High winds

[Scallywag]

Dear All,
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sallyanne and I live in Lincolnshire with my husband Peter and my Cocker Spaniel, Bertie. We are newcomers to the world of Motorhoming and have been introduced to it by a friend who has been a keen motorhomer for 20 years. She has a Mercedes Rapido and took us to the Northern Show at Pickering to stay with her We were going to wait until the new year to buy our own van, but at Pickering we saw and fell in love with a TEC FreeTec 688ti. We picked it up from Midgeley Motor Cars (excellent family run business) in Skipton on 9th October and wasting no time set off on 18th Oct for a short trip to Scotland. We returned yesterday and the Van has proved to be an excellent choice for us. However, I do have one silly question for anyone out there who can help. During our trip we experienced some pretty strong gusts of wind which made the motorhome rock quite a bit. In fact we couldn't sleep with worrying about whether the van might blow over! In the end we decided to cut our trip short because the forecast was for more high winds and even gale force. So, my question is are we silly to think the van might blow over - would rear stabilisers help? Any tips for our future trips would be much appreciated. Maybe mid October is a time to avoid the Highlands of Scotland!:Blush:

 

[TJ-RV]

Only once have we experienced winds high enough to make me concerned. In that case, I merely retracted the slideouts and we slept just fine. Of course, I'd lowered both antennae long before the winds got that bad.

You could always do what we do in the boating world - point the nose into the wind. Far less wind resistance, and takes much more force to tip the coach over end to end vs sideways.

If gale force winds are forecast, you might want to head for a more sheltered place (but not under trees).

 

[American Dream]

Hi Scallywag and welcome.

We too have wondered about the van rocking in high winds at night and I am looking into fitting wind-down stabilisers, similar to the caravan type to stop this.

Can't say it worries me but there was one time last year when we were down near Mabelthorpe, where I had to go out and wind the awning in as it REALLY was getting gusty and we were worried the awning was going to rip the side off the van...The kids were getting pretty concerned.

I don't think the van would go over.Too heavy for that, but the damage could have been fairly serious.As it was we observed the damage to other awnings etc the next day and I was thankful I had wound it in.

Enjoy the van and welcome to another couple from Lincs.:thumb:

 

[davejen]

hi, scallywag, we had a similar problem about 10yrs ago at Ullapool in our c-class winnebago. we were in the overcab bed but decided to go "downstairs" .after a while we got used to the movement and eventually got to sleep. I think the chances of blowing over are pretty unlikely but awnings should be taken down/rolled in -I've seen many a badly damaged motorhme where the awning has pulled the side of the van out!!I dont think that corner steadies will hep much, as the suspension of the van will absorb the movement- if it was resting on steadies they might buckle or even worse twist the chassis
Regards, Dave:thumb:

ps we intend going to Bonny Scotland again- don't let it put you off!

 

[Scallywag]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think we will try to get some wind down stabilisers. But hopefully we won't experience the type of swirling winds we had in Aviemore again! We are going to try a short trip a bit closer to home next time and maybe stick to Scotland in the summer!

Nice to talk to you all - look forward to reading all the great tips and stuff on Motorhome Fun.

PS: The checklist I ordered through the site was invaluable to a newbie like me - can't recommend it enough.

Take care all and best wishes
Sallyanne

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[fyggy]

PS: The checklist I ordered through the site was invaluable to a newbie like me - can't recommend it enough.

Take care all and best wishes
Sallyanne

and yet another satisfied customer!

When I went to Scotland last year, I went in the summer, no high winds, but I put the legs down as a habit

 

[Jim]

Hi, welcome to motorhomefun.

Side to side rocking feels much worse than it actually is. I'm sure that in most cases if you venture outside you will see that the movement is not as bad as it feels. Corner steadies do help a little.

If you are really worried and you have the opportunity to move, then you can park facing the prevailing wind and you will find this much more comfortable

Whenever I am parked up in high winds, I rarely worry about the motorhome being blown over, but I do worry about what the wind might blow into it. A folding chair in a 30mph wind might really damage the motorhome, and look out for that tree!

 

[Wildman]

In Glen Ridding, (lake District) last week the ferries were stopped late afternoon, soon after a gust of wind managed to lift two wheels off the ground, they landed with a bump and I reluctantly stopped eating dinner to turn the van into the wind instead of sitting broadside. We then had a comfortable night.

 

[N Luyetund]

Wind down steadies can be a bit expensive... we opted for the fiamma steadies... around £25-30 for four... unless Peter (John's Cross M H) has a special price for funsters:Wink

 

[American Dream]

This is what I've been considering.

price: £69.99

Link Removed

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[American Dream]

Wind down steadies can be a bit expensive... we opted for the fiamma steadies... around £25-30 for four... unless Peter (John's Cross M H) has a special price for funsters:Wink

Sounds a very good price Graham.Any pics or links please?

 

[N Luyetund]

Sounds a very good price Graham.Any pics or links please?

Sorry for the delay Steve... been across town to cut aged Aunt's lawn

Fiamma Jack Page 1 , PLASTIC JACKS, ALU JACKS, PLATES PRO

I haven't checked any other suppliers...

