Rigs that handle like cars in the wind?

azdryheat wrote:
My current toy hauler and previous 5th wheel handle severe winds pretty well. Might be all the tires on the pavement. Been in 40 mph crosswinds and never felt like we would lose control; always stayed in our lane just fine. Not saying we don't slow down with the rest of the traffic but have never felt the need to pull over and wait it out.

X2 Our last RV never had a problem with wind. Those days are now over as this MH frontal area is a giant kite.

I think everyone has to find their own comfort level with the coach they drive. Our 40' was just fine under most conditions but there were times when stopping for a bit just made us more comfortable.

Now with the 43' and tag axle it's definitely more stable and I can handle much higher winds than before but I'm sure the time will come that stopping is more prudent than continuing on.

It's all a matter of understanding your limitations and comfort zone.

FW dually in my experience is very resistant to bring pushed around by the wind.

Some days and in some places out west, the tumble weeds were passing us. I figured they knew where they were going so I just tried to keep up.
Really the problems in high winds is where are the winds are coming from? direct head winds just slow us down, just the opposite for a tail wind. The left side isn't too bad it will sway the coach but I've never had the wind blow us out of our lane. but the right side has our awning, three different times we have had it unfurl from its rolled position, plus once on Deception Pass bridge we were hit with a 70MPH gust that tore the awning completely off the Newmar, and put us up on two wheels, really it left stuff marks half way up the side walls of the front tires. Same place, same story, we lost the awning off our 25' big foot trailer. (completely tore it off) This trip in Odessa Tx, over night we were required to pull the slide in due to winds flapping the slide topper really hard. I feared it would get damaged, plus it was making a racket.

I guess bottom line here is some winds aren't so bad, other are, it then becomes a judgement call with what you know at the time.

Longer wheel base and less rear overhang are probably more important than profile, at least in my experience with five RVs. Another thing: If you're going to be traveling in the wind, fill your water tank and maybe keep your holding tanks full. It does make a difference.

I have driven our coach in some heavy winds and have never felt nervous or out of control. The effects are more obvious in the coach than in a car however less than I would have expected.

We have a Blue Ox True Center which works great in heavy winds to reduce the pressure on the steering wheel. Our coach is just shy of 50,000 lbs as well as the tag axle help a lot.

So far I have never needed more than one hand and most times one finger to stay in control.

Stuart

We have a 40 DP with a tag axle and Comfort Steer. The Comfort Steer really counters the wind and road crown. We live in So Cal and the wind the last few days would not have had much affect on my coach.

Airstream?

Smart move on your part.

The only thing that handles like a car in the wind is a vehicle with the same wind load area as the car.

No big box can handle like a sports car.

Generally, longer wheel base, heavy coaches with tag axles do better in crosswinds. We had a 32' gas class A that got pushed around a lot, then a 36' DP that was better but still hard to handle in really bad winds, and now a 42' tag axle coach that is much better. However, on a recent trip heading west on I-10 in west Texas with 40 mph winds with stronger gusts, it also moved around some. We got off the road and into an RV park but the winds were so strong we could barely open the entry door. The coach rocked for hours even sitting still.