wind

[frizzen]

We had a windy night while we were out this weekend and it got me to thinking. How high wind speed would it take directly from the side to flip a parked trailer?

[colliehauler]

An other thing you can do in high wind is fill all your tanks, water black and gray. This will give the trailer a lot more weight lowering the center of gravity.

[tatest]

It can depend on a number of different things, weight being one. A 24-foot box with 200 sq ft side area might weigh as little as 3500 pounds, could be as much as 6000, within the range of today's methods of TT construction. It might sit 10 inches off the ground, might be more than 20, exposing the floor to more wind and raising center of gravity.

I've seen isolated trailers sitting on just their wheels and tongue jack flipped at 35-40 mph with gusts to 60-70. I've seen high winds rip through a dealership and flip nearly half of the inventory. But in actual camping conditions, I think winds flipping RVs is pretty rare.

I've been camped with a group several times in heavy storm conditions. We have a mix of lightweight and heavy fivers, light and medium weight TTs, and motorhomes 26 to 40 feet, and while some rocked, nobody flipped. Each time we were in wooded areas, which cuts down the wind at ground level by quite a bit, but some of us got hit by falling limbs. At least twice, hosts or rangers came through an evacuated us to the restrooms or storm shelters.

TTs particularly will be more stable when camped, because they have corner jacks down, changing the location of the fulcrum (so long as the jacks hold up to the forces on them). Fivers, though taller, are supported by landing gear at two corners of a usually much heavier frame, might have a lower center of gravity because of frame weight, all of which might make them harder to tip than a lightweight TT.

Worst I've been in with my motorhome was gusts to 80 MPH in an open hilltop area west of Houston. Nobody in that RV park flipped. I did pull in my slideouts that time, and that reduced the rocking, thus the wind was probably getting under those to push.

[mabynack]

I spent the night in my RV during Hurricane Opal. The wind speed on the hill about a half mile from where I was parked was measured at 96 mph that night. The 24 foot travel trailer was rocking pretty good, but didn't flip. We weren't getting a direct hit on the side. We were backed in north-westerly and the wind was coming from the south. Not an experience I would like to repeat.

[bguy]

Sorry I can't make a cliky. The scene I was trying to find is around 28 seconds in.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/a-look-back-at-devastating-hurricane-igor/13153/

Angle of attack I would think is more relevant to actual wind speed. From the side my gut feeling would be anything above 80-100kmh would be risky.

[mgirardo]

This past summer we had a what the National Weather Service called a macroburst storm with winds at 85 mph. There are close to 100 seasonal campers at our seasonal campground.

The winds at the campground were strong enough to flip and toss our 12' porta-bote almost 100 feet. A few RVs sustained damage (2 or 3 were totaled), but none were flipped. Three RVs, ours included, were subject to the full force of the wind since we are directly across from a farm and no protection from the wind.

-Michael

[FunnyCamper]

not sure what it takes to flip but we were in a huge storm. wind was in the 60-70 mph area and we were rocking alot and it was kinda spooky but came thru ok. I think there might have been a few gusts in there higher than that.
we had a 34ft travel trailer at the time.

of course the walk after the storm alot of campers lost their awnings 🙂
one of those usual things, one flipped back right over the camper but many were just hanging mangled. but no trailers flipped.

[rhagfo]

bguy wrote:
Not the clip I as looking for, but;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ2fwLcNiq4

Wind speed in that area got to 100-110kmh.

Clicky

I would say a fine bit of recovery!

[bguy]

Not the clip I as looking for, but;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ2fwLcNiq4

Wind speed in that area got to 100-110kmh.

[MNRon]

I can't give you a direct answer. But I can tell you we pulled into an open park in IA a few years ago in very strong winds. It was ~April and no one was in the park, just a bunch of open spots facing a wind blown field and lake. It was late and we needed to stop. I left the 5th wheel hooked up for stability and pointed the truck into the wind. We left the slides in and road out the night, a little bit nervous as it rocked and rolled. Next day heard there were tornados about 50miles away. Not sure what winds we had, but didn't enjoy it and more importantly were safe.

If you have to, maximize your odds: stay hooked up, put down stab jacks, and point into wind if you can...your trailer survives 60+ mph winds head-on every time you drive.

[MFL]

I looked at a TT this summer, that was blown over, rolled four times, in what they said was a 65 mph wind. It was a 2014 trailer, about 30' long. It was parked on the edge of town, on a sales lot. It sure looked to be cheaply built, and really came apart. No one was in it at the time.

I got caught in a storm with my previous FW, in a SP. The wife and I rode it out, but I am sure I felt the FW front raise slightly, a time or two. We were lucky, the wind hit the front straight on.

Jerry

[DutchmenSport]

Click here for another thread started by another RV.net member. He handled this much better than I would have.

[kalynzoo]

Physics: Wind direction as it reaches RV, 90degrees, 45degrees, etc. Center of gravity of RV, low high well balanced.
In SoCal gusty winds in the 60mph range (Santa Ana Winds) are not unusual and seldom do we hear of a parked RV being blown over.

[DrewE]

It's rather obviously hard to give too much of an answer without some idea of what kind of trailer, how it is or is not secured, etc.

This Yahoo question and answer suggests it might start being a concern around 50 mph, particularly for tall 5th wheel trailers. (They also point out, quite reasonably, that having an awning unfurled on the windward side can assist the tip-over.)

These are wind speeds are where it's getting difficult to walk around, particularly if it's at all gusty.

[corvettekent]

I don't know but I remember one night that I was parked on the edge of a hill with the wind blowing up under the trailer and I was hoping that we would not roll down the hill.