 

[Scallywag]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond to my question and for all the information on Steadies - I especially like the look of those ones on ebay. You are quite right Jim, the van didn't seem to be moving much from the outside, but I think it would be worth me investing in some steadies just for peace of mind. Hoping to go to Yorkshire in four weeks time, will let you all know how it goes.

Best wishes
Sallyanne:thumb:

 

[N Luyetund]

SallyAnne...Had a look under the van to see where the ebay ones might fit... couldn't find anywhere they would be accessible in use...

The plastic jacks fit under the ally skirt... and take only a couple of mins to shove in place; I only ever use two
(if you're ever down this way and would like the other two spares for £15, let me know and I'll see if I can remember where I stored themoh

 

[roadtraveller]

Hi Scallwag and welcome, we have a 12 and half year old Mini Schnauzer called Bobby and we love Our Van, and the freedom it offers. Hope you will have fun on her, not a bad bunch really, quite freiendly and helpful. :thumb:

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[moandick]

Treat your motorhome like a yacht and you will NOT tip over.

Nobody ever worries about doing 60 or 70 miles per hour into the wind when driving down a motorway so why should you worry about a wind of 60 or 70 miles per hour hitting you on the windscreen when you are standing still?

When the wind hits a yacht broad side, the yacht heels over until the wind spills over the top and escapes - then the yacht sits back upright. And that is exactly what happens when the wind hits a motorhome - the motorhome leans away from the wind - the wind spills over the top releasing the pressure on the side of the motorhome - so the motorhome sits up again.

Now the problem with fitting stabilisers (Think just for a moment about a "static caravan") is that they remove the ability of the static to lean away from the wind and to spill the wind so the pressure builds up on the side until such time as the pressure gets too much and over she goes!

A motorhome has much more weight at the base of the vehicle than a static - the 'house' is generally sitting on springs and it is these springs which allow the vehicle to lean away and spill the wind - stop those springs from working properly and you revert to the state of a "static".

I remember once "a caravanner" who decided to tie his caravan to the ground at St Agnes Beacon when a gale was forecast. He put the 'tie-down' right over the roof and whanged in a couple of huge stakes either side of the caravan to use as anchors, BUT this allowed the caravan to roll inside of the rope with the result that in the morning when he checked his handywork he was horrified to see that the rope had actually sawed through half of his fibreglass roof!

Just point it into the wind and go to sleep!

 

[Reveuse]

I was in my Hymer in gale force winds in North Wales at the beginning of this year and I was seriously scared. In fact the van stayed up but one of the roof lights was blown open in the middle of the night (it's the basic sort with a spring-loaded handle each side, just ping it up and ping it down again) and before I had realised what the sudden noise was all about and got up to shut it, most of it had been ripped off and presumably gone flying out to sea, leastways it was nowhere to be found next morning. Also in the morning I discovered a large chunk of the Truma vent on the side had vanished, whether that was torn off by the wind as well or whether a windborne object had collided with it I don't know (there were plenty of clumps of bracken and other stuff hurtling around). Wind speeds were recorded at around 70mph in Pwllheli, I was right on the coast so presumably higher there. I didn't sleep a wink, when it was at its peak I was expecting to be blown over any minute, then after the rooflight incident I thought that even if it stayed upright it would probably end up trashed. Not an experience I would like to repeat.

 

[scotjimland]

We were on an exposed headland in western Brittany in Sept this year, during the night Jan woke me up, the RV was rocking and rolling like a good un, the mother and father of all gales was blowing in from the Atlantic..
Pulling the blind up and looking out I saw lots of motorhomes scurrying for shelter off the aire .. confidently I reassured her that an 8.5 ton RV wouldn't blow over.. ( thinking to myself, I hope not..)
I was in no mood to start driving at 4am, so rolled over and went back to sleep..

Good advice from Dick.. :thumb:

 

[Reveuse]

Just been thinking some more about what moandick said and trying to convince myself winds are nowt to worry about really. I agree that if the wind just kept blowing at a nice steady 70mph, that would be like travelling along at 70, but it doesn't, it comes in massive gusts and it's the gusts that do the damage, when a gust hits you it really does hit you. The wind seems to be able to do 0-70 in 0 secs flat. And I take your point about pointing into the wind but easier said than done, I tried to when I parked up but winds like that seem to whirl around and come at you from all sides. No, I'm afraid I have a healthy respect for winds like that.

 

[muz]

winds

hi,and welcome,
dont need to go north we are on a lovely site in adlethorpe[lincs] and its blowing a gale,i only worry about my awnings covering the slide out but if it gets a bit worse i will put it in.regards.muz

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[American Dream]

hi,and welcome,
dont need to go north we are on a lovely site in adlethorpe[lincs] and its blowing a gale,i only worry about my awnings covering the slide out but if it gets a bit worse i will put it in.regards.muz

Hiya Muz,

Welcome to Lincolnshire.It's not normally like this but this year has been exceptionally C++p.

Enjoy anyway.:thumb:

Steve.