How to Travel in Hail/Tornado country

[PamsCruiser]

Hi,
We really want to take our 53 Airstream Cruiser to the Great Lakes area for an extended trip. Would like to travel East from Washington State and spend 4-6 weeks touring Lake Superior and Lake Michigan and all the surrounding area. My partner also has family he would like to visit. The ideal time to go is late May to the end of June. However, this time of year is also hail and tornado weather. How do people travel in the mid west states and protect their trailers from damage? We would be heartbroken if our trailer were to be damaged. If your parked in a camp site and a storm comes up it pretty hard to move to a safe location. Our other option is to go in August, but that's when its the hottest. I welcome your thoughts and experience traveling in the Mid West. Thank you.

[Protagonist]

If I had a '53 trailer I'd be worried about hail damage, too.

But there's no place in the US that's completely free from the chance of hail. And every single one of the "lower 48" has experienced tornadoes somewhere in the state in the past 50 years.

If you worry too much about the "might-happens" you'll never go anywhere. Sheet aluminum can be replaced when it gets dimpled by hail; that's what insurance is supposed to cover.

Venture forth boldly in your travels, and put your faith in God that you won't experience any Acts of God that could damage your trailer.

[EZTOO]

I agree about not living life based on "what ifs".
However, there may be better times than others to travel the route you want to go. I would do some research and maybe shift my travel plans to less volatile months weatherwise. We have a 1989 AS Excella, a nice trailer, but nothing special. Your trailer is special and you might want to look for a less special one for longer trips and enjoy the journey versus worrying about your trailer. Insofar as insurance, make sure your trailer is properly appraised and you have an "agreed value" in case it is damaged. Good luck and travel safe!!

[rbs]

we have become "weather watchers" and have changed our plans and or routes because of forecasts. We use "my radar" on our iPhone and iPad and we have satellite weather on our truck, and have been very lucky a couple of times

[RFP]

It seems to me like there might be a 'business' opportunity for some clever person (lets me out) to design and market some kind of Airstream Armor... maybe from molded rigid foam that would conform to at least the tops of the end caps, maybe even down the top part of the sides, too. Tied down, of course, to allow for travel.

Note: The above idea comes straight from my Tamiflu-addled brain Danged ol' FLU

[Lily&Me]

We have had tornadoes here in December, and there is really no time of the year when you can be certain to avoid them or very high winds.

Hail can also come with any severe storm...Mother Nature just does her own thing, whenever she chooses, and storms often change in intensity as they are in progress.

No severe storm just “comes up” these days, of course, as our weather apps and media give us plenty of warning. Moving out of the path of a severe storm can often be done.

Touring the Great Lakes in summer is completely doable, as temperatures are milder near the lakes, and there is usually a good breeze. so don’t let our Midwest heat deter you.

You can also get the most amazing, scrumptious peaches in Michigan in late summer, which is a good enough reason to go, all by itself.

That said, make your plans, watch the weather and don’t let fear be your guide.

Have a great time.

Maggie

[gklott]

Originally Posted by PamsCruiser

How do people travel in the midwest states and protect their trailers from damage?

I suspect you are more likely to have awning damage from high winds or heavy rains than hail damage,

Severe thunderstorms with hail can happen. In Texas, we had a hail storm that totaled our 30' Classic in 2006. Stones were golf ball to tennis ball size.

Yet, we continue enjoying the trailer today - 11+ years later.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f252...tml#post261374

The hundreds of dents have "softened" with some no longer noticeable. The damage did not impact the trailer's structural or weather integrity. We had to replace the cheap OEM skylights and the plastic A/C cover.

Strongly recommend you replace your skylights with MAXIM SKYLIGHTS. There are several threads on these excellent products. We really like ours. Hail will not likely damage the Maxims.

Makes for a good discussion if someone notices. We rarely have any other Airstream owners comment. We laugh and say that the many small dents, like in a golf ball, may give our trailer some lift!

You can only do so much. Travel and enjoy. Use common sense and reasonable judgement in taking care of your trailer.

73/gus

[jcanavera]

You know the hail can occur anywhere. Personally my chance of getting into a damaging hail storm is less traveling than when the trailer is in storage here in the midwest. Storms and UV are a couple of the major reasons why I keep my trailer inside when it's not in use. Back about 30 years ago we got caught in a hail storm when heading out on an outing. We were only 25 miles from home when we pulled off the Interstate to take shelter under a tree overhanging the parking lot at a McDonalds. I had a Hi-Lo trailer and picked up some smaller dents in the roof. The sides of the trailer and my tow vehicles were unscathed. Turned it into insurance and got a nice settlement in cash that I used to buy my first RV air conditioner.

I do care more about personal safety though and to me, my best investment was a NOAA weather radio that has NWR SAME technology. One of the things I do prior to every trip is to program my radio for the county code in the locales that I will be staying in. The Good Sam camping guide is a good source of counties for campgrounds and the NOAA site on the Internet has the codes for the counties in the US. This is imperative to me since I need to know when that radio goes off in a warning that I am in that locale that the warning is for. The good side of the SAME technology is that the radio will not alert if your locale is not part of the warning area. Prior to this technology and with my unfamiliarity with some of my locales, an alert I received with my old radio may truly not be for the area I was staying in generating a lot of unnecessary worry and concern.

