Electrical ? fire danger warning for vehicles transported in enclosed trailers

[trulyvintage]

A concept vehicle shown at Pebble Beach
this year completely burned inside of
the trailer it was being towed from
the event on a country road.

The vehicle is assumed to be a
gasoline powered front engine
vehicle - the fire was intense.
Towing appeared to take place
during daylight hours.
The trailer appears to have
aluminum sidewalls and floor.

Around the same time a Tesla
Electric Semi Truck with no
trailer attached burned up
on I-80 Near Emigrant Pass.

Looking at the images and reflecting
on what I have seen over the years
this doesn’t appear to be a fire
caused by faulty electrical trailer
wiring or faulty vehicle electrical
wiring on a gas powered vehicle.

This was intense heat.

Perhaps the composite components
of the vehicle fueled the fire.

Your thoughts ?

Still images taken from
video at the scene & camera phone.

Jim

 

[ModelA29]

1979 Ford Probe with body by Ghia. Who knows how well they've maintained it? The owners are local to the Monterey area. I suspect a bad fuel line leaking gas onto a hot engine/exhaust. Someday we may know where the spark came from to ignite it. Factory prototype with hand beaten metal body. Ford designed it and had it built in Europe. The base car was a 2.3 liter turbo Mustang. It did have a large glass roof - I don't know if it was plastic or glass. The aluminum melting off the trailer looks pretty standard. Trailer probably had wood on the interior walls.

 

[johnneilson]

This is a subject that no one wants to talk about
Just having my friend lose his Pierce Arrow roadster and other cars to a fire makes me think more about it.
Another Buddy lost his shop and garage to a Model A he was going to look at for another friend. Battery pos lead short caused source of ignition.

I have been around racecars for many years and trailered all over the US. Never a problem, fuel drained and properly stored, batteries disconnected at least while in the trailer

IMHO battery disconnect switches are worth their weight in gold.

Just an opinion, J

 

[Ron Blissit]

don't forget spontaneous combustion oil soaked rags thrown in the floor, polish rags can cause a fire also.

 

[katy]

That reminds me of the B-29 that was destroyed in Greenland in 1995:
https://planehistoria.com/kee-bird-b29/

 

[katy]

IMHO battery disconnect switches are worth their weight in gold.

Ditto

 

[Y-Blockhead]

Another Buddy lost his shop and garage to a Model A he was going to look at for another friend. Battery pos lead short caused source of ignition.

IMHO battery disconnect switches are worth their weight in gold.

Just an opinion, J

And always put your disconnect switch on the GROUND WIRE as close to the battery as posable.

 

[gdmn852]

Hello, I am a great believer in master electrical switches, put one in every collector car I owned,the MGB has a master switch and also a shut off for gas , electric pump. The Model A has one located on seat riser . I like to disconnect power when they are going to sit for awhile.

 

[Big hammer]

IMHO the very best disconnect is ……………. Just take the ground cable off ;-) easy peezy

 

[ronn]

agree with big hammer and never transport with a battery connected.

 

[Bob Bidonde]

I also suggest that an enclosed trailer needs to be vented to the atmosphere to rid of gasoline fumes. Most vintage cars and trucks have fuel systems that are vented, so the trailer needs to be vented also.

 

[Jim Brierley]

I also believe in battery disconnect switches, and I shut the fuel off just before starting up the loading ramp on the trailer. This eliminates the fuel smell in the trailer. If the carb(s) are full they can spill a little fuel while driving, making a fire more likely.

 

[Karl Wescott]

Fuel + oxygen + ignition heat + continued reaction = fire.


Bob Bidonde's suggestion is very good. It also applies to garages and barns etc. Remember that gasoline fumes, alcohol fumes, and propane are heavier than air so the venting needs to be low. Hydrogen and natural gas are lighter than air so vents need to be high.


Likely the heat from the fire reflected back from the trailer walls and roof, making the fire intense quickly. Remember the old wisdom of with a fire in the engine compartment open the hood to let the heat escape. Scorching a firewall is better than a burnt car.


Electric vehicle technology has batteries that seem to be better at not igniting than gasoline vehicles, but when they do the fire tends to accelerate fast and is difficult to extinguish. The sour old ex-volunteer firefighters 4th law of thermodynamics... "when you stuff more energy into a container when the container fails the bigger the boom"