What wind speeds make you nervous?

[bpaikman]

We’re in a 35 ft diesel motorhome, flat-towing a small SUV, and have been staying in Lake City, a remote mountain town in Colorado, during the month of September. We planned to pull out Sunday and after crossing a couple of mountain passes, drive down to a valley town for a night, and go on to Santa Fe for a few days.
But the weather is changing rapidly. We saw predictions of 28 mph on Sunday, the day we planned to leave, and decided we don’t want to negotiate twisty mountain roads over 2 passes, in those conditions.
However, weather forecasts show winds up to 48 mph (for 2-3 hours) in the valley town where our next stop would be. If we’re staying put in a campground, and not parked crosswise to the wind, will we be ok? Seems we’d be pointed NNE and the winds will be from the south.
We’re going to be driving in stiff winds (27 mph) across a broad valley to Santa Fe on Monday, but I’m not seeing a better option.
So…Saturday - get through those mountains with winds <20 mph winds (to avoid 30 mph on Sunday).
Sunday - staying in an RV park in a flat valley with up to 48 mph winds on Sunday
Monday - traveling across deserts to Santa Fe, NM, winds possibly up to 30 mph winds. Not ideal but better than mountains.
What wind speeds make you nervous while moving? Camping? What kind of rig?

 

[Wemustrv]

WE drive a 40' Coachman Encore Diesel Pusher towing a Ford F150 SuperCrew. We have rolled in some pretty high winds at times not by choice. Headwinds and Tailwinds are not as bad as side wind gusts. You have to determine what you are comfortable with. I would say under 20 mph with caution is doable you must be very alert and look ahead to see how the landscape changes. Example coming out of a valley or from under a bridge to flat open ground plan for side gusts to hit you anticipate your adjustment ahead of time. Watch trees and flags to determine wind direction as you drive. It takes approximately a 15 knot wind to make an average size flag stand straight out.

 

[Joe Hogan]

RV setup and size make a difference regarding how much wind is comfortable. Gusts are usually a more important factor. I’ve driven in 30-40 mph winds quartering. Motor home handled it ok. Still white knuckle drive. The road was littered with over turned semi from the night before.
Gusts probably caused the over turned trucks or running empty Trailer.
This was between Albuquerque and Amarillo, I 40. Today even with a heavier RV, I would not do that again.

 

[Jim]

Caught the tail end of Hurricane Ian driving a 40' Phaeton across the bridges going over to Key West. I did not enjoy it at all and I won't make that mistake again. As mentioned above, it's those unexpected side blasts that are the worst.

 

[bpaikman]

We were driving in Wyoming one year …came over a hill and heading down we got hit with a gust so strong it sent us into the other lane. Fortunately, no one was there! Sometimes we see warning signs posted about high winds, but I didn’t see such a sign that area.

 

[bpaikman]

We made it over the mountains today and the winds were not bad at all. I see flags etc. indicating that there is definitely winds in the area but it’s not seeming to bother us. However they’re projected to get up to 48 mph tomorrow - we might notice that. But will be stationary.

 

[sheridany]

At that wind speed you may want to bring your slides in as those slide toppers will be making some noise. Not idea but better than having to hear it.

 

[HowLin]

Where do y'all get your wind information?

 

[sheridany]

Drive Weather: Road Conditions

Check the Road Weather Conditions on Drive Weather. Drive Weather takes the guesswork out of figuring out when and where the bad weather is! It shows the weather forecast on your route based on departure time. The Drive Weather app presents weather, wind speed and direction, temperatures, and...

apps.apple.com

Drive Weather app.

 

[HowLin]

Drive Weather: Road Conditions

Check the Road Weather Conditions on Drive Weather. Drive Weather takes the guesswork out of figuring out when and where the bad weather is! It shows the weather forecast on your route based on departure time. The Drive Weather app presents weather, wind speed and direction, temperatures, and...

apps.apple.com

Drive Weather app.

Drive Weather: Road Conditions

Check the Road Weather Conditions on Drive Weather. Drive Weather takes the guesswork out of figuring out when and where the bad weather is! It shows the weather forecast on your route based on departure time. The Drive Weather app presents weather, wind speed and direction, temperatures, and...

apps.apple.com

Drive Weather app.

Thanks - looks good!