Can your RV handle the high winds of a hurricane?

I grew up in tornado country in Indiana and when living in Kansas, I once had to outrun an EF 4 along the turnpike just east of Lawrence. Another time, I had my Subaru moved from the driving lane to the passing lane outside Russell just like a little kid might move a toy car along with pitch blackness for a moment. Then water came out of the sky like a bucket, literally, with four inches of water on the highway for a
minute. Very very scary. That one was sort of a fluke that dropped out of the sky and the weather radio did not mention until after. finally, I had one coming directly for my house in Topeka in a straight line lifting part of the roof off of a high school a half mile away then fortunately lifting up.

I always think of hurricanes as tornados. Michael was a 90 mile wide tornado and within that 90 mile wide swathe, the force ranged from an EF1 to an EF 3 level tornado. No thanks, not living anywhere where this happens and not ever going to test my RV against it. I don't live in KS anymore either.

Sat through a category 1 last year after racing to FL to secure my boat for one of the other hurricanes. It was pretty scary actually. Anything more than a cat 1 would not be a good idea. Felt like it would flip but it didn't.

The Weather Channel girl was showing those train cars turned over and was walking too close to the cars that still had the wheel assemblies on them. The cars only sit on the wheels and could have fallen off!
I have a 3 year old 40' X 60' Red Iron Building bolted to 65 yards of concrete and it is only rated for 130 mph winds!

I saw a few mobile homes near Kissimmee after hurricane Charley. They were properly tied down; all that remained were chassis and wheels, tied down. Fortunately we were a few miles away.

Wind born debris, would be my big worry.

well my class A survived the Cat 1 that Michael was when he got to my part of GA. Very thankful that he went from Cat 3 at GA/FL line to Cat 1 here 60 miles NE. Eye actually went right over my area. It was sitting so front end was facing SE and rear toward NW, so wind didn't hit it broadside. I was in S&B next to it and terrified. Sure wasn't prepared for Michael to intensify and come so far inland as a Hurricane. I am actually 165 miles from where Michael made landfall.

I have had 100 MPH winds and survived. I was not comfortable and would not like to see it again.. I've seen tornados vie "Remote Viewing" (No folks nothing paranormal. Remotly operated closed circuit video camera).

Michael was 155 MPR measured. .Cat 4 1 MPH More and he'd have been Cat-5

That's about the middle of the Tornado scale.. Think about this.

Best place to be in a Hurricane or Tornado... ELSEWHERE

Take your RV with you

In my area the home building code requires windows meet a 155 MPH wind load rating. I suppose that means if the house is blown away the windows will remain. :)

There is a reason that people living in trailers are STRONGLY advised to evacuate. Not much will withstand a cat 3 or 4 hurricane. Travel trailers are sails when it comes to wind forces. Pray for those in the Panhandle of Florida..

DutchmenSport wrote:
Who knows, a direct 150 mph hit on the front of an RV, and it might survive. After all, they are made to withstand 60-70-80 mph winds (head on) on the highway!

We had a tornado go through here a few years back, the nieghbours Class A was back to the wind. After the storm passed they looked at it and thought everything including the awning was fine and so they’d have a place to stay while the (thankfully pretty minor) damage to their house was repaired .......

Till they went in the motorhome and realized the wind had sucked both roof vents off and that had let in enough air that the windshield had been vacuumed out of the frame.

Don’t be too surprised that 150 mph winds toppled 30 ton (actually a lot less since the running gear stayed behind) rail cars over, many, many, many times a day a 180 mph wind picks up a FOUR HUNDRED TON hunk of aluminum ......

It’s called a jumbo jet........