What a scary night

[playc]

Lessons Learned:
1) always check weather daily esp the Advisory as the weather conditions may change drastically overnight.
2) if tio late to leave, connect to TV and turn to face the wind direction ...setup during the daylight hours.

We camped at Matagorda bay RV resort 10/28-31. What a beautiful and nice campground, clean facilities and cey nice and friendly staff. The weather had been great until 10/30 afterwards.

I did not check the weather and was not concerned the cold front weather report. We even went to the beach for ahells in tge afternoon ad and had a nice dinner in our Bambi Sport.

Starting around 9pm for next 10 hours the gusty wind ranging from 25 to 45 miles blowing to our van and Bambi Sport on the side that was Facing directly to the wind coming from the north. The airstream shook frequently and while my wife continued sound asleep, I was very worried and concerned that my Airstream would flip over. It was also very cold and raining. I considered and evaluated my opinions and concluded there were none except praying.

Thanks to the almighty God who listened and we were safe. But what a night and just want to share event with you all.

[Belbein]

Sounds pretty scary!

We were once at a campground on the summit of a mountain in our 22 when a thunderstorm blew through and lightening started striking right around us. And here we are in our little shell of polished aluminum. I kept thinking of Guys Grissom 's quip about spam in a can.

One thing I'd suggest, and I don't know if it's possible. But if you can get the trailer turned so that it's turned into the wind... Or ride out the storm in the TV. But hey, prayer is good.

[turk123]

Hooking back up to the tow vehicle might add more secure weight also.

[Overstreet]

Turning into the wind only works if the wind stays the same.

Personally I'm more worried about trees and tree limbs falling.

[KK4YZ]

Years ago we were out west with our old sob trailer looking for an overnight spot in Wyoming (Cody, I think). Stopped at a KOA and the only thing they had for us is to park in an open, grassy field with no hookups. We didn’t unhitch as we planned to leave first thing in the AM.

That night the wind was rocking the trailer something fierce. I did as was suggested earlier: get in the TV and face the entire rig into the wind. It worked. We were lucky that we were in an open field with room to maneuver.

[cazual6]

what wind speeds would cause the AS to flip? curious, never once have I thought that because of its shape.

[billrector]

Originally Posted by cazual6

what wind speeds would cause the AS to flip? curious, never once have I thought that because of its shape.

It would take a tremendous wind to flip an Airstream!

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by billrector

It would take a tremendous wind to flip an Airstream!

Ours was siting in its storage spot at home last year and a est 80MPH straight line wind hit it broadside. Lost three trees and a power pole ....... the Airstream didn’t flinch. and it’s lifted 3”
Yes it would take a tremendous wind to flip an Airstream.

[Argosy man]

I had a similar experience Playc. We were camping in our 1965 22’ Safari in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, just south of Lake Superior. A thunderstorm came thru like nothing I had ever heard and the rain was coming down in sheets. I thought the water was going to wash us out into the lake or in the very least flood the road so we couldnt get out. As you said- the wife slept right through it. Opened the door the next morning expecting the worst- because it is all sand up there; you couldnt even tell it rained

Shawn

[Ted S.]

Had a little run in with New Mexico High Wind Climatology this Spring.

It may take a bit to flip an Airsteam, but that’s not what’s in your head when it’s getting beat around. I found truck parking and slid between 2 semis. All the trucks were getting off the road which is saying something. Once it died down I went out and passed some wrecks including a 5th wheel on its side. It tore off the pin, truck was upright.

[playc]

While hook/connect to TV or even drive away (towards wind direction) are best options ...

As this event happened after 10pm, the wind, the rain, the cold, and darkness then worried me and not able to come up any solution except praying...

Now sitting on the rocking chair in my own backyard, the thought of a solution was to get out and drive TV to the other side of AS and put TV bumper attach to AS, and put hand brake and also chokes on tires ... your thoughts?

[Foiled Again]

In the dark, moving is a tricky option. If you've got trees falling in your immediate area, you might risk it, but you could move into deep water, get stuck in potholes, go off the path and into a ditch, etc.

Sweating it out is probably safer.

[JamuJoe]

Originally Posted by playc

Lessons Learned:

1) always check weather daily esp the Advisory as the weather conditions may change drastically overnight.

2) if tio late to leave, connect to TV and turn to face the wind direction ...setup during the daylight hours.



We camped at Matagorda bay RV resort 10/28-31. What a beautiful and nice campground, clean facilities and cey nice and friendly staff. The weather had been great until 10/30 afterwards.



I did not check the weather and was not concerned the cold front weather report. We even went to the beach for ahells in tge afternoon ad and had a nice dinner in our Bambi Sport.



Starting around 9pm for next 10 hours the gusty wind ranging from 25 to 45 miles blowing to our van and Bambi Sport on the side that was Facing directly to the wind coming from the north. The airstream shook frequently and while my wife continued sound asleep, I was very worried and concerned that my Airstream would flip over. It was also very cold and raining. I considered and evaluated my opinions and concluded there were none except praying.



