Towing in the Wind

[BirdingRVer]

Today on the weather channel it looks like it is very windy all over the country. What advise can you give a newbie about towing in high wind? At what point does it get dangerous to tow and how do you know when you reached that point?

Also, I understand that in some places on the plains and down in Texas that the wind blows for days; if you aren't retired it would be pretty hard to just hunker down waiting for the wind to stop during a vacation.

[Montana Sky]

Grant,
I towed in winds over 35/40 mph back in October through western South Dakota, Wyoming and into Montana. That darn wind blew so hard it was all the truck could do to maintain 55mph. I never once felt unstable or unsafe. The Montana followed along right behind the truck without any hesitation. The best thing to do is just slow down and take it easy. Your gut will tell you when it is time to get off the road.

[ols1932]

Grant,
You just have to use your intuition. If you feel that the wind is not too bad, then you can drive in it. We've yet to confront any wind that caused us to pull off the road and "hunker down." That isn't to say that it won't happen. You need to use your own judgment. Last year on I-8, west of Casa Grande, AZ there was a bad accident involving a semi, a couple RVs and some cars. The wind was bad, the sand was blowing and people couldn't see. There was a case where they shouldn't even have been on the road.

Orv

[richfaa]

While towing through NM, Texas and Az I learned what those wind socks along the hiways are for. IMO it is not a smart move to tow in high winds..A cross wind of 35/40MPh is, to me a dangerous condition. We keep our CB tunned and when the 18 Wheelers start complaining we take shelter..It just is not worth it.

[Connorsmom]

I had one day of high winds when driving through the "hills" of TN and KY. I wasn't thrilled about it. I wasn't afraid, just stressed. I call those "white knuckle" adventures. You can just feel the Monty movin' around back there. I didn't feel threatened, or I would have pulled over. But, I didn't take the Monty to the dealership last week because of the high wind advisory going on around here. If I were doing mostly city driving, I would have gone. It was 35-45 mph winds, and gusting even higher. But, I have to do a lot of open road driving on I-75 to get there. Sustained winds I don't mind, gusting winds bother the heck out of me because they are completely unpredictable. Anyway, you'll know if you should be out there or not. Your gut will tell you what you need to know, listen to it.

Jan

[Mac]

I think the key is which direction the winds are coming from. Obviously a wind from the rear is a good thing. A head wind can be a real struggle to keep up speed but is no danger whatsoever. Crosswinds would be another story, we live close enough to Wyoming that we're pretty familiar with winds so we have a great deal of experience. I've never not driven because of wind, but I'm not retired either, sometimes we have no options, but if I had all the time in the world I'd probably not drive if I didn't have to.

Again just my opinion.

mac

[Charlie]

Ditto what Orv says.....use your judgement. The cross winds will be more dangerous. I did have to pull off in western Kansas one time before noon as I felt very uncomfortable with a cross wind of what I thought was 35-40mph. After getting everything secured and turning on the TV found out it was closer to 50 and gusting to 65. Bad day!!!!

[Steve and Brenda]

We had sustained winds here in West Texas over 45 MPH this weekend. The dust was so bad it chocked many an air filter!!! I'd drive if the wind were at the nose or tail but if it were 90 degrees of the nose I'd find a park to park in and ride it out.

[keham]

Blowing sand in winds like that. I would think all your paint and gel coat would be gone. Let alone the clogged air filters. How are you guys dealing with that, or is it not a problem?

ken

[skypilot]

Like everything else we grow up with, wind is a constant whether it was in New Mexico where I grew up with, or here in Kansas where I've become a transplant. If we didn't drive with 30 to 40 MPH winds, we'd never go anywhere. Now, that said, we do slow down, we do pay attention to the truckers (more experience and if they have pulled over, it is for a darn good reason) and we plan for an earlier stop if the stress of driving is getting to us. Everything changes when we get into blowing sand or snow -- If you can't see the road it is time (past time in some cases) to pull it over. However, given the way the weather is around here, you can be suddenly in a low visibility situation - slow it down but don't stop in the roadway; when you stop, be sure to get completely off the road. Off my soapbox.

[HamRad]

On our final leg home from Laughlin, NV this past Sunday we encountered winds starting about 20 miles east of Barstow on I-40. They were coming toward us at about 35 to 45 miles per hour. As long as they were hitting us at an angle of about 45 degrees we had no real problem. Every now and then we would get cross wise to them and then it was a major problem. So strong that the wind blew our steps down! That has never happened.
We slowed down considerably when in the direct cross wind situation. Back up to about 55 when we had them at about the 45 degrees.

Thankfully we made it home with no major issues. Just really tired from fighting the wind. As we descended the Tehachapis the wind abated and by the time we got home it was just a slight breeze.

If we had had just a few more miles of speed on the wind we would have parked for the night and driven in the next day.

Next time we will probably not even start in a situation like that.

Very interesting drive.

HamRad

[BirdingRVer]

HamRad,

I am headed over the Tehachapis and down to the Salton Sea in a few weeks and it is exactly those desert winds I am concerned about, since I have so little experience pulling the Monty. Like most things I am probably over thinking the situation.

Grant

[sreigle]

I think the best idea is to stop and wait **just before** you get uncomfortable towing. Since that's not easy to discern, I would say if you are not comfortable with the handling and do not feel that you and those around you are safe if you continue, then it is time to stop. The key is to recognize when safety is compromised. Fortunately, Montanas tow beautifully in wind but there still will be a point where it is no longer safe to continue. We've towed in some pretty heavy winds but have not yet had to stop and wait because of wind. We have stopped because of driving rain and will stop because of wind if it is unsafe to continue.