Will a high wind flip a parked trailer?

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

..
Do any campgrounds have tie down anchors? If so, you need some long straps to throw over the rig. Or, if you have some of those corkscrew type pegs screw them in good and attach your straps. Maybe connect them to the rear bumper and front frame.

I have not seen them myself but some campgrounds out west do have ties downs in concrete. I think the objective was to use chains from the tie downs to the frame.

[stevebaz]

Probably better to park the car next to the trailer on the windy side to break the wind before hitting the trailer.

[Sands]

Great minds...While camped on the edge of the chasm at Goosenecks State Park in Utah in our 16' Scamp last year we were subjected to a late night/early morning storm that had 80 mph gusts (according to park ranger). Trailer was rocking, and not in a good way! We parked our tow vehicle (Toyota Highlander) very close to the trailer on the upwind side. Seemed to help quite a bit.

[Darwin Maring]

All that math gave me a headache.

[Gilda]

I can tell you from personal experience being in a Scamp trailer beats being in a nylon tent in fierce wind any day! In our youthful backpacking days we hiked the Napali cliffs on Kauai, Hawaii. We were dog tired and could not make the whole 11 miles to our beach/camping destination. (Thanks to the "romantic' description of the trail in the Sierra Club book we had no idea how treacherous the trail really is/was. Ah, the innocence of youth!). At dusk we camped on the sheer edge of the cliff, the only place available, and shuddered all night while we heard the roar of the never-ending blustery wind. We kissed the ground when we crawled out of out tent then next morning when the air was, thankfully, peaceful. BTW, we took the Zodiac boat back to the start of the trail. I don't really know what was worse, the treacherous hike in or the treacherous boat ride out!

In our later, more recent, years we camped with out 13' Scamp at Joshua Tree National Park in CA. Much as in Maui, we shuddered all night while we heard the roar of never-ending blustery wind. We felt the trailer rock and prayed that we wouldn't fall over. In the morning, our trailer was upright and when we emerged we discovered that all the tent campers had left the campground and only a few trailer campers remained.

We're more than grateful to have survived both incidents and I can tell you I'd much rather be in a trailer in high wind. Of course, hurricanes are another matter.

[Kai in Seattle]

"I can tell you from personal experience being in a Scamp trailer beats being in a nylon tent in fierce wind any day!" --Gilda.


Agreed! I'd so much rather be in a trailer than in a tent! You got that right! Especially if it is windy!


BEST
Kai

[slowpat]

Don't forget to put the stabilizers down and try to park nose into the wind. I slept through a gale at Banks Lake. My friends in pickup campers asked me if I worried about my kayak and I had to ask why.

Although trees can smash you, they can also be a good windbreak. I pulled into Bullard's Beach SP to get out of the wind and it was sheltered enough with trees to keep things calmer.

[Kai in Seattle]

Odds are much better that the trees will act as a windbreak than that the wind will break the trees.


BEST
Kai

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle

Odds are much better that the trees will act as a windbreak than that the wind will break the trees.


BEST
Kai

Probably true, but having survived a tree falling on our living room as we sat on the sofa with my mom reading us a story, trees still make me more nervous than just wind and no trees!

[Kai in Seattle]

When I was 8, a neighbor's house was crushed under a huge tree in the Columbus Day Storm in Oregon. I've never been easy about trees in wind since. And at times I've been super-worried. I hear you; I'd rather not have big trees around in a windstorm, either. but then, maybe neither of us has ever experienced a wind-tipped trailer. If we had, we might be more worried about that. I think the odds are really bad windstorms are rare, and trees withstand a lot of wind and shelter from it more often than they blow over.


The real thing to worry about is tree limbs--they can be very heavy and crash right through an egg! And it doesn't take nearly the wind force to break off an old limb than to knock over a tree OR to roll a trailer.


I know this isn't soothing! Every time we even go on the roads, I have to consider the actual odds, try to drive and camp safely, and just plain hope. But that's kinda scarey and not much fun. I can't even be safe staying home! After all, house roofs blow off, too! Earthquakes knock down houses every day (well, probalby not every single day). Volcanoes...giant meteors...


Still. I think the odds are FOR being okay and against disasters.


That's why disasters are news and people having a nice time isn't.


BEST
Kai


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[Jon in AZ]

In my mind, falling branches represent far and away the greater danger, so I will risk the wind every time. Hitch up and turn head on, or park the vehicle as a windbreak, whichever works best in the situation.

