How windy is to much?

[Nasdaqsam]

Originally Posted by TravelinRich

I drive a 32 Foot Fleetwood Storm. Being a new driver, I feel like the truckers blow me off the road. The big question is, when should I scrub driving all together due to wind?

It really is a personal choice there are so many variables. There is no magic number. The Storm's are not particularly heavy rigs so you might get pushed around a bit more than a big heavy coach. Whether or not your have a Toad makes a difference.

We just made a trip from FL to upstate NY in pretty crazy winds. They were manageable but much more and we would have pulled over. They were strong enough to be pushing Semi's and coach's much larger than ours around so it was getting bad. Saw a big tag axle RV towing a Ram pick get pushed across an entire lane, not by choice. Saw him at the next rest area it shock him up a bit. They parked for the night as did the DW and I. It had been a long day so needed the rest and a beer.

[Honwing]

Check the Winnebago Forum. Lost two sections of my roof yesterday in Illinois. 40plus crosswind hit me out of nowhere and then the bomb went off. Could not get to the shoulder fast enough. Really bad day.

[Sandy Swede]

Approx 25 mph sustained winds - you know the gusts will be higher. Could we safely drive our beast in higher winds? Sure, but there is no place I need to get to in a hurry. Not worth the wear and tear on the mind and body. "Wait, what's that, dear?" DW said that I no longer have to worry about my mind.

[grindstone01]

If it's 20 MPH winds or higher, I will wait for another day to travel. If you can't wait, then alter your travel times to early AM or later PM when the winds are usually less.

[Crasher]

The Storm is a relatively light coach and will be more affected from winds than a heavy 40' DP. From my experience, our 32' Southwind was our most unstable coach in strong winds and could produce some really sweaty palms. On the other hand, in our current 44' DP with IFS and tag axle, I hardly hardly notice the same winds. And when we tow a heavy trailer, it is even more stable. In general, the lighter the box, the more the wind will affect it. A heavy box with an extra set of wheels will be the most stable ride.

[530ktm]

Originally Posted by Honwing

Check the Winnebago Forum. Lost two sections of my roof yesterday in Illinois. 40plus crosswind hit me out of nowhere and then the bomb went off. Could not get to the shoulder fast enough. Really bad day.

Not an uncommon problem with Winnebago roofs, happened to me also in strong crosswinds.

[Superslif]

If it's side winds of any type, I'll use 25 mph as my "park it" limit. Last fall I asked a RV hauler, at what wind speed they shut it down. (25 mph).

In our return trip from out west last fall with winds in the 30-40 mph thru NE. and Iowa we parked it till sundown where the winds subsided to the teens. So just drove at night till 1am our normal amount of miles.

In the last 2 years, WY. has been a windy nightmare. 4 times thru the state, every one having to deal with overly windy conditions, and tumbleweeds...

[dennis45]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

It's a personal choice. It could be a 35mph headwind and killing your mileage, or a 35 mph tailwind giving you the best mileage ever. To me, the worse wind is that coming at an angle across the nose of the coach. My coach is heavy, has a tag axle and Comfort Steer, so my comfort level will be different from someone diving a small Class A.

So the answer......stop when you're uncomfortable.

Here's something I would like to see on State and Federal Highways. I know several spots out west where certain spots on those roads always have a strong crosswind coming out of a canyon. Why not place a windsock in the center divider as a warning.

I'm not talking hundreds of wind socks. Just some bad areas. I can think of two off the top of my head.

Excellent Idea Don.

However, that would require a dab of Common Sense on the part of the governing body which seems to be in scarce supply nowadays.

[alank]

Actually it is done in a few places. On I40 through New Mexico headed east, there is a sign prior to, and then a wind sock just past the end of a large rock bluff. Wasn't bad when we went through, but apparently the prevailing SW winds can really come howling around the end of the bluff and across the highway at times.

Personally, I think your alignment settings has a lot to do with how easy it is to control the coach in the wind. On my last three, I've set the caster outside factory specs in order to get the amount of trail I wanted with good success. We recently left home with 45 mph gusts predicted and arrived in Oklahoma City with 55 mph gusts reported in the metro area. That kept the coach rocking out in the rural area, required some steering activity but wasn't that difficult and was easily controllable with one hand. We would have continued if we hadn't had reservations west of Oklahoma City. My coaches have all steered easy with my settings.

[winniman]

There is a town in NFLD Canada called Wreckhouse. The signs on the road warn you that winds can get as high as 180km per hour. Trains have been known to get blown off the tracks there. Its in the mountains. High winds in mountain passes are very common. Thats why I like to consult the state or provincial highway website for actual road conditions if I am going to be crossing any mountain passes. If they say dont go, I would heed their warning.

[followingsea]

When sailing on the Columbia River our rule of thumb is the sky turning brown from blowing dust it is time to find a safe harbor. On one such day, eight died on the nearby interstate.

So it not just your your rig, it is what others might do.

Our diesel pusher does much better than our previous gas model. Earlier in the week we drove from Sedona to Las Vegas. If we were going east on I-40, we would have stopped because of the blowing dust warnings.

Heading north on US 93 (divided 4 lane highway), the headwinds became a cross wind but no blowing dust. Suddenly a dust devil formed and crossed the road hitting us broadside. It was over in seconds but my wrist hurt from keeping the steering wheel from being ripped from my hands.

Fortunately a semi was not passing us at the time so I could see it coming and had a wide shoulder before soft sand.

[TravelinRich]

A lot of people and reviews seem to suggest the CHF and maybe putting on a steering stabilizer. Thoughts? Advise? Product Suggestions for the stabilizer.....and is the stabilizer easy enough to do myself.