Jack

[alantbird]

I’m more concerned about the horrible condition of our freeways.
Last trip across country I got a substantial amt of damage due to hitting curb sized bumps at freeway speeds.
Last fall I got stuck in an alley in hatch NM and got many scrapes due to low trees and after I decided I’m here to enjoy myself and not obsess over things I have no control over.
LIFES TOO SHORT TO SWeaT THE PETTY STUFF.

[Magnet18]

Lived in northern Indiana my whole life, never had a vehicle damaged by hail, it's really not much worry out here, very uncommon and very small, way less than the southwest. Same with tornadoes, the great lakes get way fewer than the plains states, and they are often so weak they just take some shingles off. Basically, I wouldn't worry at all, just keep an eye on the weather and don't park under tree branches if there's gonna be a storm. All places have their natural disasters, your odds of hail or tornado in the Midwest are no worse than your odds of earthquake or fire in California

That said, why not go in the fall when there are less surprise storms?

[baldwin6601]

We carry an NOAA weather radio with us and also use Wunderground and NOAA Apps on our iPhones to keep an eye on the radar.

[kdickinson]

Agree with the other posters. Our Airstream will be 50 years old next year and it has been through just about everything including my family unknowingly pulling it straight into a hurricane coming into the Maryland area in the early 70's - hey we were from New Mexico and did not know anything about hurricanes! The trailer has some dings in the body, some may be from hail but overall it's in great shape. We did have a large bird (we think it was a duck) hit the front curb side panel while we were at interstate speed and the panel was eventually replaced but only for cosmetic reasons. To the point made above - the panels can be replaced. The one thing that does keep us from going is known snow and ice conditions. Even with careful planning and closely watching the weather we still got caught in a surprise snow storm once coming back into Colorado at dusk a few years ago about this time of year. That was no fun. Safety is number one. Otherwise go and have a great time and IF anything happens the great thing about Airstreams is they can be fixed.

[Countryboy59]

I bring a DVD of “twister” and we watch it in the trailer during storms.

[wavelength]

I would make that trip in late August thru September less chance of hail storms , Park’s not as congested and beautiful weather. Living in Chicago we do most of our Midwest travels during that time.

[Rzrbrn]

We have hit hail every camping season. We go for 2 to 6 months and cover a lot of territory. Just grit your teeth.

Late May through About August is black fly and Noseeum season. Prepare but enjoy the area.

Great smoked fish, Pasty (get the gravy) and smelt (fish).

[SSquared]

The northern part of the US has much lower frequency of severe storms, compared to tornado alley. I just found a site that shows occurrences of one inch or larger hail over the last ten years. Upper Michigan and northern lower Michigan showed virtually no large hail. Montana, N Dakota, and northern Minnesota had very little. So stay north.

Here's the link: https://disastersafety.org/ibhs/ibhs...orm-frequency/

There are lots of maps and reports out there. However, I didn't find one that showed the best travel dates.

[jdalrymple]

Here in "tornado alley", we hitch up just the same as anywhere else and take what comes.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.” —William G.T. Shedd.




Regards,


JD

[HoWee]

We travel each year MI to SoCal and back. I have observed that the storms start mostly in southern mid USin Spring. As the continent warms, the storms move north. Your planned trip along the northern US will reduce yoiur chances of getting BIG massive storms. But, there is always a chance of more localized, regional storms that you must monitor on radar app of yoiur choice, then alter trip accordingly. Good Luck and travel with glee!

[eggman]

Hail dings hurt the first time. So do scratches, rock pings, dents from tree limbs falling, and all those things that are out of our control. It’s MUCH worse, however, to cause the pings and scratches your own self by doing stupid stuff like turning a right corner too tightly and meeting up with the stop sign&#128553
But how long until you no longer park that brand new car at the far end of the parking lot? Enjoy your toys! Be safe. Bigger worry than hail is getting blown away by the tornado. Got bruises on my back from hail while escaping storm in Texas once to make a mad dash to the nearby mall’s parking garage for protection. Dings on trailer and car didn’t matter so much when you are comparing them to life threatening danger.
I would, however, get the Maxim skylights, if possible. Ours have withstood a lot! Plus they made the trailer a LOT cooler in our unbearably hot southern summers.

[davidrrand]

We picked up our new AS in early May of 2016 in Tampa. 30 minutes after leaving the dealership on I-75 on our way to Ft Desoto SP we hit a massive thunderstorm with hail. We were able to pull off into a rest area and I pulled down wind of a tree that I thought might shield the trailer. It lasted for over 10 minutes. We went on with our plans and did not see any damage from ground level. However the first time I was able to get on a ladder I noticed maybe a dozen or more dimples on both front and rear end caps. Only time I see them now is when I am back on the roof cleaning the roof or bugs off the front.

It’s tough but beyond your control. Enjoy your trailer. These days I am more concerned with trees that can really cause some serious damage. Don’t want to even think about tornadoes!!!!!!