When is it too windy?

If you don't feel comfortable driving, don't. We travel a lot in the Great Plains and are used to heavy winds. I found that the toad helps to stabilize the coach in the high winds. I air up everything to stiffen the ride and this works out well for me, but I have thousands of miles of driving in high winds.
Again, if YOU don't feel comfortable, just wait it out. Usually very early in the morning, before the sun comes up, is best to get on the roads as the winds are still fairly light for a few hours after sunrise.

We usually just sit it out. No need to put yourself into a stressful and possibly dangerous situation. The only time we go under poor weather circumstances is if we have an event or appointment that can't be rescheduled and we have to be there.

BTW, we are in Pahrump, NV right now and the winds are terrible!

On our first long trip years ago I got blown over to the next lane.

Now if it's blowing hard enough to rock the coach while it's sitting I won't leave camp.

Unless you're on a tight schedule or have to make an emergency run, I recommend sitting it out until you're comfortable with a "go" decision.

Yeah, I'm not on a schedule; I could wait. As I look north at our next major stop, Las Vegas, the wind there is manageable: 14-21mph. And beyond that it looks ok too.

I guess I don't mind getting pushed around the road a bit; guess I'm most concerned about just getting pushed OVER!

If you had to post the question I'm sure you already knew the answer :W
I couldn't believe the difference in RV's in the wind from the previous 5er to a MH. I would pull the 5er in almost any wind condition, not so much now.

dshinnick wrote:
We have a 40' DP, and have been on the road full-time for five years, so we're not inexperienced. But here in Laughlin, NV, the wind is rocking us as we sit in our park. We'd planned on heading north today, but now I'm just not sure about driving in wind like this. We have a small tow car, which we can drive separately if needed, but I was interested in opinions about when it's ok to go, or better to sit and let it pass. If I go, I figured I'd fill up with fresh water and gas, to help lower the center of gravity, and drive more slowly than usual. Any thoughts?

thanks-

dave

Dave,
1. down load some weather apps. to your iPhone. Like : The Weather Channel, Yahoo weather, Wunderground, Wind Alert. I use all of them to get a more accurate over all weather condition report i.e. winds mph and then a 10 day projection. I don't just rely on 1 weather report to make my decision: Under 20 mph I don't worry about if there are no big gusts mph. I also look at the 10 day projection to give me an idea of what to expect. This lets me know if the winds are just starting or ending a pattern.
2. when the winds get up to 30mph with wind gusts , I look at other considerations, can I leave early in the morning?, can I stay put for a day or so?, is there a different route I can take?
3. if needed, I will put a little extra fresh water in the tank for weight.

45Ricochet wrote:
If you had to post the question I'm sure you already knew the answer :W
I couldn't believe the difference in RV's in the wind from the previous 5er to a MH. I would pull the 5er in almost any wind condition, not so much now.

X2. We sold the FW and dually last year. Rock solid in even the worst winds. Moho is better than the old travel trailer though.

I have found the with the Moho that if it is getting windy the trucks will start to slow down and I basically track with them. If they allow down to 35mph on the freeway then so do I. Near Joshua Tree NP last year wind was very bad. We drove about 25 mph for an hour... Just poking along behind the big trucks. If they had started to pull over then so would I.

I have a long has Moho. Did CHF which helped a lot too.

Someone mentioned about the toad helping in wind. I haven't had the toad along during a windy drive yet so looking "forward" to seeing how much that helps.

Finally,
Headwind ok
Tailwind wonderful
Crosswinds dangerous

Let it settle and then go. No fun hanging on the wheel to drive.

I figure it is too windy when I don't feel comfortable. I made the trip from Laughlin to L.V. on Dec 1st a few years back. We were ready the night before and should have left because of the forecast but didn't. Had to leave the next day so made the whole trip with a top speed of 35 m.p.h. and hit snow in Searchlight. Have had stretches on I 90 in MT. where we had to slow to a crawl and put 4 way flashes on until we could get off the interstate. My point being doable and comfortable are two different things. I lean more toward comfortable now.