wind speed

[sacrawf]

I haven't seen this topic discussed anywhere.  What is the wind speed that and opened pop-up camper (with awning closed) should be able to sustain without damage or overturn in an open, unprotected campsite?  (I am just curious, not planning to travel toward the hurricane!) Is there any difference between the orientation with the camper and the wind?  It seems that a broad side to the wind would provide more problems with a larger surface area and make the camper more susceptible to overturn, but the area under the beds might allow the wind to create more lift.

[mike4947]

Well my trailer was up and got hit by what the airport a 1/2 mile away said was 70+ mph wind shear. It simply turn the trailer so it faced into the wind. PU's have a much lower center of gravity that conventional TT's and can move easier rather than overturning.  Nothing even got wet in the trailer and we had IIRC just over 3 inches of rain on less than an hour.Closed up; we've had folks weather hurricane force winds by simply anchoring the tongue and making sure the trailer faced the average wind direction.

[AustinBoston]

This is somewhat dependent on the pop-up.  A 3500 lb. 14 foot box with six adults in it is a lot harder to move than a 750 lb. pop-up with nobody in it.

I think most people would draw the line in the 30-35 MPH range if they were going to sleep in it.

The thing I would be most concerned with is the bunks lifting up and allowing the supports under it to disengage/fall out.

BTW, a 70 MPH wind shear does not mean 70 MPH winds on the ground (or in the air, for that matter).  Wind shear is the relative difference between winds at two adjacent levels.  An example would be if you had a 40 mph north wind at 1,000 feet and a 30 mph south wind at 900 feet, that would be a 70 mph wind shear.

Austin

[noahnsteph]

We were camping in a state park last year when a tornadoe completely wiped out a town 20 miles SW of us. The PU was taking what had to be 50+ MPH winds and sustained no damage. DW and I were scared out our wits and had to yell at each other just be heard sitting on the same bunk. Of course DS slept right through the whole thing.  In retrospect we probably should have headed to the bath house just to be safe till it was over.

[tlhdoc]

While camping at the shore, our PU has been in 50+ mph winds several times.  Once you get used to the top swaying back and forth you can relax a little.

[mikewilley]

We have been set up in 70MPH gusts, 40MPH sustained and chose to fold up.  Much above 30MPH and it gets very shaky and noisy, taking most of the fun out of camping!