19
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You responded correctly,though. Stop, take shelter away from glass. Glad you were ok. Didn’t realize you were driving!!
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Old 08-10-2018, 09:19 AM   #20
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In East TN we get similar hail storms (and, strong lightning storms like yesterday). With hail that large - even in your house - it truly sounds like you're in a war zone at the wrong end of a machine gun. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in your AI. When over, I would have been crying and breathing a sigh of relief at the same time.

We feel your pain!

Kelly
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