Like most folks nowadays I have become spoiled by the cascading amount of information about the weather. Turn on any channel, click on hundreds of sources on the net, turn on the weather radio....and you get inundated by weather info. Seems like you really have a handle on the weather. Well, yes and no. The nature of the TC lifestyle is that most folks are dispersed in the back country where the weather may vary significantly from the official predictions. Last week we sat through an inundation of rain that wasn't reported on the official weather sites. Happens to all of us all the time.All this leads me to ask the question: Do you have experience with a weather station that can be operated from your TC? I have seen an Acurite Professional Weather Center that has wind speed (something very important in a TC) as well as humidity, temperature, rainfall and barometric pressure. It is designed for backyard use, but I wonder if it would work on the road?I sure would like to hear about other's experience with this subject. I checked the stickies to determine if this had been a recent discussion, and I didn't find anything. Bear in mind that this is specifically tailored to our concerns with truck camping and weather.

I have used this one, second one down on the page, Weather Station for 8 months now. Works great and it is wireless! There are a variety of ways to mount the exterior unit. I have always wanted one and now I know what the weather is at MY location, not at a weather station 25 miles away.

I would say these kinds of weather stations are kin to the old indian rock hanging from a tripod. If the rock is wet on the north side its raining from the north. If the rock is covered with snow it is snowing outside etc...The best solution for me is to keep tabs on the OTA digital NATL BROADCAST stations from the local town. I have very good luck picking up from 6-36 of these stations all in full blown high def mode. Usually there is one 24/7 weather radar channel.Of course your best bet is to have a NOAH WX ALERT RADIO on 24/7 when camping off the power grid. They sound off alerts for the area you are in.I like getting useful weather information of what might be heading my way so we can get ready for the bad weather situation. Camping in an OFF-ROAD POPUP can be exciting when going thru some bad weather with high winds. Your personal weather station would be neat to play with but IMO it really is just something neat to have. Having a couple of hours lead time for me is a much better situation.These are the two things I have on when we are camping off the power grid here on the East side of the US.just my thoughtsRoy Ken

I find most weather information on the web ... very slow to access and figure out, except for this one.Live Titan HD RadarClick on that link and it takes you to South Dakota but you canuse the -/+ on the left to zoom in and out to go ANYWHERE OR just use the roller on your mouse to do that very quickly.Use your mouse to grab the map and move it around ...then roll down to zoom in. Use the overlays and the layers to give you Storm tracking, fire index, alerts...even earthquakes.

I installed a La Crosse weather station that is 3.75" x 5.5" x 0.5" in size and has a remote sending unit that is 5" x 1.5" x 0.75" in size. Works well though I remove the batteries when not using the camper. I like it to know the outside temperatures and have an idea as to whether or not I need to worry about freezing in the water line. I had that problem a year ago in Yellowstone and it was good to know exactly how cold it got outside exactly where we were camped. Weather radios have their place but most of the time we cannot get a signal we are and fall back to the internet for a forecast for the days ahead at our planned destinations. Neither is any good at telling me how cold it got the night before or even what the current outside temperature is in the morning. They also have a barometer history function which helps to spot a coming front and change in the weather. I would have loved to have had this on sailboats when I was making ocean passages as barographs were too large and much too expensive to even consider.

We have used a weather station from Oregon Scientific for several years. I've fitted one of the mounting tubes to the ladder and have a coupling for a snug fit so that it can be stored among the clothes in the hanging locker, when underway.There is wind direction and strength. Humidity, a Barometer, with a time graph showing trends, temps in and out, a rain gauge ( not often used), atomic time, date, and moon phases, It also offers a forecast based on returns and can be synchronized with the laptop.After many years at sea we are very comfortable with doing our own forecasting. We did not have such a sophisticated system for the Ketch Imagine, it has been a very useful tool and fun to observe.

Weather station for TCs? | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

skipbee
Explorer
Aug 21, 2013
Dear "6",

Putting up the weather station is part of our set-up procedure. On the tube which is attached to the anemometer is an 8" coupling that fits over the tube attached to the ladder. The device has to be oriented to magnetic North for the wind direction read-out. We also have to align the "lubber line" of the TC to aim the satellite dish.

