Riding out hurricane Irma in a truck camper
I'm just going to report on my experience. I left Florida with my truck camper after securing my boat down there. I am currently in south Georgia. Irma will only be a tropical storm supposedly once it is here. But I'm going to report on the behavior of my truck camper in high winds. I have seen other people asking about this but not so many people reporting on their experiences in tropical storms and hurricanes with truck campers.
After some thinking my strategy is to leave it on the truck and allow these suspension to absorb some of the rocking. I have also positioned it to face East which will be the direction that most of the strong wind will come from. Of course, a tropical system clocks around in a semicircle as it passes you. So the wind will come from the Northeast and then the southeast but mostly from the East.
As on the highway, I will be keeping all the windows and hatches closed. Because the wind speed will be similar to highway speeds.
In addition to keeping it on the vehicle, I am thinking I will also deploy the stands down to a level where they catch the truck camper if it starts to go over. Not to the level where they take all of the pressure from the wind, just to the point where they will touch if it tips too far. Kind of a compromise between putting it on stands and keeping it in the truck. From what I've read online, keeping it in the truck is preferred mostly due to the weight. And the suspension soaking up some of the rocking. But of course a wider stance and a lower stance is the most stable. There is a lot of for debate.
Keeping on the truck will help me position it so that the aerodynamic side is facing the wind mostly. I think that is a huge advantage. Lowering the two rear stands should help if it gets a little sideways to the wind and starts to tip. But those stands will only do something if it does tip. I will keep them just a little bit off the ground.
As the wind speeds increase, I will let you know what my experience is.
As for other dangers, I am located on the top of a hill away from trees. There were all sorts of options for Refugee encampments around here, but I didn't take them. I looked at the floodplain and found a parking lot that is as high as possible. I am more concerned with flooding than anything else. That's something you can't really Escape. Even if my truck camper did tip over in the wind, I'm not going to die. However, if it goes under water or is washed away, that's a life-threatening situation. So I avoided that at all costs.
I will post to let you guys know how it goes. Over the next 24 hours it will all be happening. It is starting right now.
After some thinking my strategy is to leave it on the truck and allow these suspension to absorb some of the rocking. I have also positioned it to face East which will be the direction that most of the strong wind will come from. Of course, a tropical system clocks around in a semicircle as it passes you. So the wind will come from the Northeast and then the southeast but mostly from the East.
As on the highway, I will be keeping all the windows and hatches closed. Because the wind speed will be similar to highway speeds.
In addition to keeping it on the vehicle, I am thinking I will also deploy the stands down to a level where they catch the truck camper if it starts to go over. Not to the level where they take all of the pressure from the wind, just to the point where they will touch if it tips too far. Kind of a compromise between putting it on stands and keeping it in the truck. From what I've read online, keeping it in the truck is preferred mostly due to the weight. And the suspension soaking up some of the rocking. But of course a wider stance and a lower stance is the most stable. There is a lot of for debate.
Keeping on the truck will help me position it so that the aerodynamic side is facing the wind mostly. I think that is a huge advantage. Lowering the two rear stands should help if it gets a little sideways to the wind and starts to tip. But those stands will only do something if it does tip. I will keep them just a little bit off the ground.
As the wind speeds increase, I will let you know what my experience is.
As for other dangers, I am located on the top of a hill away from trees. There were all sorts of options for Refugee encampments around here, but I didn't take them. I looked at the floodplain and found a parking lot that is as high as possible. I am more concerned with flooding than anything else. That's something you can't really Escape. Even if my truck camper did tip over in the wind, I'm not going to die. However, if it goes under water or is washed away, that's a life-threatening situation. So I avoided that at all costs.
I will post to let you guys know how it goes. Over the next 24 hours it will all be happening. It is starting right now.