Or in some situations, hitch up and head for shelter in a sticks and bricks location.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

Probably true, but having survived a tree falling on our living room as we sat on the sofa with my mom reading us a story, trees still make me more nervous than just wind and no trees!

Yeah I know those trees can make a person a bit nervous!...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9bbxNV7QY8

[Davie B]

Before the hurricane here last year, I threw a couple of ropes over the LiteHouse and tied them off to trees. I doubt it would have helped if we had tornado force winds but had to do something.

[Kai in Seattle]

Floyd--naturally, THOSE trees worry me!


Kai

[Hazel in Sk]

I have seen a trailer (bigger than an egg and with flat sides) blown off its supports and moved several feet.

[Sands]

Article on winds and flipping:

Can High Winds Flip RVs Parked in a Campground? - RV Life

Looks like not much to worry about (except those pesky trees) until winds are well over 100mph.

[Jon in AZ]

Like other articles I have read in RV Life, it promises more than it delivers in terms of information. But in this case, I believe the article may actually be misinterpreting the conclusions of the report cited in the article. In particular, the quote from the conclusions was only meant to apply to passenger vehicles, not high profile vehicles.

Information in the linked study about travel trailers and other RVs was sparse, but here's what I did find.

From the review of research:
Saiidi and Maragakis (1995) reported on calculated minimum wind speeds to overturn common motor vehicles. They stated, “Due to their low profile and generally aerodynamic designs, automobiles are unlikely to pose the critical condition in terms of stability under wind loads” and they proceeded to report results only for high profile vehicles. They reported minimum overturning wind speeds (perpendicular to the vehicle) of 24 m/s (53 mi/hr) for a 5.5 m travel trailer, 29 m/s (65 mi/hr) for a 9 m motor home, 33 m/s (73 mi/hr) for a 13,600 kg semi-trailer, and 45 m/s (101 mi/hr) for a 5 m camper van. (Using their equations, we calculate a minimum overturning wind speed for a minivan to be 53 m/s (119 mi/hr)).

From the conclusions:
For F0 wind speeds of about 34 m/s (75 mi/hr), there should be no reference to vehicles in damage descriptions because they are not expected to be moved or tipped by the wind. For F1 winds speeds of about 43 m/s (95 mi/hr), "Semi-trucks and other high profile trucks, trailers, and buses may be tipped over; cars, vans, and pickups are not tipped."

The two differ significantly on the threshold for tipping a travel trailer. The first was based on mathematical modeling, and not much was reported about the shape and weight of the trailer, other than its length, nor whether it was assumed to be properly stabilized. The second was based on field observations after a severe storm event, and, again, little is known about size, weight, shape, wind angle, or stabilization.

The report raises more questions than answers about travel trailers, but two things seem clear to me: (1) travel trailers are more vulnerable that other vehicle types, and (2) the danger threshold for an unprotected travel trailer in a direct side wind is likely somewhere below 95 mph.

I was giving some thought as to whether, in a worst case scenario in which you're caught in a severe weather event and there is no alternative shelter, it's better to ride it out in the trailer or the tow vehicle. The study makes it clear the tow vehicle is much less likely to flip, and it offers better protection from lightning, but it may leave you more vulnerable to flying debris through the windows (not sure thin fiberglass is all that much better). Wondering what others think...

Best thing is not to get caught unawares in the first place. If winds anywhere near 95 mph are in the forecast, or if a severe weather warning has been issued, I'm seeking alternative shelter now, not later! I have no desire to be a data point in the next study.

[madjack]

...a personal experience...we were camped the weekend ofJan21 at CaddoSP near Jefferson Tx...with a major storm coming out of the NW...our Casita was setup, curb side facing into this storm with virtually no protective cover from the wind...a tornado passed a couple of miles to our West and a couple of miles to our East, 6/8 inches of dime/quarter sized hail fell...we were in the middle!!! I don't know the wind speeds we faced but, local weather said 35with 45gusts...and that is not counting tornado.

We had awning deployed (into wind), I had nailed down the feet and had run guy lines out from corners and had no problems...I went out a few times and eyed up the awning which was doing just fine TYVM and saw no reason to cause me to risk unsecuring the awning to put it up...we came out absolutely fine, so, take what you will from that experience............
madjack

[Jon in AZ]

Hmmm... 35-45 mph is just another breezy spring day in northern Arizona!

Tornados and hail... that's another matter.

[Dave Fish]

I don't know about the math, but we just found out north east of Seattle. The town of Monroe had an EF0 tornado this morning with winds at approximately 75 MPH that tipped over 2 travel trailers on a lot. They looked to be in the 30 plus foot range.