"The winds where strong enough to blow over a tractor-trailer on i95"...

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jscott3985

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Mar 9, 2011
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That was the headline on the news last night. Which got me thinking, what if I was driving and got caught in the same type of storm while towing my travel trailer. Being relatively new to owning a travel trailer, does anyone with experience have any pointers as to what to do when caught in strong winds?

Thanks!
 
Any time that you are driving in winds SLOW DOWN and pay particular attention to overpass and hills near the highway as you can get strong gusts.  If you still feel uncomfortable find a safe place to stop and wait until conditions improve.

It is very unlikely that you will encounter winds that are strong enough to tip your trailer over when it is standing still (or moving slowly).  Most often the accidents like this are caused by moving pretty fast and then being caught by a strong gust cross wind in the middle of a turn, or cresting a hill etc.

If you have stopped and are still concerned about the wind, try to find a sheltered spot or point the front of the trailer into the wind (so that it is not being hit on the side by the wind).
 
The secret is to never get caught in strong winds. I always watch the weather reports before I start driving. If there is any chance that the winds will blow over 20 mph I am going to be parked that day.
 
Good advice Tom! 

I can't remember the thread but there were several web sites that give travel forecasts for specific highways on specific days. I always chec my entire trip route before I set departure date and time and stopovers.
 
Bob Maxwell said:
I can't remember the thread but there were several web sites that give travel forecasts for specific highways on specific days. I always chec my entire trip route before I set departure date and time and stopovers.
Click to expand...

Here's one that dictates the weather along the way for the mapped route.
http://www.wunderground.com/roadtrip/
 
seilerbird said:
The secret is to never get caught in strong winds. I always watch the weather reports before I start driving. If there is any chance that the winds will blow over 20 mph I am going to be parked that day.
Click to expand...
Man I would never get to go camping up here then....lol
 
seilerbird said:
The secret is to never get caught in strong winds. I always watch the weather reports before I start driving. If there is any chance that the winds will blow over 20 mph I am going to be parked that day.
Click to expand...
But if it's a tail wind?  :)
 
Good advise by the members here.... slow down and keep good SA for the travel time.  There are some pretty scary video's on the internet watching TT's getting destroyed on the road.
 
In a TT it doesn't even take a 20mph wind. On my way home from Myrtle Beach last week just south of JAX I passed a truck towing a TT about 28" that did not have equalizing bars. Just the sidedraft from the MH almost caused this guy to lose ot. As I was looking in the rear view mirror you could see the trailer swaying and the truck going in the opposite direction. I glanced back several more times and it did appear he got it under control but I sure wouldn't want to see a semi come flying by going a lot faster than we were going. I was following a semi several years ago in my wife's SUV going from Kansas City to Omaha, at the Iowa line we caught a straight line wind that had both of us on our right side tires only. We both got through it but I had to stop and regain my composure. My coach seems to do alright in 30 MPH but much more would cause me to become concerned.
 
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