Traveling in windy conditions

Sorry...cant get the link to work

Veebyes wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
In sailing, they say if the wind is enough to think about reefing, it's time to reef.

Use the same with towing and you should do OK.

Are the reefs along I-80 marked? I don't think I have seen them.

These people who live up in that rarified atmosphere of Colorado sure don't know too much about nautical stuff do they :)

:B Nope, no use for nautical here. Can't even get lost on a lake here. But I will say a "gusty" to us starts at about 100mph. If the winds don't clear your entire rig off the road, the Mayflower moving truck next to you will take you with it. Winds here can rip a stop light off a light pole, tear off your roof, and throw rocks through car windows 6 or 7 deep in the parking lot.

I have been caught in a wind storm crossing Ohio in the middle of the night. We faced 60 mph+ crosswinds broadside on the curb side of our fifthwheel out in the middle of no where.
The gusty winds did not at any time cause any feeling of an eminent blowover since I have a heavy fifthwheel however a gust tore the awning and roller assembly completely off the side of the trailer and left the arms dragging the ground along the shoulder.

Needless to say that was too high of winds to be in.

Also that was the last time we tried making time on a limited duration vacation trip by driving through the night. No much chance to stop and affect repairs or take cover when a storm hits as fast and hard as this one did.
We stopped in a tiny hamlet on the I75 and got behind the leeward side of a road maintenance garage in the hamlet to remove last 12 inches of awning material.
Electrical poles and wires were swinging so violently that they were touching together and arcing out around us causing transformers in the town to blow.
My wife half joking started calling out "Debris" as we slowly pulled back onto the highway and crept through the long dark ominous night of wind and debris.
we stopped in a Walmart about 20 miles down the road to try and find a protected place to hide for the night but there was no escaping the violent winds.
We tried to rest in the trailer but the rock& roll of the trailer and the sounds of screaming winds was scaring our dogs crazy and we decide to simply carrying on down the highway, albeit slowly and vowed to not travel through the night again.

Atom Ant wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
In sailing, they say if the wind is enough to think about reefing, it's time to reef.

Use the same with towing and you should do OK.

Are the reefs along I-80 marked? I don't think I have seen them.

These people who live up in that rarified atmosphere of Colorado sure don't know too much about nautical stuff do they :)

valhalla360 wrote:
In sailing, they say if the wind is enough to think about reefing, it's time to reef.

Use the same with towing and you should do OK.

Are the reefs along I-80 marked? I don't think I have seen them.

The worst I have driven in was on I-10 in Southern New Mexico. It was in the morning. Saw a few tumbleweeds drifting around as we left the RV park. Thought little of that and went ahead. Within an hour a southerly wind lowered my door steps on the other side (north side) of the trailer. There is no place to get out of the wind along that stretch. Drove white knuckled to Lordsburg and got into a travel stop wedged between two 18 wheelers.

Then is snowed, but that's another story. :)

As has been said, don't go if you're apprehensive about the wind. It's hard on the heart and nerves. ;)

In sailing, they say if the wind is enough to think about reefing, it's time to reef.

Use the same with towing and you should do OK.

I would park and wait for the Wind to subside if I thought it was too risky.

Veebyes wrote:
Wind, one of my favourite subjects. I lost a 5er to a blowover. My estimate a near hurricane force gust of wind struck us broadside while going over a Wyoming mountain pass. Wrong place. Wrong time. The trucks were out. No high profile vehicle warning signs were lit.

These days if forcasted gusts are over 30 we give some thought about traveling before hitting the road. Wind direction is a consideration. Directly astern or on the quarter of our direction of travel we may still go. Any other quadrant or gusting over 35, we stay put for the day.

If you do travel on a windy day, do so with a full water tank. Every pound down low lowers the center of gravity & makes the trailer more stable. Extra money, if any, spent on fuel is a whole lot cheaper than dealing with a blowover that might not have happened with more weight down low.

X2, I owned a Class A over 26,000 lbs, also in Wyoming gust out of no where shifted me to the left lane, thank god no one was coming in the other direction, and managed to extend the slide cover,(looked like a mizzan sail)! Since then i have been very respectful of the wind!

The first time the tail starts wagging the dog it is time to get off the road.And the first thing to do is to slow down. Because fiver's tow so much safer than TT's is the reason I got mine but they still can get squirrly. Best bet slow down till you can get off.