Various Rv types and wind

[winnietrey]

OK, so 24ft class C, 15 years, 70 K miles all over the western US.
So hear, is my question? A 25mph cross wind, just bounces us all over our lane. But yet at times I see 5ers, TT's and the occasional class A just roar by us.

So do you guys not feel the wind? (based on your rig and setup) or does being bounced around, just not bother you as much as me?

[Grit_dog]

Veebyes wrote:
RVs are basically boxes of air on wheels. The difference is how much windage they have & where the COG is. If you know that you will be in windy conditions fill up with water. Every bit of weight down low helps.

Last time it was really windy, driving, I asked my mother in law to sit on the floor.
She asked why. I said "ballast"
Haven't had to take her with since.....

[winnietrey]

Seems to me, travelnutz, you really have the knowledge and experience. With your years, and many different types of rigs. My take away, from your post, is pretty much whatever the rig, a cross wing is difficult. I think the folks roaring by us, probably have a higher "pain and risk tolerance" and for the most I think tend to be younger. Better reflexes, less risk adverse.
Just glad to know, its just not us

[travelnutz]

Yes the high cross winds makes for very bad/scary/white knuckle driving and handling experiences with our multiples of TT's, A's, B's, C's and somewhat with TC's. We have had all of these over our 54 years of so much RV'ing all over the USA including Alaska and all but 3 remote Provinces of Canada.

The one type of RV we have owned 4 of and still own one and tow it back and forth to Florida each year and other places is virtually unaffected by strong crosswinds or semi buffeting is our 3 Carriage 5th wheels. Hardly ever even feel it pull on our truck at all nor does it move around much in crosswinds. Over course, Carriage RV's are very heavy which sure does help. Our 4 popup trailers we'd owned in our very earlier past (very long ago) of course, were not affected by crosswinds.

Our 11'4" Lance truck camper on our Chevy diesel crew cab long box 4X4 truck we have and still use a lot in the warm season when our 5th wheel is not is somewhat blown/affected by very strong crosswinds etc. However, still nothing like our 3 big Allegro class A's or our other 2 class A's owned or our 13 various model 2 B's, 2 C's, and 5 TT's we have owned over the 54 years were. Always had 2-4 RV's at any given time since 1965 because we could and because no one type of RV is good or better for the way we use them which is so varied.


Just one of the many reasons we only have the TC and the 5th wheel today. Plenty good enough + for us at our 77 years old age.

[Veebyes]

RVs are basically boxes of air on wheels. The difference is how much windage they have & where the COG is. If you know that you will be in windy conditions fill up with water. Every bit of weight down low helps.

[mdcamping]

winnietrey wrote:
OK, so 24ft class C, 15 years, 70 K miles all over the western US.
So hear, is my question? A 25mph cross wind, just bounces us all over our lane. But yet at times I see 5ers, TT's and the occasional class A just roar by us.

So do you guys not feel the wind? (based on your rig and setup) or does being bounced around, just not bother you as much as me?

I have felt it a few times.. those days where I have had wind gusts maybe around 25 mph I can feel the trailer drag left or right slightly. I just back down on the speed. My trailer foot print is only 20' and rides low to the ground so I tend to think this helps in those situations.

Mike

[magicbus]

Try coming out of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on a windy day. Exiting a tunnel on a narrow 2-lane 300 feet over the water and being hit by a 50 MPH crosswind is not fun, even when you know it’s coming. I let traffic pass, took the upwind lane, and still scared the pants off my wife in the passenger seat when we abruptly changed lanes.

Dave

[scbwr]

Bottom line is make sure your equipment is in good shape. Then, when you encounter winds, slow down a bit. If you feel you're getting pushed around, slow down some more. If you have to slow down too much, get off the road and take a break. An extra night on the road is far cheaper than dealing with a wind related accident. Each RV owner has to know the limits of their rig!!

[IdaD]

Wind doesn't seem to bother our fifth wheel much. It'll move around some on a windy day but you can't really feel it in the truck. TT's will obviously have more of an effect based on the hitch point and basic geometry.

I don't have experience with motorhomes but I've always understood they can struggle more in wind.

