I was headed north on RT 9 North to Kremmling, Colorado when I got into some crosswinds and had both hands tightly gripped on the steering wheel for that. Any advice on what is that best way to deal with cross winds?
Jim01 said
05:49 PM Aug 31, 2010
Pull into a Campground or other safe spot and wait for the winds to die down.
This is why we always allow extra days to get from point A to point B.
Jim
NorCal Dan said
08:22 PM Aug 31, 2010
I agree with Jim...driving in windy conditions is no fun. I find the nearest RV park and get a spot to ride out the storm. I lost one awning in Mohave and almost lost a second in Amarillo. Best bet is get off the road and wait for better weather. Being full-timers there is just no sense in driving in high risk situations.
Terry and Jo said
07:51 AM Sep 1, 2010
Having been born and raised in what is called the High Plains area, basically the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, I am well experienced with driving in windy conditions.
With a high-profile vehicle, it is important to pay attention to the direction of the wind. As you are driving along the highway pay attention to large objects or buildings that would be on the windward side of your vehicle. Things like grain elevators are notorious for causing currents out in the middle of nowhere. The wind whips around such structures creating "pockets" of wind currents.
Some of those "pockets" can be created even when the wind isn't blowing all that hard.
When you see such buildings, slow down if possible to lessen the effect on your vehicle. If traffic prevents you from slowing down, bear to the side of your lane (if possible) that would allow you a little leeway should your vehicle be "shoved" towards the center or to the shoulder.
As the others have already mentioned, just stop for the day if possible. Fighting a wind with a large rig in windy conditions can lead to tension and an unpleasant day. Or, I know of many cases where empty aluminum cattle semi-trailers have been blown over in high winds, so high winds can be very serious rather than just a nuisance.
Also, smaller vehicles can be blown around pretty well as well, due to the lack of sufficient weight. So, also be careful if you are driving a toad or tag-a-long vehicle. Where we lived in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Volkswagons weren't very popular or practical due to the winds.
Terry
retread said
10:02 AM Sep 1, 2010
Be safe! We agree with the other posters that recommend getting off the road. We waited out several days of extremely high winds in South Dakota last fall. We even had to pull our slides in to preserve the awnings over them. We called ahead to the next parks along our itinerary and explained our delay. They were fine with it. We just watched the weather reports and set out on the calmest day to make it safely through a couple of mountain passes on our way to Wyoming.
Colorado_Kid said
02:07 PM Sep 1, 2010
Thanks for all the advice. Coming back from Kremmling today the cross winds was no where near as bad and I moved right along.
This is why we always allow extra days to get from point A to point B.
Jim
With a high-profile vehicle, it is important to pay attention to the direction of the wind. As you are driving along the highway pay attention to large objects or buildings that would be on the windward side of your vehicle. Things like grain elevators are notorious for causing currents out in the middle of nowhere. The wind whips around such structures creating "pockets" of wind currents.
Some of those "pockets" can be created even when the wind isn't blowing all that hard.
When you see such buildings, slow down if possible to lessen the effect on your vehicle. If traffic prevents you from slowing down, bear to the side of your lane (if possible) that would allow you a little leeway should your vehicle be "shoved" towards the center or to the shoulder.
As the others have already mentioned, just stop for the day if possible. Fighting a wind with a large rig in windy conditions can lead to tension and an unpleasant day. Or, I know of many cases where empty aluminum cattle semi-trailers have been blown over in high winds, so high winds can be very serious rather than just a nuisance.
Also, smaller vehicles can be blown around pretty well as well, due to the lack of sufficient weight. So, also be careful if you are driving a toad or tag-a-long vehicle. Where we lived in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Volkswagons weren't very popular or practical due to the winds.
Terry