I have a foot of snow atop the Barth. Anyone have any idea what, if any, is the snow load for a Barth?

hanks,

Richard

Based on the construction, and Barth's test of an early trailer by dropping a wrecking ball on it, there's nothing to worry about.

Here in Oklahoma we use a systematic formula for measuring the snow load capabilities of structures....



If it falls in, it was too much.....

Wet snow can weigh up to 20 lbs a cubic ft. That means a 36ft Barth could have 5,000 lbs sitting on the roof. Although it's unlikely to collapse, that kind of weight could do damage to tires or suspension, especially if driven with that kind of added load.

Another issue is that snow can allow water to migrate into places that would not happen in air, as it is unable to drain away. This is most likely if it rains onto the snow or gets suddenly warm. Consider getting as much as you can off there before you have an issue that will make you regret not dealing with it.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
..............Barth's test of an early trailer by dropping a wrecking ball on it...............

That sounds interesting......got any info on it?

Way back when, I heard a story about an engineer at Northrop testing aircraft windshields by launching a live duck from a giant slingshot. Supposedly the velocity at impact was calculated to be about the impact speed in flight at duck altitude. The room was cooled down to the same temp as up in the sky so as to have the same brittleness to the Plexiglas.

The Barth wrecking ball test was told at the Milford GTG by a good friend and employee of Mr Barth. As I recall the story after Barth built his first prototype trailer, he had it pulled outside and had a wrecking ball dropped on the center of the roof. put a good size dent in the roof, but did not crush in. After examining the patent of Barths I can see why they have the rigidity they do.
Doorman

quote:

Originally posted by Doorman:
The Barth wrecking ball test was told at the Milford GTG by a good friend and employee of Mr Barth. As I recall the story after Barth built his first prototype trailer, he had it pulled outside and had a wrecking ball dropped on the center of the roof. put a good size dent in the roof, but did not crush in.

I too heard this story -

A good way to remove snow from a roof is to get an old garden hoe and glue a piece of garden hose over the edge of the blade to keep it from scraping the roof. Get on a step ladder and pull the snow toward you. It will take a while, but at least you won't have melting snow looking for a way to get into your Barth.

Up nort' everyone has a snow rake. Wasn't I surprised when I moved here (Florida)that the manufacturer is right next door in Brooksville.

quote:

Way back when, I heard a story about an engineer at Northrop testing aircraft windshields by launching a live duck from a giant slingshot. Supposedly the velocity at impact was calculated to be about the impact speed in flight at duck altitude. The room was cooled down to the same temp as up in the sky so as to have the same brittleness to the Plexiglas.

Sully would say "They shoulda used Geese!"

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Way back when, I heard a story about an engineer at Northrop testing aircraft windshields by launching a live duck from a giant slingshot. Supposedly the velocity at impact was calculated to be about the impact speed in flight at duck altitude.

I like this story - cute, but not true.

quote:

Scientists at Rolls Royce built a gun specifically to launch dead chickens at the

windshields of airliners and military jets all traveling at maximum velocity. The

idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test

the strength of the windshields.



American engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the

windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun

was sent to the American engineers.



When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out

of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens,

blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two and

embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin like an arrow shot from a bow.



The horrified Yanks sent Rolls Royce the disastrous results of the experiment,

along with the designs of the windshield and begged the British scientists for

suggestions. Rolls Royce responded with the following one-line memo:



Defrost the chicken !

There are several variations of this story.

I wonder how big of a wrecking ball and what height they dropped it from.

I heard the Northrop/duck story when I was studying engineering at Northrop Institute. It was a conversation between two or three older profs who went way back with Northrop Aircraft, and they were chuckling over the story, which involved an engineer older than them and since gone. He was highly regarded as a brilliant, yet practical man, and apparently was Jack Northrop's right hand man.

And, YES, they shoulda used a goose.

Thread drift follows:

Some of the profs became good friends, and I heard a lot of Northrop stories. My wife also worked for Northrop. Many of the stories involved the Flying Wing, which was almost a movable shrine for the True Believers there. Jack Northrop never stopped believing in the worhiness of the concept. The FW was inherently unstable, owing to the lack of a long enough moment arm for horizontal stability. When computers were able to correct fast enough, the FW became workable again. The Air Force made a giant exception to security rules and made up an information package to show Jack Northrop the stealth bomber program while he was on his deathbed. Insiders say he died a much happier man, since he always believed the FW never got a fair chance in the earlier years.

I worked at NGC-DSD. I always marveled that the flying wing concept had to wait for technology to catch up with the idea.

Big ball-real high and not thawed out.