[BarabooBob]

We tow a 21 ft TT behind a F150, supercrew with 6 1/2 ft box. The truck is the same length as our TT. The TT is light at 3000 pounds. The wind does affect us but we slow down to whatever the speed the semis are going and take our time. Out of curiosity, I turned off the stability control that is built into th truck and found that I thought that there was more "felt sway."
Last summer we were traveling through Michigan with about a 40 mph (according to the weather channel) wind quartering to us from the left. A very large 5th wheel flew past us (and all of the semi's that were doing 50 mph) I told my wife that I would not be surprised if we passed him in the ditch up ahead. 60 miles up ahead we came to a traffic standstill and discovered that a 5th wheel had gone into the right hand ditch. After a half hour, we were allowed to drive by and saw that the fire trucks and ambulances were parked so that people would not see so much of the accident scene. The trailer looked like a bomb had gone off, nothing was recognisable except the frame and bedding that was thrown about. The truck had flopped and the cab was totally calapsed and it was sitting on what was left of the top. As we drove by, the EMT'S were putting sheet covered bodies in the ambulance.
Being in a hurry does not make sense if you endanger yourself and others.

[opnspaces]

29 ft TT pulled by a 3/4 ton Suburban with an Equal-i-zer hitch. Never felt unsafe when towing. However, I have had the wind hit us on the side on more than one occasion and I have had to react to counter steer before we wound up blown into the adjacent lane. High wing mostly feels like something is loose in the attachment point. If the bushes on he side of the road are blowing at a good rate I just slow down a bit. If it was blowing enough that the Semi's are pulling over then I would too.

[winnietrey]

I wonder? would changing the airbag pressure, have any effect? Seems like lowering it would be the way to go, less underneath to catch?

[Jayco-noslide]

Our 30 ft. Class C is bad and so is my son's 30 ft. A. You're going down the road in a big, flat, tall box. I guess our 25 ft. 5er was better but still not like a car.

[winnietrey]

myredracer wrote:

winnietrey wrote:
OK, so 24ft class C, 15 years, 70 K miles all over the western US.

Things that come to mind: What condition are shocks in? Maybe upgrade to some heavy duty ones. Get alignment checked. Check front end for worn parts in steering like ball joints, track rod, steering box, etc. What tire pressure? Higher psi could help.

I would expect a class C to be much more stable while moving than a TT because of where the axles are positioned on a TT relative to the hitch. Each gust of strong wind wants to pivot a TT around the axle location and will strongly affect steering in the TV compared to a FW. A FW will feel fairly stable due to hitch being over the rear axle in a truck but being taller has more sidewall area and is more susceptible to being tipped over.

There is very little scientific study available on comparison of high wind & overturning vs. RV type. Wichita State university did a study for stationary (parked) RVs and found "minimum overturning wind speeds (perpendicular to the vehicle) of 24 m/s (53 mi/hr) for a 5.5 m travel trailer, 29 m/s (65 mi/hr) for a 9 m motor home, 33 m/s (73 mi/hr) for a 13,600 kg semi-trailer, and 45 m/s (101 mi/hr) for a 5 m camper van. ". No mention of a FW and the study did not address sidewall area of different RV types.

Towed on I-90 between Spokane & Seattle once in high gusting winds. Felt like driving on marbles and hard to stay centered in the lane even when slowed right down. A truck driver at a rest stop told us that even semis pull over in winds like that. Someone at a CG told us he has seen numerous FWs blown clear over there!

If it feels unsafe in high winds, slow way down or pull over for a while until the winds die down. Just because some idiots fly by you at insane speeds doesn't mean there's something wrong with your RV or you.

Shocks, tires, front end and alignment, all good.

I of course slow down, or pull off. My question is more in the vein of if it, is affecting me I would think it has to be affecting others.

Having never towed anything other than a boat, I was just curious, how the wind affected others.

I do tend to notice, most of the rigs, that scream by us, and do not slow down in the wind. Appear to be driven by younger drivers. No surprise there in my opinion

[ppine]

If I was bothered by 25 mph winds in Nevada, I would have to just stay home.
Driving a TC in a lot of wind is like being at sea.
I like driving a truck that weighs more than my TT. That helps a lot.

I had a pop up trailer and a hybrd trailer which were great in the wind. They just were not so good at the campsite.