Earthquake Safety for Trailers

[hipsterreplacement]

I started trying to find out what I needed to know about earthquake safety in a trailer earlier this year. Then just 5 days before the Ridgecrest quake, I tweeted Dr. Lucy Jones to ask. She replied with a link, but it seemed mostly about mobile homes and I live in a travel trailer. https://www.seaoc.org/news/425123/Revisiting-Earthquake-Lessons---Manufactured-Homes.htm

I have long been fairly prepared for earthquakes that happen while I’m in a house, but have no idea what to do in a trailer. I felt both of the big Ridgecrest quakes in my trailer way up north here in Davis. So I can just imagine what it will do when the epicenter’s closer.

Anyone have a link to fact-based information on earthquake preparedness in a trailer? How to be safe about the propane during a quake?

 

[RVTravel]

A specific one for travel trailers does not seem needed. Propane should be off when not being used. Some may go so far as to disconnect when not in use. Severed lines may cause a fire so a fire extinguisher should be nearby.

https://www.ready.gov/earthquakes

 

[rm.w/aview]

 
This is a source that can predict quakes to a reasonable degree of accuracy rather than report after the fact

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

No experience but travel trailers (as apposed to mobile homes and fixed structures) are built expecting a certain amount of shaking and rattling around.  How much more shock and vibration is your trailer going to see than on 20 miles of washboard road?

As to propane: again trailers are built with some compliance in the plumbing to deal with motion.  I doubt any of us that use propane daily turn the tank off between uses anymore than a homeowner turns off the gas coming into his house when not used.  It's one of the low probability risks we take (or don't even think about) for convenience.

 

[MrNoodly]

No experience but travel trailers (as apposed to mobile homes and fixed structures) are built expecting a certain amount of shaking and rattling around.  How much more shock and vibration is your trailer going to see than on 20 miles of washboard road?

Agreed. 

But you do need to be mindful of is structures or hillsides that might fall on the trailer, or ground that might collapse from under it. Also tall trees.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

 
This is a source that can predict quakes to a reasonable degree of accuracy rather than report after the fact

a general prediction of something that may happen in a rather large area maybe in the next few days doesnt really help. his prediction was for the "bay area" what, was everyone in the bay area supposed to stand in a doorway or crawl under their desk and stay there for a few days till the danger passed? and then the earth quake was a few hundred miles away.

lets say you lived (open question to everyone) ridgecrest and you got this warning about a possible big quake a few hundred miles away in the bay area. what would you do different for the next few days? how long would you continue to take these extra precautions if there was no quake.

 

[rm.w/aview]

You make a good point Gypsy. I shared the link in a thread that has mobility or nomadic lifestyle cores and not from a home owner's viewpoint. If I was in the area right now I'd hook up and leave because I can. In the linked video the author explicitly suggests that home owners have a bug out bag as they anticipate the earthquake.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

to the PO's question, specifically the propane

while i dont have a bunch of links for you. i do have some back ground in the subject manner. in a past life i worked with the boyscouts, churches and other orginization to put together "earthquake survival kits" and then distribute them to ederly and disabled living alone and then spend some time with them showing/teaching what to do and how to use what we gave them.

that said.

there is nothing you can do actively about propane "during" the earthquake. the only thing you worry about during the quake is being in the safest spot you can so that you are not injured and can then deal with problems after the shaking stops. this is when you need to be prepared to shut down propane/natural gas and or electric power.

in homes/mobilehomes shutting down the gas can be a problem. if you are connected to utility supplied gas, the valve often needs a wrench. they generally dont have a hand wheel like on a propane tank or bottle. so you should have a wrench tide with a string/cord right where it will be needed. we dont really need to do that as most of our propane tanks have hand wheels to open and close.

the reason you are instructed to shut down the propane is to prevent or reduce fire damage. but it is not like just because propane start to leak something bad will happen. there are dangers, the gas could accumulate and cause an explosion or if it just catches on fire it can act like a torch and ignite other stuff. this could go on for days untill someone shuts off the leak.

