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

[dedmiston]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
The center one is called the medium (I'm not sure why).

The word is actually "median", which also means middle.

My wife is in landscape construction and she has built thousands of miles of medians.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/median%20strip

[CavemanCharlie]

Grit dog wrote:

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.

Thank you as well.

[CavemanCharlie]

mowermech wrote:

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!

Well, here is another explanation and I am only up to page 2. I guess it is one of those things we will never know for certain.

[CavemanCharlie]

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.

Ohhhhhh. Hum. Around here we just call them ditches. The center one is called the medium (I'm not sure why) .

And we borrow stuff to take from one place to another not barrow.

Thanks for letting me know.

[doxiemom11]

The reason we don't travel when it's windy.

[Ron3rd]

The wind is a powerful thing. 1500, 2500, 3500 probably would not have made any difference. The major forces would have been exerted against the trailer which would have acted as leverage against the tow vehicle

[Cummins12V98]

drsteve wrote:

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

I don't think an extra thousand pounds would have saved this guy...

Maybe maybe not. Point is it's never good to be on the edge.

I know this from personal experience.

[drsteve]

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

I don't think an extra thousand pounds would have saved this guy...

[dedmiston]

Dtank wrote:

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

One of my cronies from the South would regularly say, "Lets go to the bar pit tonight".

By "bar pit" he meant the BEAR PIT - a BBQ joint on Sepulveda Blvd in the San Fernando Valley, So.CA....:W

.

That place hasn't changed in... ever. It's been the same as long as I can remember.

Parking stinks. The place looks super sketchy from the outside. It doesn't look much better on the inside.

But man oh man is their barbecue amazing. We make most of our own barbecue at home (and love it), and we don't usually even bother ordering it when we go out since it's never quite good enough. The Bear Pit always hits the spot though.

Pic stolen from Google Images (not mine):

[Dtank]

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

One of my cronies from the South would regularly say, "Lets go to the bar pit tonight".

By "bar pit" he meant the BEAR PIT - a BBQ joint on Sepulveda Blvd in the San Fernando Valley, So.CA....:W

.

[pitch]

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

Another ridiculous comment by the manhood compensation folks.
When the wind can blow over a 110,000 lb semi, your puny 3/4 ton ain't gonna make an ounce of difference

[valhalla360]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

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.

Common sense, not a bigger truck.

[Grit_dog]

Yeah, news flash, that trailer could have been hooked to the back of a semi tractor and wouldn’t have made a difference. Trailer got blown over. Truck didn’t.

[Grit_dog]

dedmiston wrote:

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.

My bad. Apologies.