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towing in the wind question

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I have a question about towing a 5th wheel in the wind. What s a good rule of thumb to follow, I have a Montana 35' 5th wheel, and a SRW 3500 Ram with all the correct stuff, but the other day I as on Interstate 5, on the north side of the Grapevine in lower Ca and there were 4 big rigs on there sides, I didn't have the trailer with me. I have a few thousand miles towing this Rig, I had some fairly strong winds in Utah a few months ago and there were no problems, I would like to here some ideas, like when to go find a place to camp, speed reduction, do's dont's, etc.
 
Well I don't tow a 5th wheel but I do live in a bad area of Southern Ca. for very high wind's and I can tell you this if it's over 30 mph you won't catch me towing anything large in the wind
 
This is hard to answer actually. I depends on if the wind is direct crosswind or quartering, etc. It also depends to some extent on your experience and if the winds are gusting. I can tell you if it is a micro burst from a collapsing thunderstorm hard not to get turned over. If the wind is funneled down a canyon across the road the wind is higher than steady winds. It is best to park if you can but not always practice. You have to remember also those 18 wheelers most likely running empty and even if not they have a much larger surface area for the wind to hit and cause problems. I travel I-40 here in Arizona a lot and I can tell you have got caught by a down burst with my 35' Everest and all though used a couple of lanes and kept the 5er behind me and upright. Steady winds probably 30 mph but not exact cross wind but the gust is what almost got me. I have travel though the Mojave Desert with 40 to 45 mph winds without a major problem. Cannot say it would be this way for everyone.

Oh I have a dually also and the training wheels I think helps as well.
 
Park it when you see that your knuckles are turning white. Find a safe and convenient place and stay put till the wind settles down.
 
Park it when you see that your knuckles are turning white. Find a safe and convenient place and stay put till the wind settles down.
I am with Griz on this one, we have all kinds of different ways to rate how dangerous things are at work. Bottom line is do you feel comfortable, if not slow or sit it out for a while. No replacement for commonsense.
 
On a rig that size, I have to agree with the duals. Nothing can compare to the wider foot print on the pavement. When we went through South Dakota last fall, I past several folks that were having some handling issues going west through the Bad Lands. I didn't realize how bad the wind really was until we stopped at Wall Drug.
 
If it gets to windy I pull over but sometimes you can't then I slow way down. I know that before I bought my Hensely hitch I was for ever pulling over but since buying the Hensely I find that I have better control but you really have to watch crosswind gust, they can get you in trouble real fast.
 
Yes, the wind is capable of turning your trailer over in certain conditions. No one can predict exactly what those conditions are but if you see OTR trucks turned over on their sides it might be time to get off the interstate and wait it out.

A TDR member had his fifth wheel rolled over on I-25 in CO a couple years ago. It does happen.
 
I always try to run with as little water as possible for mileage, but if I think there will be wind, I fill the tanks. Keeps the center of gravity lower. Some places that are prone to frequent high winds have signage. Heed the sign.
 
When I do pull over I try to position the 5ers so the wind is not hitting the side of the 5er it is hitting either the end or front. I also put done the front landing gear and rear jacks. All are right when white knuckle time, OTR blown over, your uncomfortable slow way down and find a place to park it.

Hey I don't drive in snow and ice but a lot do their choice. I do the same as above when hit snow and ice as well. I guess i am chicken but I feel better if I stop!!!!
 
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Towing In the Wind

Good suggestion: Find a place to camp (or whatever ya call it these days).

Have traveled US 40 both east and west and once you get on 40 just below OK City, then thru TX and a short way into N MEX, has always had Wind and a lot of it. One trip in particular, Truck was struggling to do 45 pulling our trailer (5th wheel 32 ft / loaded 22,000 trk and trailer), and decided to park.

Tried two camp grounds, the first one was full and I got th last place at the second one! Found out there was a bunch of wise people "PARKED"
 
I remember a time going South on US85 through southern ND into Northern SD. I was fine running westbound on I94 but as soon as I headed South on US85 all hell broke loose. I knew I had a tail wind on the interstate This wind was coming out of the East at 45MPH and I had no idea. That two lane highway got real thin at times with my Jayco back there doing a hula dance. 100 miles on to US85 and my arms were literally wore out from sawing the steering wheel and absolutely no where to stop in this section of the country. Slowed her down to about 50 MPH. Took one tank of fuel (33 Gallons to go 185 miles). By the time I got to Spearfish, SD the wind had subsided. Go figure. I did sleep good that night!
 
We were heading across Kansas or NE years ago listening to the radio when a tornado came up on the radio and as we looked down the road we saw every vehicle exiting the freeway and getting off the road. .

We rolled off the highway and found a large shopping center... drove around the shopping center to the side away from the wind... parked the truck and trailer about 2 ft off the wall and waited... .

It got blacker than night, rained, hailed and the funnel was a few miles away... from start to finish no more than maybe 2 or 3 hours... . when we pulled out... behind us were at least 5 other rigs doing the same thing... .

I've seen a lot of blow overs in all the years driving and that was as close as I want to come... but I've been hit by gusts as well. . you just have to be careful and trust your instincts. . when it gets to the step before white knuckles I pull up and wait... .

Don't know if this really helps but I sure remember that storm as if it was yesterday... .
 
Depending on how much you tow, you might want to look at a wind wing. I tow tens of thousands of miles a year and my wind wing really makes a difference. I don't know from a fuel mileage stand point if it makes that much difference but it sure helps when drilling into a headwind or fighting a strong crosswind.



mi dos centavos... .....
 
The only thing a wind wing will do is catch bugs that would otherwise end up on the front of a fiver.

A friend of mine bought one. I laughed at him when he bought it. After a year he quietly took it off and left it at an RV dealer near his home hoping the dealer would sell it for him. I don't think it ever sold.
 
When you buy your 5th wheel hitch most have side to side rockers. These were intended to help with off road traction, rough camp grounds parking, trailer hitching on uneven ground, and the ride. A good one will come with a lock so you can lock out the side to side action in high winds using the trucks weight, lower center of gravity and sway bars to help control lean. This is why big trucks and commercial 5th wheel hitches don't have side to side rockers. When RV 5th wheels rockers first came out they had instructions that told you to lock them for highway use.



We live near the mackinaw bridge, when the winds are bad enough they stop you and take you across with an escort at 20mph. They hold you there until they have enough vehicles for the crossing. last summer a guy stoped in here after crossing the bridge and said a cop came to his window and said if he has a rocker they would like it if it was locked. He didn't know what the cop was talking about. This made his wife nervous.



I agree with the guys who said park if it doesn't feel right. And dullys help a lot.



_________________________

93 250 2wd xc 354 auto 271k

04. 5 3500 4wd qc dully 373 6speed 94k
 
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A thought but don't know how it applies. Some of the most expensive air hitches most of the time used on MDT or HDT trucks do not believe lock side to side. These can be used in our LT trucks as well but for the moment not wanting to spend $2500 for one. I agree for the reason to unlock and lock if possible and one of the reason for not locking is to keep from cracking or breaking the 5er frame. Locking for high wind and highway use makes a lot of sense.
 
Being in the RV biz for as long as I have, I have seen the effects of solid hitches on 5er's. Solid hitches put a lot of unwanted torque to the upper frame area.



When they start creaking, they start leaking.



Lots of difference between a freight trailer and a 5er.
 
I was thinking the same thing. I wouldn't want to put that kind of stresses on my fiver's frame, particularly the front overhang section.
 
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