1/2T/huge TT vs strong cross wind = BAADDD DAY

[C_Schomer]

This happened Sunday at about 1 PM. We were on SB I-25 just north of the Spanish Peaks and the crosswind from the west was as strong as I’ve ever been in. There were RVs of every sort stopped under all the bridges and on all the ramps. I never had wind whip my fiver around like that so I pulled off the road just like the rest of them. We took an exit ramp that looked like it had some space for a couple of more RVs. We stopped and then we looked a little farther south down the ramp and down the road a couple hundred more yards and there was a small traffic jam. There was an F150 still hook to a travel trailer that was every bit as long as my 32 foot fiver. The wind was so strong it turned that truck and trailer a perfect 90° across the bar pit and the truck was still up on the road heading straight west. The trailer was on its side andnthe back wheels of the pick up we’re about 6 inches off the road. There was just enough room between the front bumper of the truck and the ditch on the west side for traffic to get by so I jumped in line and got past that wreck before the cops and wreckers got there and close down the entire lane.
I only have my phone and I will try to post the picture. If I can’t I will post it in early January when I get back to my PC at home. Luckily all the people were standing in the bar pit behind the trailer, out of the wind, and I don’t think anybody got seriously hurt. PTL! Craig
iZSUn9il

[Edd505]

But the salesman said my F150 could pull it!

[coolmom42]

We once spent 48 hours in Albuquerque waiting for crosswinds on I-40 to die down, across Texas and Oklahoma. That's some scary stuff to a girl from the hills of Tennessee. We simply do not get wind like that for any sustained amount of time.

[coolmom42]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
What's a bar pit ????

a ditch

[dedmiston]

Grit dog wrote:
Poof, goes the mod!

You're a pretty smart guy. I bet if you cleaned up your language, your posts wouldn't get deleted. I know you can do it.

I actually like most of your posts, but then you shoot yourself in the foot with your language.

[Grit_dog]

Poof, goes the mod!

[RAS43]

JRscooby wrote:
Let me see if I stand under what happened; A wind strong enough to move a trailer sidewise turned the trailer into a sail, which pulled the TV crossways? And a heavier TV would solve the problem?
I think a much heavier trailer would be more likely to solve the problem

X2

[Grit_dog]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
What's a bar pit ????

Old Railroad slang for borrow pit....or median I spose if the median was a borrow pit for the road grade.

[JAC1982]

The wind was crazy all along the Front Range on Sunday afternoon. We were on I-25 as well, returning home from a morning RZR ride in Northern CO, and there were warning signs all over saying that lightweight high profile vehicles (IE campers) should exercise extreme caution. The NWS had put out a high wind warning earlier in the day saying forecasts of gusts up to 65mph. We watched a guy with an older Expedition (NOT with the diesel) pulling a pretty long travel trailer. Rear end of the vehicle was sagging. He was poking along at about 40mph (in the area where speed limit is 75). He was lightly swaying too. We were also towing our RZR on a utility trailer but we still hurried up to get around and past him. He should have just pulled over to wait it out.

[Cummins12V98]

valhalla360 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Another reason of why you should have more truck than you need.

I could have floored it and did more than 45mph but every so often the crosswind would push us around. Saw several semis get blown across a lane also.

We already have a 3/4 ton pulling a 7000lb trailer...At what point does it become absurd getting a bigger truck?

A bit of common sense goes a long ways as you slowed to be safe.

[Cummins12V98]

Lynnmor wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Another reason of why you should have more truck than you need.

But it was 1/2 ton towable! 😞

Well that should be fine then.

[valhalla360]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Another reason of why you should have more truck than you need.

I could have floored it and did more than 45mph but every so often the crosswind would push us around. Saw several semis get blown across a lane also.

We already have a 3/4 ton pulling a 7000lb trailer...At what point does it become absurd getting a bigger truck?

[mowermech]

joshuajim wrote:
Bar pit, Bar ditches are a shortened phrase for barrow. When older highways were built they “barrowed” soil from the side of the road to elevate the roadway and provide a place for rain water to collect.

I guess it depends on the source. I was always told it was a "borrow" pit because of the dirt "borrowed" from there to make the road bed.
If it is a "barrow" pit, it is because of the dirt that was hauled from there in wheelbarrows to build the road bed.
Whatever...
As for the OP, near Livingston, MT on I-90 the winds can be so strong that the freeway is closed to "high-profile" vehicles. Semis and RV trailers often get blown over along that stretch of highway. If an 80,000 pound truck/trailer rig must stop, your RV behind a pickup doesn't have a chance. I don't care if your truck is a half ton gasser, a 3/4 ton diesel, or a one ton diesel dually, you better get off the road!

[joshuajim]

Bar pit, Bar ditches are a shortened phrase for barrow. When older highways were built they “barrowed” soil from the side of the road to elevate the roadway and provide a place for rain water to collect.

[Lynnmor]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Another reason of why you should have more truck than you need.

But it was 1/2 ton towable! 😞

[goducks10]

Guess this truck wasn't big enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn3DQNqgzAA