High Winds

[SVTotem]

We are lucky to have the added weight a Class A brings. We arrived at this Iowa RV park last July two nights after a line of severe thunder storms came through. This was one of several overturned trailers and there numerous ruined awnings on Class As.

[distaff]

I have driven my coach in 80kph gusts, which is 50 mph. Not pleasant but it won't turn over a loaded semi or a heavy coach.

Larger coaches with tags are better behaved.

[RJay]

Something to keep in mind with side winds. Below are wind pressures exerted for each square foot of flat surface area.

40mph = 4.0 lbs/sqft
50mph = 6.4 lbs/sqft
60mph = 9.2 lbs/sqft
70mph = 12.5 lbs/sqft

A 40ft. Motorhome has a side area of approximately 400sqft so therefore at:

40mph the motorhome will experience approx. 1,600 lbs. of side force.
50mph 2,560 lbs.
60mph 3,680 lbs.
70mph 5,000 lbs.

[rrs-ase-evt]

Originally Posted by Clifftall

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

Fire Apparatus, aerial / ladders are affected by the wind, but pumpers and rescue engines can certainly work in wind above 40mph. If they could not what would a person do when they call 911! I would bring in the slides and put jacks down or empty the air bags just to make a firm stand on the ground and yes truck stops are full during high winds and there are some restrictions on highways during high winds, I would just wait it out and enjoy your coach.

[redfire312]

class A's will still turn over, I bought my first RV, a 98 Four Winds Windsport that had been flipped on its side by straight line winds (guess the name is kinda appropriate huh?) It broke both windshields, the drivers side window, side mirror, cabinets and cabinet doors, pulled the shower loose from the wall about 6 inches etc. Actually it fared very well, I just about got things patched up and it will be road ready again soon. It's a reminder that something so large and heavy can be manipulated at will by the man upstairs.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by 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.

We went through a storm on the Oregon coast, winds at 75 mph sustained. It sure rocked the Type C we had. We didn't bring the slide in though. But were glad for the leveling jacks being down. In the morning we found that we were parked in the low spot for the area and had to wade out. Only about 8" of water though. My wife says she's never been so terrified. This was sometime around '97 or '98 as it was a '97 Type C that we traded in '98.

[Steve N Sal]

The worst we've had so far is a couple of storms two years ago in Florida. Fortunately we were pointed nose to tail with the wind but still brought in the slides and everything turned out OK.

[djbmsu]

While the coach windshield is designed to withstand high winds I can assure you the windshield is NOT designed to withstand flying objects. Whe that type of storm is present I face the back of the coach into the wind. In Florida we have gone through several hurricanes and tropical storms and have seen large objects go through the windshield.

Don and nancy
2011 Allegro RED

[pumper9x9]

If the slides are making noise or you're worried about the top flap on the slides pull in all awnings and slides and sit it out. Unless you're totally exposed you should do ok

[bigdog]

Another thing to think about is if you have a Traveler Dish,or one like it,they are not designed to withstand winds of over 30-35 MPH when raised. I found that out when mine jammed and the nice man at Winegard told me not to drive it to the shop down the road from where I was camped.
It was up,however,in Death valley in 2010 when we got hit at Furnace Creek with 80 MPH winds and then the week of the Japanese earthquake,we were camped at Grayland Beach SP on the Washington coast and got hit by 75-80 gusts and I had the dish up watching WSU playing BB.They kicked us out at 6:30AM the next day 'cuz of the tsunami as we were in the front row on the beach.
Yes,we lost the slide toppers that night at Death Valley before we could get the slides in and the awning the next day after the winds died and we were heading south and got hit by a gust of wind that almost stopped the coach.Luckily the insurance covered them both.

[RexAir_3650]

I am fairly new to Class A RVs but I know you can drive in 35-40MPH wind gusts and survive just fine. I was driving across Texas just last week and was caught in some pretty bad cross winds that were rated at up to 40MPH. I am surprised nobody talked about "White Knuckles" because I can tell you I was having a good time holding on to the wheel! I was moved a foot or so in my lane a few times and it sounded like the side/top of my RV were going to rip off a couple of times but everything stayed in one piece.

I am definitely all for driving in under 20MPH winds. Much more comfortable and my hands don't hurt from holding on to the wheel so tight! But I would be surprised if a Class A loaded down and parked could ever turn over in anything but over 100MPH side winds.

I was blown about a bit on the road but looking back 40MPH side winds were not as scary as I would have thought. We did see an inordinate amount of truckers using the pull outs and the picnic areas to rest so they were having as much fun as I did. I now religiously use weather.com to track the weather out front of me as I travel and so far it has helped me avoid any more high wind days while driving across the USA from Florida to California the last couple of weeks.

Just as a footnote we are sitting in Quartzsite, AZ waiting for some 20MPH winds to die down and some rain to pass up ahead. You only need a few 40MPH side/cross winds to make you slow down and smell the roses!

[toneumanns]

How is it when I'm southbound the wind is almost always out of the south & when I'm northbound the wind is out of the north. Poor planning on my part I guess.

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by mrschwarz

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.

Michael,
What I have read, and what I did after reading about it, is that I went out and bought a 4" wide strap. I picked up some grommets, folder a length of flap about 2-3 feet longer than the slide topper in a triangle and put a grommet in it. I also purchased those spring things that you can put in the ground, like dog run stakes, but with springs. I tied a rope from the grommet to the spring with just enough force to be tight, but loose enough that the spring would give a little. We survived for a week in Corpus Christi with that configuration.

The reason for the wide strap is this. Take a piece of thread, or very narrow string. Fold a piece of paper in half with the string/thread sandwiched between the folded paper. Hold one end of the thread/string with a good weight on the paper. Pull the other end of the thread/string against the fold. It will cut through easily. The same would happen to the topper using just a rope across it.

It worked for me and I still have the topper.

p.s., the winds were between 40-45 mph gusts, with sustained around 30-35 mph

[free2wander]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

Michael,
What I have read, and what I did after reading about it, is that I went out and bought a 4" wide strap. I picked up some grommets, folder a length of flap about 2-3 feet longer than the slide topper in a triangle and put a grommet in it. I also purchased those spring things that you can put in the ground, like dog run stakes, but with springs. I tied a rope from the grommet to the spring with just enough force to be tight, but loose enough that the spring would give a little. We survived for a week in Corpus Christi with that configuration.

The reason for the wide strap is this. Take a piece of thread, or very narrow string. Fold a piece of paper in half with the string/thread sandwiched between the folded paper. Hold one end of the thread/string with a good weight on the paper. Pull the other end of the thread/string against the fold. It will cut through easily. The same would happen to the topper using just a rope across it.

It worked for me and I still have the topper.

p.s., the winds were between 40-45 mph gusts, with sustained around 30-35 mph

Has anyone heard of any device like "air pillows" that inset under the awnings and allow an awning to be strapped down? This would allow a "cushion" so the fabric would not have a "hard" surface and the strap may possibly exert less stress at any point.