so when the shaking stops. then asses the urgency of you next move. are you or anyone around you seriously hurt, like life threatening bleeding or stopped breathing. if not, then turn your attention to the propane/natural gas. if you suspect a leak, shut it off at the tank or service entrance/meter if you dont know and dont know how to check. then shut it off until a qualified person can confirm no leaks and the safety of the system before turning it on

the main reason propane and natural gas tends to leak after a quake is because most of the pipes and such are designed to work in a stationary environment. when you have a mstly ridged pipe coming out of the ground and going into your house. bad things happen when the house moves a couple feet. the pipe break and you have a leak. same can happen inside if a wall falls that has a line inside. or if your stove jiggles out from the wall it can tear the flex line that connects the gas.

thankfully for use in the mobile world or propane/gas sytems are designed to deal with vibration and motion and are made with more flexible parts and everything SHOULD be secured so things dont go flying around while driving and such. also our propane source is part of our rig, not coming out of the ground. so even if we move our propane does not get torn off.

there is still the concern after a quake to check for damage to propane systems in a trailer or RV and if a leak is present or even suspected. shut iti down and leave it off till properly fixed.

if one is worried about it, they do make spring loaded check valves that will automatically shut down the flow of gas in a line if it detects a sudden large surge of gas flow. these pretty much just work if a line is completely severed but can really help in that situation.

in the world of boats. propane tanks are supposed to have remote valves that allow you to shut off the propane tank from the point of use, like the kitchen. you could install one of these in any rv/trailer and then be able to shut of the propane without having to go out to the tank or open up the tank locker (cause we know that no one keeps a propane bottle just inside...)

 

[Weldman]

Besides what is posted here if in earthquake zone and in a travel trailer such as mobile home the major problem besides objects falling on top of them or or ground giving out underneath them is if they aren't hooked up to a truck they will fall off the blocks and that's where damage and injuries occur from as jack stands puncture through floor or the initial jolt falling onto the ground.
They make jack stands that can clamp to frame of mobile homes so it it rides with it and I suggest finding a way to do same with travel trailers in earthquake prone areas. Though some travel trailer frames have I beams like a mobile home and you can use the same system on your travel trailer.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

You make a good point Gypsy. I shared the link in a thread that has mobility or nomadic lifestyle cores and not from a home owner's viewpoint. If I was in the area right now I'd hook up and leave because I can. In the linked video the author explicitly suggests that home owners have a bug out bag as they anticipate the earthquake.

after a serious earthquake the need for a "bug out bag is way less important than the need to be able to sheltrer in place for a few days.

and for me, having grown up and lived 30 years in earthquake country. i wouldnt change a thing based on a general maybe type warning even if i was living like i do now, being a mobile van dweller. i do have the advanatge of being able to shelter in place for 14 days easy and i am ready to leave much quicker than more sedentary life styles.

back in the day when i lived in sticks n brick in so cal. i doubt i would have done anything based on this level of warning, but even back then i was prepared. a warning like this might be a good motivation to check your supplies just in case...

 

[tx2sturgis]

Oklahoma is now the earthquake capital of the USA and Texas is probably right in line or very close. We get minor earthquakes so often that they dont even make the news anymore unless there is major damage. 

I've been thru 3 or 4 of them when parked, and in a trailer or vehicle that's stationary, a minor earthquake feels like a gust of wind hitting your trailer or vehicle...if you are driving, you probably wont even know a minor earthquake happened.

Of course a MAJOR earthquake is a whole nother thing....I would say, get out of the trailer as fast as you can, and get away from any and all structures and large trees. If you have time, shut off the propane valve outside and if plugged into shore power, unplug the cord, but only if you have time and the trailer is not bouncing around. But you know, if the ground is opening up under you, don't worry about the dang trailer! Kiss yer bee-hind good bye!

