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Winds up to 70 mph


Fun2travel

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One of the things we've looked at is getting to the bathroom and food when the slides are in. Never thought about living in the coach, even for a few hours, that way because of weather. Of course, our current coach has NO slides, and most likely our next one won't, either. The next one will most likely be an Airstream TT.

David Lininger, kb0zke
1993 Foretravel U300 40' (sold)
2022 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS

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Once you know what county you are in, there is a really nice (free) app for your smart phone called 'Police Scanner' - they have a paid version also which perhaps is a little nicer with fewer commercials? This will allow you to listen to the emergency services radio broadcasts for pretty much anywhere. I find these to be more useful than broadcast radio and a good supplement to weather warning radio.

 

Other interesting free apps include 'Mosquito Repellent', in case you are worried about Zika virus. I really didn't have any hopes that it would do anything, but found it to be quite effective in making mosquitoes go away, who'da thunk? 'Swiss Army Knife' is a really nifty set of tools and includes things like a very good level and a lighted magnifying glass,

 

I get a lot of mileage out of 'Night Sky', 'GPS Test', 'Google Earth' and a host of apps aimed at the RV industry and lifestyle. It's very easy to not imagine or notice the wonderful tools folks dream up and create.

F-250 SCREW 4X4 Gas, 5th NuWa Premier 35FKTG, Full Time, Engineer Ret.

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We would also hitch up the fiver when really bad winds were coming, we wanted it to be as hard to pick up as possible! All jacks down, and wheels chocked - mainly to keep any rocking to a minimum since that can make tipping a lot more likely.

What if your air dropped enough for bags to deflate?

2003 Teton Grand Freedom towed with 2006 Freightliner Century 120 across the beautiful USA welding pipe.https://photos.app.goo.gl/O32ZjgzSzgK7LAyt1

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SuiteSuccess, our truck weighed almost as much as our fiver with a lot less area to catch the wind so we thought using it to hold things down gave us a lot better weight versus wind loading ratio.

 

 

Glenn, We went the other way, since deflated we'd only be adding the weight of the hitch head to the fiver until the hitch had been lifted several inches we ran the bag pressure up until the hitch was solid against the top stop. We did dump the truck's air bags though, didn't want the leveling valve to deflate the bags and leave the truck's weight hanging from the hitch.

 

We did survive 130 MPH winds in our area, don't know how high they actually were where we were parked but we walked in and out for several days while they cleared downed trees from all around us. Really happy to be in the Fargo river campground that week rather than the fairgrounds campground that took a lot more damage. Forecast was for gusty but nothing dangerous so we didn't do anything to prep until the wind got scary and then there was barely time to toss the sat dishes under the rig and lock it to the truck before the worst hit.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Stan,

 

I had originally considered hooking up like you and may still be the best idea. In the worst case scenario (no shelter other than my truck or trailer for shelter) then I would probably shelter in my truck because of its weight and profile. Interesting piece of data from Texas Tech tornado research contradicts the age old advice to abandon your vehicle for a ditch or depression in the ground as preached by the National Weather Services. Tech's researcher told me their studies are showing more likelihood of significant injury or death if you abandon in a "high debris " area such as in a town or on a road with lots of buildings around, trees, or farm implements. He would stay with the vehicle and belt in and get as low as possible in the vehicle. They still recommend abandonment if in a "low debris " area such as next to an open field or few structures. Move away and behind the vehicle if abandoned to prevent rollover on top of you. Also as a caution I remind folks if driving or stopped, sheltering under an overpass in an extremely high wind or tornadic event is NOT a good idea. The winds are accelerated and debris is concentrated increasing risk instead of decreasing. The YouTube video of the news crew and family huddled up under the overpass doesn't tell the whole story. The tornado hit a glancing blow and the "cubby hole" of that overpass was a unique plus for them. In the Moore Oklahoma tornado a little less than half of the total fatalities occurred with folks seeking shelter under overpasses.

This has been an interesting thread.

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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Now if 70 mph winds were forecast you would find me head to wind and all slides in.

 

However it seems to me that basic maths says that you are more stable with the slides out as you have more weight at a distance form the center. This is ignoring any aerodynamic lift.

 

If the slides have jacks the stability would increase.

 

Am I missing something in my hypothesis?

FT since September 2007

Safari Trek + M/C

http://johncarolandcharro.blogspot.com/

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Now if 70 mph winds were forecast you would find me head to wind and all slides in.

