Its stories like these that make it important to have weather alert radio's.....also checking weather maps on a daily basis to see what is coming and being prepared to move out of harms way before it gets there.

I would rather be safe and moved out of the way than be traumatized because I thought it wont happen to me!

We all travel the country and enter into areas that we cannot comprehend the weather pattern and how extreme an area can be punished.

until you have sat thru a...

Hurricane

tornado

Flood

Ice out

Blizzard or snow

Heat Wave

All of these can be an extreme life changing event....plan accordingly!!

My first reaction after reading the yahoo story was they sure were lucky to have only minor injuries. 

The damage got me to thinking about devices to anchor or otherwise tie down your rig to mitigate the potential for being rolled over by high wind while parked.  I found some anchor things that looked like augers you drive into the ground that you could attach tie down straps or heavy ropes(not sure they wouldn't stretch in high stress conditions). But then it occurred to me, is there securement points on the TT's, 5ers or MH's to attach such a anchor system.  The idea seems practical enough and relatively inexpensive for the prevention(up to a point) of one's home being flipped over in a wind storm.  Thoughts anyone?

Bob and Lindy wrote:

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RV's are designed for forward movement and can probably withstand going down the road at 100 mph or more, but very little strength from a side force. Lucky Mike suggestions are probably the best. Be aware!

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 Totally agree, we have a NOAA weather radio also. 

Plan A is always to be aware, so is Plan B, etc, but if you're stuck or unable to relocate your rig to safety, are there ways to securely tie the rig down or anchor it somehow to mitigate side wind stress in severe situations and help prevent the roll over that is pictured in the yahoo story?  Sure, I can go to a shelter but the rig will have to stay and ride it out and hopefully it doesn't get a direct hit so I have something to come back to after I come out of the shelter.

and if that isn't an option.....

and if you say borrow your neighbor's backhoe to dig a rv sized trench to put the rig in to defilade it from the wind, I beat you to it .

-- Edited by biggaRView on Tuesday 15th of April 2014 11:31:55 AM

Mike you crack me up. Seriously, you're harder to pin down than a greased pig.

I think I'll invent an RV turntable with a tail fin on it so that the rig will automatically turn to face the wind no matter which direction it blows.  Hauling it around could be a problem.!!!!

As a licensed weather observer, I know all the signs and normally plan for those events accordingly.

Lets try to figure a hypothetical case in which you're inevitably not going to be able to move, turn, hide, bury, barricade (have I left anything out?) your rig. 

Hmmm, lets see, your bank declares bankruptcy, your tow vehicle is wrecked in the parking lot while shopping for groceries, meanwhile your cash stash is found by thieves while you went to the grocery store, the fuel depot next to the local dealer that is the only place within 300 miles that sells pickups capable of towing your rig blows up and burns the entire dealer lot to the ground, pigs are flying, Cellular service is knocked out solar flares, The post office is on strike, Western Union has folded, credit cards are no longer being accepted due to global economic panic.....

I guess in that case I'll just bend over and kiss my A$$ goodbye.

But I won't panic, life is good, right?

Lucky Mike wrote:

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most major weather events are forecast days before they occur......if you wait until they say "WARNING" you just wasted a days notice.

you can watch storm conditions move across the country ,live on Doppler radar online and know the areas it going to pass thru and the intensity........

most weather foracasters have a 5 day outlook.....not to mention they tell you way in advance the possibilities of bad weather coming.....

if there are bad storms in Texas that are moving East and you are in Florida on I-10 going west there is a good probability you are going to drive into that storm....Plan on it.

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 If you have one of the top of the line weather radios that automatically alert you, how far in advance do you get the alerts?  Is it when the storm is just about on top of you, or a few days out?

Lucky Mike wrote:

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If all that occurs............the storm will miss you just out of pity!!!!!!!....

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 Ahhh, so all I have to do is look so pathetically screwed by things beyond my control that Mr. Cumulonimbus and Mrs. Gustfront will divert mercifully and willfully away and wipe out somebody less pathetic looking.  I wonder if that rule works for other things in life.

Nope, there's always somebody meaner and more spiteful than Mr C. and Mrs. G

Mike, you are the master. Love your comedy stylings.

Brian and Cindi,

I doubt that the tie-down idea would be sufficient.  I imagine with enough wind against the side of the trailer, it might pull the auger anchors from the ground, depending on the consistency of the ground.  Besides, if the wind rocked the RV enough, the cable/strap running over the roof of the RV might damage the roof if they weren't tight enough.  Also, many of the better tie-down systems are designed to be set up once and left because they are for mobile homes.

Of Mike's list above, we've experienced everything except the hurricanes and the flooding.  We are too far from a coast here in Oklahoma and I watch to make sure I don't get into a flood plain.

Terry