camping in the wind

[kgravl]

I've noticed that the roof on most pups are not very stable in the wind. Is it a good idea to tie off the roof once I'm set up? If so, where to tie? I have extra tent stakes, but don't know where to go to on the camper.

Thanks

[dpomroy]

We have gone camping in some pretty fair winds (15-20 MPH) in our PU. We have never tied down the roof even when we worried it might fly away. We did however purchase some neat little supports for the roof that install over the lift arms that will stop the roof from falling if it drops. I would not tie the roof down as this would put undo pull on the lift system and may cause it to collapes and hurt someone, and nobody wants that.

[kgravl]

Thanks, I never thought of the extra stress on the lift system. I'll just tell the wife and kids to hold on, and we'll be back in Kansas soon.

[zamboni]

We were at a Bay Area campground in our former 1996 10' box Starcraft PUP, and very close to the water... and subjected to some incredible intense winds.

It shook us for 2 days.  I'd estimate they were about 30-40mph at times (had to lean in to walk sometimes).  PUP did OK, but shook like a belly dancer!  We did have a Carefree awning that was mounted to the frame, so I dipped the awning down very steep to form a bit of a "wedge" to force the wind over the camper.  It did help a lot versus having the wind blow straight on the walls.

Other things we've done is park the truck between the ocean and the camper.  It helped a lot.  Once, when a tree was handy, I tied a tarp to the tee and the other to my truck to create a large "wall" to block the wind...

[hoppy]

I have camped in winds up to 50-55 MPH winds, and the PU did just fine.

 Your biggest concern should be the dead trees and limps in close proximety of your PU and campsite.

 Check the site before setting up the PU for these things..... they can hurt ya'  

[tlhdoc]

We camp at the ocean several times a year and have been in some 50 mph + winds.  The PU shakes but has always been fine.

[TroutBum]

There is a saying here in Idaho that it is always so windy because Montana Sucks and Utah Blows.  This weekend we were out in our PU and there were nightime gusts into the 50's (our tent camping companions actually brought a handheld wind gauge).  Our PU does have the snap in corner braces as well, but these are more for keeping the roof from collapsing than for adding lateral stability.  

The wind was loud, and shook things up, but other than keeping DW from falling back asleep, everything was fine.  (She woke me up, I told her everything was fine, and I went back to sleeping like a log)

Just my 2c.

[Used 2B PopUPTimes]

This is an issue that the manufacturers duck when I ask, they all claim it's a liability thing and won't comment. I guess someone's kid got killed years ago when their camper blew over.

I had a reader tell me that he pulls his van up tight against the back of the camper on windy nights. He said it works as a buffer when the wind is coming from the back, and insurance against rolling over when the winds are blowing on the front.