 

However it seems to me that basic maths says that you are more stable with the slides out as you have more weight at a distance form the center. This is ignoring any aerodynamic lift.

 

If the slides have jacks the stability would increase.

 

Am I missing something in my hypothesis?

I thought the same when I began researching for the talk at the ECR, but apparently the slides don't add "catamaran " like stability but may actually add lift to the entire RV as the gusts pass under the trailer. If you look at the storm chasers who built those "tank like" vehicles to try to get INTO tornadic winds, they lowered the suspensions so that winds could not get under the vehicle and roll it. So aerodynamic lift cannot be discounted.

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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This is what bore down on me last March. (Lumberton Mississippi) I was sitting at friends' camp 5 minute walk (in normal weather) away. I was watching the radar on my phone..... it took less than 5 minutes for three small showers to merge, get organized and go nuts. In horizontal rain it took me 15 minutes to get back to my trailer to find one awning down as in the bolt rope ripped out of the channel and the tube ripped from one of the the arms, the other awning ripped a few feet in at the bolt rope. Managed to retract the latter, and had a bunch of rope to tie up the former to stabilize. Got absolutely drenched, lawn furniture was 50 feet away. Went back in and opened a beer.

 

In retrospect...... when in doubt, retract awnings, BEFORE you go out and about. My fiver, although 45 feet long, weighs over 18,000# and is on a tri-axle with landing gear and rear stabilizers. Once inside it was amazingly stable. I think retracting slides may or may not help. The thought above of spreading the weight is valid, but the aerodynamic aspect is not to be dicounted..... (No toppers). I know on the road the thing is like a train on rails so aerodynamically it must be pretty good. (It's an all flat roof without the wing camber shape....wonder if those actually develop lift?) If it's going to be really bad my gut right now is to retract slides and get as small as possible.

 

Gusts were reported at 75mph. We did have a lot of big trees around us which fortunately held up and must have reduced the winds on the ground.

 

Next day I was luckily able to get the big awning back in it's track, turned the tube one third to make fresh holes (the old ones were stripped) and viola back in business, it retracted normally. (Electric) The rear awning I took off when I got home and the local canvas shop moved the bolt rope in a few inches, restitched and I was good to go.... ($40)

 

Now, all that said... wind forces are NOT linear. There is a HUGE difference between a 70mph gust and an 80mph gust. If you get above 70-75 it gets hairy. At that point it's shelter time, damn the camper. I would NOT hook up the truck to the camper. Yes, it will weigh the camper down, but IF the camper goes, the truck is going to hurt. You ARE safer in the truck by itself than in the camper. Now mind you, mine's an 8000# 1 ton dually so the theory may not hold up for other vehicles.

 

Lots of decisions made quickly, no easy answers.

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Previously a 2017 Forest River, Berkshire 38A, "The Dragonship". https://dragonship.blog/

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I mentioned this above in relation to our fiver, but I'd think a lot of slide designs would not do well in high winds when open.

 

If the slide can be lifted off the slide mechanism by a strong gust then it can do a good bit of damage when it comes back down.

 

The open slide is usually going to be higher than the base of your RV giving the wind the ability to get under it and provide more lift.

 

While an open slide will make the RV wider it won't contribute to stability, more likely just the opposite. By making your rig wider but not increasing the wheel track is is moving weight outside the track's footprint making tipping more likely. Matching slides open on opposite sides might offset the weight issue though.

 

If you have jacks under your slides it is important to remove them before you encounter high winds! The wind will likely rock the fiver and if the slide is pressed down on the jack it will be forced into the side of the RV. I haven't seen that happen in wind but I have seen it happen from an RV settling and the pressure on the slide from the jacks did a lot of damage to the slide and in one case to the side of the RV. Most slide manufacturers are very vocal about slide supports not being recommended, do check with yours before adding any.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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I think you're right Stanley, the more I think about it the more I am now inclined to retract everything. Get small, get dense.

 

And this brings up an important point...... when it happens it's too late to Google, evaluate and come up with a plan. The beauty of fora like this is that someone poses the question, we discuss and collect opinions from a variety of people, some eminently qualified at that, and then formulate the plan....

 

So when it happens, we've thought about it, a long time ago. Good show.

Previously a 2017 Forest River, Berkshire 38A, "The Dragonship". https://dragonship.blog/

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So when it happens, we've thought about it, a long time ago. Good show.

Probably one of the greatest values of forums like these. Lots of things we don't usually give thought to, until it happens to us, which is often too late.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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