The receiver instrument is turned on inside (I take out the batteries when stored). In the April,2013 issue of www.truckcampermagazine.com I wrote an article on Assateague which shows the weather station as describes its use.
JoeChiOhki
Explorer II
Aug 21, 2013
Barometer, exterior temp gauge are the two ya really need. Barometer will let you know if there's a storm coming your way and the temp gauge will tell you what kind of exterior temps your dealing with.

An interior humidistat is nice to keep an eye on the levels for comfort.

Beyond that, it's all plush :p.
67avion
Explorer II
Aug 21, 2013
Skipbee wrote:
We have used a weather station from Oregon Scientific for several years. I've fitted one of the mounting tubes to the ladder and have a coupling for a snug fit so that it can be stored among the clothes in the hanging locker, when underway.

Thanks for the info Skipbee. I have found over time that you are a really knowledgable member of the Forum. I'm still hoping to get to Assateague and Chincoteague and join your crew at the Bullpin.

I was wondering if you could share a photo or two of your set-up on the weather station? Especially if you have pix of it being used.

(On Edit) I just took a peek at your You Tube videos, "Living the Lance Life" and there is the pole with the weather sensor attached. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY3iU1mLvgo

OK, so you have it working before you go to the beach?
skipbee
Explorer
Aug 20, 2013
We have used a weather station from Oregon Scientific for several years. I've fitted one of the mounting tubes to the ladder and have a coupling for a snug fit so that it can be stored among the clothes in the hanging locker, when underway.

There is wind direction and strength. Humidity, a Barometer, with a time graph showing trends, temps in and out, a rain gauge ( not often used), atomic time, date, and moon phases, It also offers a forecast based on returns and can be synchronized with the laptop.

After many years at sea we are very comfortable with doing our own forecasting. We did not have such a sophisticated system for the Ketch Imagine, it has been a very useful tool and fun to observe.
wintersun
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2013
I installed a La Crosse weather station that is 3.75" x 5.5" x 0.5" in size and has a remote sending unit that is 5" x 1.5" x 0.75" in size. Works well though I remove the batteries when not using the camper.

I like it to know the outside temperatures and have an idea as to whether or not I need to worry about freezing in the water line. I had that problem a year ago in Yellowstone and it was good to know exactly how cold it got outside exactly where we were camped.

Weather radios have their place but most of the time we cannot get a signal we are and fall back to the internet for a forecast for the days ahead at our planned destinations. Neither is any good at telling me how cold it got the night before or even what the current outside temperature is in the morning.

They also have a barometer history function which helps to spot a coming front and change in the weather. I would have loved to have had this on sailboats when I was making ocean passages as barographs were too large and much too expensive to even consider.
louiskathy
Explorer
Aug 20, 2013
I find most weather information on the web ... very slow to access and figure out, except for this one.

Live Titan HD Radar

Click on that link and it takes you to South Dakota but you can
use the -/+ on the left to zoom in and out to go ANYWHERE OR just use the roller on your mouse to do that very quickly.

Use your mouse to grab the map and move it around ...then roll down to zoom in.

Use the overlays and the layers to give you Storm tracking, fire index, alerts...even earthquakes.
RoyB
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2013
I would say these kinds of weather stations are kin to the old indian rock hanging from a tripod. If the rock is wet on the north side its raining from the north. If the rock is covered with snow it is snowing outside etc...

The best solution for me is to keep tabs on the OTA digital NATL BROADCAST stations from the local town. I have very good luck picking up from 6-36 of these stations all in full blown high def mode. Usually there is one 24/7 weather radar channel.

Of course your best bet is to have a NOAH WX ALERT RADIO on 24/7 when camping off the power grid. They sound off alerts for the area you are in.

I like getting useful weather information of what might be heading my way so we can get ready for the bad weather situation. Camping in an OFF-ROAD POPUP can be exciting when going thru some bad weather with high winds.

Your personal weather station would be neat to play with but IMO it really is just something neat to have. Having a couple of hours lead time for me is a much better situation.

These are the two things I have on when we are camping off the power grid here on the East side of the US.

just my thoughts

Roy Ken
Dog_Folks
Explorer
Aug 20, 2013
I have used this one, second one down on the page, Weather Station for 8 months now. Works great and it is wireless!

There are a variety of ways to mount the exterior unit. I have always wanted one and now I know what the weather is at MY location, not at a weather station 25 miles away.

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Weather station for TCs?

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