Cross winds?

[McGoo]

Having owned both a 29’ 5th wheel (no problem) and a 40’ motor home, (big problem) crosswinds have become a large concern. I am downsizing to a 25’ travel trailer. I will be pulling it with a fully trailer equipped, 2015 F150. Will crosswinds be a problem?

[Hannibal]

roothoss1282 wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
Wind also effects 5vers. You just don't feel it in the cab of the PU. Gives a sense of security. There was a post a couple of years ago RVer towing a Alpenlite 5ver on I-80 west of Cheyenne, WY. Ripped the 5ver right out of the hitch. Wind rolls semis over. No matter what you have don't be lulled into over confidence. Cross winds on I-80 can humble the best. I watch the weather reports no matter where I am.

I lived in the Black Hills for 30+ years and now live in the southeast. I have to laugh when people say it is windy down here. Nothing compared to I-80 or I-90 for that matter. When they say it is windy down here we use to say it is a little breezy today LOL.

A few years ago wife and I were rolling along I-10 in the Florida panhandle with a cold front coming through. It was breezy alright. Traffic was running about 35mph and our 5th wheel felt like the brakes were taking a mind of their own. When we got to DeFuniak Springs, set up and turned on the news, we learned that three tractor trailers had been blown over in the same area we had gone through.

[Mike_Up]

McGoo wrote:
I am downsizing to a 25’ travel trailer. I will be pulling it with a fully trailer equipped, 2015 F150. Will crosswinds be a problem?

YES, get an LT Tire. With the P series tires, even with good anti-sway, the trailer and truck will get pushed as "1" since the anti-sway will sort of lock the two together per say. Just like a big panel truck or bus, the wind will push you.

With a P series tire and it's soft side walls, you will sway/rock back and forth as the tire rebounds from the initial push.

With LT tires you get none of the rocking/swaying back and forth, it's only the initial push. Much more relaxed and SAFER.

Been driving in 40 mph winds. We get a lot of wind around here especially by the lake. With the LT tires, I get pushed but it's easily controlled since there's no swaying/rocking back and forth.

With the P series tires, I was white knuckling it!

See here.

[roothoss1282]

WyoTraveler wrote:
Wind also effects 5vers. You just don't feel it in the cab of the PU. Gives a sense of security. There was a post a couple of years ago RVer towing a Alpenlite 5ver on I-80 west of Cheyenne, WY. Ripped the 5ver right out of the hitch. Wind rolls semis over. No matter what you have don't be lulled into over confidence. Cross winds on I-80 can humble the best. I watch the weather reports no matter where I am.

I lived in the Black Hills for 30+ years and now live in the southeast. I have to laugh when people say it is windy down here. Nothing compared to I-80 or I-90 for that matter. When they say it is windy down here we use to say it is a little breezy today LOL.

[Samsonsworld]

Gusting cross winds can make any drive a little unnerving. About all you can do is slow down and try to avoid fast moving traffic.

[shepstone]

Our fiver is far more stable in windy conditions than our old shorter TT ever was even with a wdh, sway controller and all .

[myredracer]

dup.

[myredracer]

I don't think FWs are safer. Because they are a lot taller, they more likely to get blown (tipped) over. Drove on a highway last year with high cross winds and it was like driving on marbles and not fun (scary in fact). Only thing I could do was slow way down. Got to a rest area and a semi driver said even they have to pull over on that stretch sometimes. When we eventually got to our destination CG a local guy who drives that stretch frequently said that FWs have often been blown over on that stretch of highway.

It boils down to physics. On a TT, roughly 2/3 of the overall length is ahead of the axles and the other 1/3 behind the axles. With side wind, the 1/3 ahead of the axle and the 1/3 behind cancel each other out. Then there is 1/3 of the overall TT length at the foward end of the TT that the wind exerts a force against and wants to spin the TT about an imaginary vertical axis about the axles. If the wind is continually gusting and quickly changing velocity, that is pushing the tongue of the TT hard and then letting go repeatedly. Makes it very hard to control and you are the mercy of the wind. The only solution is to slow way down. If the wind is strong enough, pull over and wait it out. The longer a TT is, the harder it will be control in high cross winds.

If you watch this youtube vid closely, you can see the TT takes a sudden jerk to the right (at the tongue) then flips over.

JMHO.

[larry_barnhart]

WyoTraveler wrote:
Wind also effects 5vers. You just don't feel it in the cab of the PU. Gives a sense of security. There was a post a couple of years ago RVer towing a Alpenlite 5ver on I-80 west of Cheyenne, WY. Ripped the 5ver right out of the hitch. Wind rolls semis over. No matter what you have don't be lulled into over confidence. Cross winds on I-80 can humble the best. I watch the weather reports no matter where I am.

As the story went the driver was using a dually truck and felt that saved their lives. Easy to see looking at his pictures.

chevman

[Boxer_Lovers]

I drove through 35-40 mph cross winds in western Oklahoma towing our 39' fifth wheel. Doable but I don't reccomend it.

[rhagfo]

Physics states that only a 5er will be truly stable in cross winds. Number of wheels on the ground. Trailer has no leverage on TV, like a TT. Make that F150 a Max/Max, and tow a 5er with it.

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

As others have mentioned get a good WDH with sway control. I have been happy with my Reese Dual Cam.

I ran across this thread on the tech forum. The idea is to reduce the vacuum immediately behind the trailer which is said to improve stability. I thought this was an interesting idea but have zero first hand knowledge. This would only serve as 'icing on the cake' after getting a solid WDH and sway setup installed correctly.

AirTabs

Good luck,
Stu

[colliehauler]

Like others have said if it's to windy pull over and wait it out. I have traveled in high cross winds pulling a TT and it can be stressful. Another thing you can do if your going to be driving in high cross winds is fill your tanks fresh Grey and black. This will give you more weight down low where it acts as ballast.

If the crosswind is over 50 mph I will just wait it out.

[OH48Lt]

When we went out to the Grand Canyon using I-70 to cross Kansas, we ran into some bad crosswinds. Had to slow down to 55 to keep control, then the FedEx double trailer trucks passing me at 70 mph+ was always exciting. Am using a good WD hitch with sway control. Part of my problem is the short 5.5' bed/short wheelbase on my F150. I'll never do that again. In fact, just ordered a new 2016 F150, made sure it had the 6.5' bed and the extra 12 inches of wheelbase.

[real4u2c]

A really good WDH is a must, I have the Equalizer round bar, and I got to say, pulling through the Virginia and West Virginia mountains, severe storms in Illinois, was very windy at times, And not driving foolishly, You shouldn't have any problems. I used to tow our 26ft hybrid with a F150 V6, same WDH. You got plenty of truck for a shorter TT.
We currently have 33ft TT huge profile, that we pull With The Toyota Tundra, We are always mindful of mother nature, no shame in pulling over side of road or Truck stop to wait bad weather out.