Managing a Windy Site

[Joe Gleason]

We are down in Florida, as I write this it's 15 MPH off the ocean comming through the campsite... Last night it picked up to 50, thankfully at the last minute, the wind shifted so most of the wind past over the trees...

This will be the 3rd night... Each night they forecast 10-15 then something comes up... last night at 1:00 am wind warnings where issued (see below)... I could hear it coming - we put the kids in the car and held on - as it picked up I kept think it can't hold any more - tents and awning where breaking loose just about everywhere...

We managed Ok (sleepless, but ok)... we had finally setup up our add a room, staking that down, and lowering the canopy made a terrific difference... but I've got to think we tappped our max limits... the velcro on the add a room let go... leaving just the tie connectors - and stressing those to the max... flapping all around - etc...

If it where possible I would have puylled the van around in front, but couldn't - no way to get there...

I'm sure there has got to be some smart solutions...   I know the obvious - pull the rig back from the edge face the bunks to the likely wind etc...

Since I didn't do the obvious maybe it's just a question of Darwinism?  Hoping for a couple smart tips... thanks in advance

[topcat7736]

Joe,

Cross some nylon ropes over the awning and stake them to the ground with some corkscrew dog tieouts. The Velcro pulled loose because the awning raised up (billowed from the wind) and the bottom of the AAR was staked down. Once the top of the awning is prevented from lifting, it won't happen again. Keep the privacy panels down & secured too. Our popup was very stable in 50+ mph winds with the AAR attached.

Insure that the ropes which anchor the awning are parallel to the trailer. If they are not, when you tighten the ropes the roof will be pulled toward the awning. This "pre-loads" the roof to pull away from or tear the awning during a wind burst. With the ropes anchored parallel to the trailer, the roof & awning are able to move together side to side without undue pressure on anything.

Before the bunkends begin acting like airplane wings, you might try tying them from the pole under the bunks to the bumpers. I was always concerned that they would lift up, the poles would come off their screw things & we'd go crashing to the ground or flying off into the night.

Good luck!

[deniski]

I live in a place that routinely has 50 mph wind gusts (Rocky Mountain front).  It gets old, but you learn to live with it.  Anyway, I HAVE seen the bunkends lifted up enough to pull the underbunk poles out of their holders.  I don't think it could have happened if someone was actually on the bunk, but I don't know.  No one was in it at the time.  Luckily nothing was broken, but my roof must have gotten wrenched a bit at the same time because it was never exactly straight after that episode.  This happened when the popup was sitting parked and popped up waiting for a furnace repair....  It was leaning over so hard that I thought it was going to roll or at least push over on it's side, but it didn't.

Now we are very careful to monitor the weather when it's popped up in our driveway, and we put it down it the wind starts up.  We usually avoid the winds when we camp up at higher elevations in the trees, but if I had to camp in that much wind, I think I would somehow stake down the bunkends. And I would roll the awning up and stow it in the fabric holder at the top of the roof.  (We don't have an Add a room.  Then I'd put my two 100 lb dogs in there with me and my husband (we're not little people either) and wait it out.

[mikewilley]

We were camped last week with 50+ MPH gusts in Albuquerque last week.  I got worried that we might rip the tenting and we were shaking so bad that it was impossible to get any sleep, so we folded up at midnight and headed to a hotel for the rest of the night.

It was a real bugger getting the rig folded up with winds blowing broadside into the door side of the popup.  The tenting was still billowing out even with the roof less than a foot from the top of the wall.  (It wasn't so much that we had a "pop-up" as a "pop-out" :J )

I sure am glad we were planning on leaving the next day anyway.

BTW: Topcat, great suggestions on keeping things tied down if you really "have" to stay under those conditions.

[Sltrawick]

I can totally relate.  We camp at St. Andrews SP on the water and it can get pretty windy at times.  I usually do a couple of things.  One....open up the windows and the air just goes right through, then the camper doesn't rock so much OR I go home (I only live about 15 min. from this park...lol).

We have gotten into the car before when a SEVERE storm came up and it looked like a war zone the next day.