Thanks to the almighty God who listened and we were safe. But what a night and just want to share event with you all.

We had a similar experience this past June. Returning to Durango from Key Largo, we were approaching Rocky Ford, CO late in the day when the WEATHER UNDERGROUND STORM app alerted us to bad weather. We consulted Allstays and found Mellon State Wildlife Area with a parking area. Just a bit of a detour, and a few miles of rough gravel road, but the parking area was a sweet spot to put down the stabilizers for the stormy night. No danger of flooding or falling trees. I left the trailer hitched to the truck, ready to go if necessary. We watched the WU radar while very high winds and hail hammered the Airstream. Thankfully the tornadoes passed us by. Dawn revealed a scenic vista, no damage, and a boondocking spot we’ll pin for future use.

Safe Travels,
JamuJoe

[PKI]

Never been in real high winds. When the Bay Area got hit, we had moved Glimmer into storage. Trees moved a lot. Chairs and covers went walkabout. No vehicle impact.

However, CA does not have Thunder and Lightning. Well, not enough to notice, so over the last thirty years we have become accustomed to quiet rain storms. This year, we had one night in Alabama and another in Louisiana. On those two nights we had very loud thunder, that rocked the trailer. Maybe because we jumped. That lightning was close and hit with authority. Quickly retrained us on thunderstorm expectations East of the Rockies. Pat

[A W Warn]

My Excella was near the eye wall of hurricane Irma, while in storage in Florida. Winds were measure above 100mph at its location. The trailer did not move. Stabilizers were down they did not slide at all. (It probably shook the trailer really hard, but I was not there to witness it)
I've been inside my Safari when 60-70 mph winds were blowing. Crossing North Dakota, I could not drive safely because of the wind storm blowing from the side so I made an unscheduled stop. The wind kept me awake most of the night rocking the trailer, rattling things in the cabinets, and debris hitting the trailer. Even though it shook, the trailer did not move in its tracks.

[Landshark]

Many years ago, crossing the lower part of Idaho on (I think) I-86, known for its awful crosswinds, I was driving a 25' moho in the right hand lane following my husband who was driving a big BMW motorcycle. An awful crosswind nailed us and suddenly we were both in the left hand lane, the awning unfurled and flapping, but both vehicles upright. We immediately pulled off to the right and all I could think of was if DH had gone down on the bike I would have run right over him. Wind can be a terrible opponent.

After that, we moved into Airstreaming, and returning to Idaho from the Balloon Fiesta Rally in Albuquerque, NM, first ran into a sandstorm on the rez where trucks and SOBs had pulled off but we felt no unsteadiness with the AS and continued on, then further north ran into a snowstorm, again seeing trucks and SOBs pulled off but no unsteadiness with our rig so were able to keep going. Airstreams are wonderful in winds.

[85MH325]

Thirty-three years ago I was living at the end of a twenty-mile long canyon in a 1970 23' Safari Special single axle on a ranch in SoCal in San Diego County during Santa Ana wind season. It was a blustery day anyway, and I was off work, sitting the front couch in my trailer doing some menial task.

As I sat there, a gust of wind hit straight-on to the front of the trailer. It took my front-window rock guard clean off over the top of the trailer, and blew it a couple of hundred yards away. It knocked my trailer clean off it's four stabilizer jacks and moved it back about 18" dragging the tongue jack off the blocks and through the soil in the decomposed granite-covered ground. It was quite a ride. I'd guess it was likely close to a hundred-mile an hour gust.

I've ridden out 60-80 mph gusts in other trailers and motorhomes just fine. It's a little disconcerting, of course, and I too worry more about "widowmakers" coming down out of trees and other blowing debris than the wind itself.

[darcym]

I was in my old tent trailer in a beautiful wooded campsite on Mt. Cuyamaca in eastern San Diego county when a big wind storm hit overnight with 40 to 50 mph gusts. The trailer shook a bit but the worst winds were overhead in the tops of the tall trees. Me and my dog were terrified all night as the sounds of pine cones and bits of branches and debris sounded like bombs going off every time they hit the roof.

Several other shaken campers of all types, with bedraggled owners who looked like they didn't get much sleep either, left the next morning, myself included. I was surprised that there was no damage to the trailer that i could see. Still, a harrowing experience.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

A truck going the other way on a 2 lane road is hitting you with a pretty major pile of “wind” as you pass each other. Flipping over from that is uncommon......

Bob

[phoenixjules]

We can relate. Not sure if it was the same cold front but we were in Winslow, AZ at a very nice state park when the temp dropped to 10 degrees and the wind shook our 25-foot Cloud. Of course, the furniture picked this trip to malfunction. When we woke up at 2:00 a.m. it was 10 degrees outside, and 29 degrees inside. We had an icicle coming out of the kitchen sink and ice crystals everywhere. We decided to leave and head home. The boyfriend figured out that a little flap on the furnace froze in the closed position. Once the trailer thawed out, the furnace worked fine. Lessons learned! Julie