RVs: Stable in high winds?

The worlds largest selection
of "How-To" RV books
Buying, using, repair & upkeep - you'll find it all at RVbookstore.com.
***********

Search for in

Home
Getting Started
RV Buying Advice
Using Your RV
      Driving or towing
      RV care and upkeep
      Working on the road
      Tips & tricks
      Keeping in touch
      RV Systems
Camping
Articles & Opinion
RVing Resources

RV News

RV Tech Tips

Fulltime RVing

RVing with dogs

Using Your RV : Tips & tricks

RVs: Stable in high winds?
Russ and Tina DeMaris

Email this article
Printer friendly page

courtesy CliffordG on rv.net

When high winds cut a path through Wyoming not long ago, at least one RVer learned the hard way that RVs can sometimes do tricks: Call it, "Roll over and play dead." 'Taint funny if it happens to you, so how to do you prevent a freak wind from ruining your day?

First rule: Minimize exposure. The less "profile" you present to the wind, the better your rig will be able to handle the oncoming blast. We use our research travel trailer as an example. Our travel trailer is 7' high and 23' long, giving it 161 square feet of surface area, when parked sideways to an oncoming wind. A few wind load calculations are eye-openers.

An 80 mile per hour wind will probably give my little rig a bit of a pause to think about. Far more than a rock-a-by-baby situation. But simply parking with my 7' x 8' nose to the wind, check out the wind load difference.

With my nose to the wind, I can certainly sleep better.

Of course, we can't always predict how strong or from which direction the winds will come from. To that end, when parking your rig for a spell, put out the stabilizers, giving you a more solid footprint against rocking. If you're in an area prone to high winds, then think about putting down a few "mobile home anchors" and link them to your RV frame with an appropriate system that will allow you to quickly disconnect when it's time to hit the road.

In our years of being on the road, we've been in some hairy situations where the rig as rocked plenty hard. We've personally never capsized, nor known anyone who has, and taking simple precautions can give you peace of mind.

Top of Page