 

[Firtree]

Have friends in the 9+ earthquake zone of PNW. They live in a Park Model RV (they are large), are on jacks, cement pad. Local earthquake fire department folks have said they will likely be very safe in The Big One as the trailer will just violently rock. Biggest safety issue for them is getting outside after to turn off the 120 gal propane tank. They will lose community electric power, likely water and due to remote location need to plan for being cutoff from emergency medical, evacuation all other services for 30-45+ days.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

most van dwellers couldnt handle being cut off from services for 30-45+ days... lol

 

[MrNoodly]

most van dwellers couldnt handle being cut off from services for 30-45+ days... lol

But it would take impassible roads to keep van dwellers from relocating to where there are services.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Impassable roads and/or non-functioning fuel station pumps can bring most vehicles to a standstill. 

If electricity is off-line for an entire region, even if the roads are good, you might not get farther than what one tank of gas (or diesel) can take you.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

ya, if youre in the city stealthing when the big one hits. you may be stuck there a while

but if the roads are passable even 200 miles on a half a tank of gas will usually bring me new scenery

and if an entire region is down. the last place you will find me is in another city looking for services. i'll be headed for the boonies away from all the mess

 

[MrNoodly]

Impassable roads and/or non-functioning fuel station pumps can bring most vehicles to a standstill. 

If electricity is off-line for an entire region, even if the roads are good, you might not get farther than what one tank of gas (or diesel) can take you.

My van has a 30 gallon tank and gets about 16 MPG without trying. So I could go about 240 miles on a half tank, or 480 on a full tank. I usually fill up when I have a half tank, so I rarely have less than that. 

The largest ever (so far) blackout in North America was in 2002, affecting parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario. It was caused by a software glitch, not a natural disaster. Though that's a very large area, the drive to areas with power is doable with a half tank of gas.

So let's say I was in Ridgecrest the other day. How far could I get on my half a tank? Las Vegas, Los Angeles, almost to San Diego. I'm writing this from Los Angeles and there's no power outage here. There's no power outage in Bakersfield, a hundred miles from the epicenter of a 7.1 quake.

And the risk of there being massive, prolonged power outages when an earthquake hits are small compared to other natural disasters, like ice storms, floods and hurricanes/tropical storms.

 

[tx2sturgis]

But, when you arrive at the un-affected areas beyond the disaster zone (whatever kind of major disaster, not just an earthquake) it is likely that dozens, or maybe hundreds of motorists are lined up to buy gas at all the local stations. You may be out of luck, as you stare at your gas gauge needle pointing at the 'E'.

And of course this assumes there are no barricades up, no stalled traffic due to crashes at non-working traffic-light controlled intersections, and the highways that are un-damaged remain open to traffic flow, but there is no guarantee of that. 

And during a major power outage or disaster, you can forget about checking the apps on your smartphone for stations with gas, or even traffic patterns and road closures. Cell towers quickly drop to priority users only if the you-know-what hits the fan, or they become overloaded, or simply stop working due to local damage or severed fiber-optic cables.

Often, the shelter-in-place strategy is the best option. Often, but not always.

 

[rm.w/aview]

So after reading about affected & unaffected areas while keeping our disaster on topic, which in this thread is an earthquake, I'll take another look at the video that I linked to earlier to locate an area that should be unaffected and set up camp. I have viewed other videos on youtube by the author, dutchsinse, and find them informative as he links the activity along the worlds tectonic plate boundaries. There is no random earthquake appearing here as it's related to the one that occurred there, which is related to another, and another, et cetera. The author elaborates on the earthquakes occurring in the U.S. and the relationship they have with drilling, but not in a way to sensationalize, more in a way to inform as he doesn't linger there but moves on. It's all very interesting to see the affects the tectonic plates have on each other in a predictable pattern that has proven fairly accurate with regards to time and place.

 

[seak]

At 7.1, the Ridgecrest quake was significant, but here's the one you need to worry about.

https://www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/Pages/Cascadia-Subduction-Zone.aspx

9+ and potential for coastal inundation from Mendocino into BC. Emergency preparedness officials with the State of Oregon think the I-5 corridor west of the Cascades could be shut down.

It pops about every 300 years and we're overdue.