High Winds

[ETnRvr]

We had a storm go through this morning and it reminded me to post this question that I have been wondering about for some time. What is the safest configuration for a class A in high winds? Thanks.

[Lincolnboy2]

Good question, I'd like to know too. Also, when are the winds too high to travel in....Dont want get get blown over traveling or parked!!

[doc]

Put the nose or rear of the coach into the wind to give the smallest profile of resistence you can. Slides and awnings in. Jacks down to stabilize, but tires still on the ground.
We had a bad storm in Wall, SD one night and was sorta thankful the towed was still attached. It rocked us a bit, but that was about it.
We got caught another occasion in a freak snowstorm in the Rockies with the wind blowing from the side. Jacks were up and we were road ready, but it was snowing so hard we could not see and we were rocking pretty bad. Just sat it out and after about 30 minutes it stopped. In another 30 the snow was pretty much slush and we got off the pass without a lot of second thoughts about taking more photos.

[Lincolnboy2]

In Kansas, (Southwest area, Lakin / Garden City) my family home is where I park the coach nose facing due east. Thats the only place I can park and hook up to shore power (I bought a 30 amp service box and my Uncle installed it for me) so I don't have a lot of choice in that respect when staying there...

I drove the car up for Thanksgiving and left the coach and the babies at home (I had one of those "I need a break" moments) with their Uncle Randy to oversee their caretaking in my absence. The morning I came home, overnight a torrential north to south windstorm had cranked up and lifted the huge trampoline (with a full cover on top for safety to keep the kids in) up and turned it upside down in the back yard. I was thinking with those 40-50 mph winds it would have blown the coach over!!

I don't think really it would have, but it was scarey and I was thankful I didn't bring the coach. BUT there will be a time I will be up there and the wind might catch me....just gotta know how high the winds can get before I'm not able to travel. I know I have heard of high wind warnings on the weather, but sure didn't think about it until that happened.....

Of course a good 40-50 mph wind from north to south when I am heading south is a good thing for MPG! The car got 28.5 mpg on that trip! The best I've ever done in the car was about 23 or 24 mpg. When I re-fueled, the distance to empty went to 533 miles!! I had to take a picture of that one!!!!

[RVRon]

Originally Posted by doc

Put the nose or rear of the coach into the wind to give the smallest profile of resistence you can. Slides and awnings in. Jacks down to stabilize, but tires still on the ground.

Like doc said, everything in, jacks down. We were in New Hampshire last June and an unexpected windstorm blew through. We were parked facing Northeast and the wind was from there. Once we got the slides in, the coach stabilized and the top awnings stopped buzzing and flapping in the wind. It was so bad, I even considered leaving the coach and getting in the toad (Chevy Tahoe) as I thought it "might" be safer.

I wonder what the other members might think about abandoning the coach for the toad?

[Lincolnboy2]

Originally Posted by RVRon

Like doc said, everything in, jacks down. We were in New Hampshire last June and an unexpected windstorm blew through. We were parked facing Northeast and the wind was from there. Once we got the slides in, the coach stabilized and the top awnings stopped buzzing and flapping in the wind. It was so bad, I even considered leaving the coach and getting in the toad (Chevy Tahoe) as I thought it "might" be safer.

I wonder what the other members might think about abandoning the coach for the toad?

Frightening to think it gets that bad....but I know it does...

[Ragingbull]

Yesterday we had winds of 46 mph hitting us broadside in our 79 Pace Arrow. It rocked to be sure but I never worried about it rolling us. All 6 tires are firmly planted on the ground and I've got stabilizer jack stands under front and rear. Other then lots of wind noise and some mild rocking I think we'd have been safe to at least 70 mph winds or higher. Overall this class A sits sort of low and not alot of wind can get under it. I think that helps considerably.

[CrazyTed]

Heck, on our old 5ver, we were camped at the top of a mountain near Altoona, PA when a wind storm came in. The 5ver was over 17,000 pounds and was on the front stabilizer jacks and the rear stab jacks where down. You could feel the front stabilizers sliding on the wood from the wind gusts.

[CLIFFTALL]

Originally Posted by Lincolnboy2

Good question, I'd like to know too. Also, when are the winds too high to travel in....Dont want get get blown over traveling or parked!!

Fire trucks are parked at 40 mph. So I'm told. You'll also see truck stops full when those winds are present.

[Frantz]

We are wintering on the Oregon Coast where we have experienced gusts of 70+mph (100+mph on the headlands) with sustained winds of 30 - 40mph. In fact we are having winds of 30mph w/gusts of 50 mph as I write this.
We brought the slides in when the winds hit 70mph. Once we repaired an unstitched seam on our biggest slide topper it really doesn't even sound like we are going to blow away. We do sway/rock but we feel safe. Making sure the toppers were not flapping made ALL the difference....the sound made it scarier than it actually was. We are VERY aware of trees and park accordingly.
Driving is another story. If we are traveling across any long bridges we won't go if winds/gusts are over 20mph. Inland driving we stay parked at 30 - 35mph.

[jzick]

Headwinds and tailwinds are not really a big deal most of the time as long as slides are in, but those cross winds can be scary. The dog and I went through a storm where a tornado crossed a quarter mile from us in the middle of the night and the wind shifted as it went by. It felt like at one time one side lifted the tires off the ground. But, hey, life is not a permanent situation so you do the best you can. Happy travels.

[historyljc]

Originally Posted by doc

Put the nose or rear of the coach into the wind to give the smallest profile of resistence you can. Slides and awnings in. Jacks down to stabilize, but tires still on the ground.
. . .

Remember, these things are designed to take at least a 70 - 80 mph wind from the the front. A side wind can rock them pretty good, but it's going to take a real sporty wind to blow over a stablized 14 - 18 tons.

[mrschwarz]

Originally Posted by Frantz

We brought the slides in when the winds hit 70mph. Once we repaired an unstitched seam on our biggest slide topper it really doesn't even sound like we are going to blow away. We do sway/rock but we feel safe. Making sure the toppers were not flapping made ALL the difference....the sound made it scarier than it actually was.

How do you stop the slide toppers from flapping? We had heavy winds in Port Aransas this morning and the big slide topper unwound all the way and back again. I brought the slide in to prevent damage.

[chaunclm]

We were in the panhandle headed to Ft Desota Park, near St Petersburg, Florida to visit our daughter's family. A strong tropical storm was headed for the Panama City area, so we drove hard to get to our destination. Well, the storm changed course, and when we arrived in St Petersburg the park was closed and evacuated. We went to our daughter's home and parked on the street. We were in a 17 foot Casita.

That night we spent in our little trailer and rode out the storm. We kept the TT hitched to the Pickup, chocked all the wheels, started up our generator. The wife and I and the cats went to bed. Boy did we bounce around. I swear that the trailer left the pavement a couple of times. The Rain poured and poured. The next morning tree branches and debris were everywhere. But we came through just fine. The Tampa airport measured a 67 mile an hour gust.