Colorado Loop - anything else we should know?
Pulling a 32' TT thru Colorado 6/11-18. Route is: =on 6/11, Santa Fe to Montrose via 285, then 114, then 50 =on 6/15, Montrose to Manitou Springs via 50 and 24 =on 6/18, Manitou to Kansas or Tex...
Forum Discussion
We are watching the weather but will wait until 2-3 days before we leave next week to make a decision on alternate route. As rough as I-40 is, I would rather be on a main road if flooding is an issue. Surprisingly, if you look at NavBug.com, there are 3 places on I-40 in AR and OK that have actually closed due to high water in the last 10 days.
I'm not overly concerned about driving in the rain but I am concerned about high water and high winds whether driving or spending the night.
I pulled the rig in 45 MPH cross-winds from Santa Fe to Amarillo last summer. I stopped and put shims in the WD hitch to tighten it, and slowed down to 50-55, and we made it fine but it really drained me. That's about as much wind as I would tackle. I've always been told that "you will know" when the cross wind is too high, and I guess when we get to that point we just stop somewhere and park into the wind and wait it out.
We camped in 50 MPH winds at Torrey, Utah. Purely by coincidence the trailer was parked in line with the winds, but the trailer "wiggled" all night as the wind howled. Neither of us got much sleep. If the trailer had been parked so the wind hit the sides, it would not have turned over but I don't think we would have been able to stay that way.
I've calculated the THEORETICAL wind speed that it would take to turn the trailer over when stationary but I won't share that here because it will start an argument. When you feel like the wind is too high I think you just have to find a place where you can park parallel to the wind direction and hope for the best. If you are in a tornado path, you need to change priorities and find a good sturdy building and protect yourself and loved ones and let the insurance company worry about the truck and trailer.
I'm not overly concerned about driving in the rain but I am concerned about high water and high winds whether driving or spending the night.
I pulled the rig in 45 MPH cross-winds from Santa Fe to Amarillo last summer. I stopped and put shims in the WD hitch to tighten it, and slowed down to 50-55, and we made it fine but it really drained me. That's about as much wind as I would tackle. I've always been told that "you will know" when the cross wind is too high, and I guess when we get to that point we just stop somewhere and park into the wind and wait it out.
We camped in 50 MPH winds at Torrey, Utah. Purely by coincidence the trailer was parked in line with the winds, but the trailer "wiggled" all night as the wind howled. Neither of us got much sleep. If the trailer had been parked so the wind hit the sides, it would not have turned over but I don't think we would have been able to stay that way.
I've calculated the THEORETICAL wind speed that it would take to turn the trailer over when stationary but I won't share that here because it will start an argument. When you feel like the wind is too high I think you just have to find a place where you can park parallel to the wind direction and hope for the best. If you are in a tornado path, you need to change priorities and find a good sturdy building and protect yourself and loved ones and let the insurance company worry about the truck and trailer.
