Big, bad wind!

[carolann]

Hi, folks. I have a dumb but lingering worry about getting a small travel trailer, especially in light of all the tornado activity we've been having around the country. My question isn't about a tornado, however. I just wonder what happens with other big winds that often accompany storms. I want to spend a lot of time on the road, so what happens if you're parked somewhere and a 60 mph wind kicks up? Will it blow the trailer over? What if you're on the highway? I know a big motor home will survive, but I don't know about a little Oliver.

Thanks in advance for any information that will assuage my worries so I can proceed to get the trailer of my dreams!

[earthdancer]

I bought my little Casita after Hurricane Dennis did a lot of damage to the Florida Panhandle Coast a few years ago. I named it "My Escape Pod". Life is what it is. I know Chuck's Oliver pulls better in a wind storm than my Casita does, I have pulled both through very strong winds. The Oliver just seems to be much more stable on the road in that situation. From my personal experience of having pulled an Oliver through some pretty strong, gusty winds just last month, I think it handles very well. Of course it probably helps to have a heavier tow vehicle up front too.

Geri

[rvngal]

That is a good question CarolAnn. I'd like to know too. That is why we don't travel that far east...not that we don't want to, but there are really terrible storms out that way. I'll stay here in AZ. Nothing seems to happen...it's safe and there are beautiful mountains, lakes and streams to camp near.

[bugeyedriver]

You see a lot of scary pictures after big winds about small upside down airplanes or mobile homes blown apart. The little plane's wings are designed to produce LIFT in moving air and if they are not secured, well, over they go! Most mobile home destructions we see on TV are cause by tornadoes. I can't recall pictures of upside down travel trailers. Perhaps 'cause they have the luxury of moving out of the path of destruction when the situation dictates.

 

One of the best examples of this was Mountainborn's recent video as he was heading home from Arizona to Arkansas but happened to be following a hellascious blizzard . He simply tarried a bit until the monster storm got ahead of him and then sauntered on up behind the storm until he thought he should put down for a spell. With his maneuverability, he was able to avoid the storm.

 

The fiberglass egg shape is pretty aerodynamic all around and the wind tends to encircle it and move on along. But realize, even well built brick & mortar houses suffer under the attack of a monster tornado. Too bad the folks can't hook up their house and move on outta there like you could with a small travel trailer.

[dgmoke]

As the previos owner of a small (13 foot) Trillium fiberglass trailer, my opinion is that the smaller, more aerodynamic trailer will survive a wind better than an RV with a large side profile. The ratio of total weight to wind resistance seems to be an important issue. One of my prior tow vehicles was a small pickup truck that was "OK" with a side wind until I added a cab high cap to the box. The added side profile area really made for some exiting driving in a cross wind.

[tumbleweed]

Hi ya'll!!

Having just traversed this beautiful country from FL to CA again, I hit a little of everything, weatherwise. Ollie did good!!!

The Oliver and my 2 previous Casitas handled very well in some very VERY heavy rainstorms with and without nasty cross winds. I passed two recently turned over stickie travel trailers on I-40 and 1 commercial trailer this trip and all three were in areas of valleys or gulches (openings in the terrain) that allowed the wind to funnel across the roadway. Having ridden motorcycles for more years than I will admit, bikers know to watch for these and compensate for the gusts or at least be ready for them.

I think that the Oliver handles so well because of the longer tongue. My full sized Chevy 1500 has a cab high camper shell and handles the side gusts well without the trailer but is better with Ollie behind!!! I also towed with EarthDancers Chevy TrailBlazer (6 cyl SUV) and it towed it even better. Hope this helps to answer your question!

Chuck

[carolann]

Thanks to those of you who posted an answer to my question. I now feel better about driving in high winds and have decided to get a more powerful tow vehicle based on the responses. I had thought about a Ranger V-6 for the gas mileage.

 

I still don't know what one does while camping. A storm is coming, anticipated to have high winds, etc. Do you hurry and hook up the Ollie and head for cover somewhere--if there is such a thing in, say, the plains? Do you go to your car and hope the trailer is ok? Or do you sit in the trailer with a seat belt on?

 

As you can see, I'm still a bit anxious. We've had large storms for several nights in a row here in central Texas and over the course of several weeks, and I keep trying to see myself in a little Ollie instead of my brick abode secured to a slab foundation.

[earthdancer]

I can see your dilemma, and I understand your unease about the storms. When I was camping in AZ, I lived for 5 years in a cab over camper in the back of my GMC pick up truck. I was full timing it and had no home out west, just in FL. I was in several very strong windstorms that rocked me so strongly, I felt that I was going to turn over. I stayed in the camper part the first time, but the second time, I stayed in the truck cab. Once, because it was a weekend, I pulled under the drive through teller section of a bank and parked. That gave a lot of protection.

I think with my egg camper, if I find myself camped in a strong wind situation, I will attach my tow vehicle to the camper and stay in the camper and hope the weight of the tow vehicle plus the extra length will be all I need to stay in the upright position! We need to be prepared in our minds and souls for such disasters, but we don't need to dwell on it. That just causes fears to control us and allows less room for good times to happen. Life is what it is. I can handle storms with some fear, but not sheer terror. Sheer Terror for me is driving through a big city on an interstate~! I just cannot do it. I stay away from interstates as much as possible. LOL! We all have our nightmares. interstate city driving is mine! Geri

[SeaDawg]

Hi, CarolAnn,

Every region has its hazards.... I'm originally from the wonderful Midwest, so I'm no stranger to tornadoes or straight-line winds in excess of 60mph. As a survivor of two homes destroyed by tornadoes (most people can't claim that one...), I have a great respect for wind and its power... and gee, I live in hurricane land, now...

 

None the less, I have respect, but not fear. Buy a good weather radio, and leave it on alert. It will wake you up. When you camp, check around you... dead trees, old limbs, stuff likely to fall...especially if a storm is in the forecast. Most parks, including state parks, have concrete block bathrooms or community centers you can use as an emergency shelter. Know where you will go if troublesome weather approaches. Think ahead.

 

.... Perhaps I'm more cautious because of my early years in the Midwest, and I can certainly understand where you come from. Even so, your chances of being involved in a major incident with a tornado or major straight line wind are just not that great... even in this freaky weather year. I go where I want, with an eye to the sky and an ear to the radio once in awhile.

 

If you hit bad weather on the road, pull over in a safe, sheltered spot and wait it out. Get behind the storm, unless you truly have room to stay ahead of it. Listen to the local radio and weather radio. Most brutal storms move pretty quickly... nature of the beast. Mother Nature is what she is, but I'm going to keep on traveling and visiting my great home state of Minnesota as often as possible.... I love that big blue sky and the rolling land.... I'm from "tropical" southern Minnesota... the beautiful part that the glaciers didn't scrape clean. Hope you'll find time to swing through and visit "God's country" someday...

Sherry