hurricanes

[Dyoung59]

I was wondering how does an Airstream do in a hurricane? Should I tie it down somehow, I know to move it away from the trees and flying objects. If I need to tie it down what is the best way? We have a tropical storm now but it will not be half as bad as a hurricane.

[goshawks00]

I suppose it depends on how good your ins. is<G> Short of that the best move would be several hundred miles away.

[n2916s]

We went through a tropical storm at Cape Hatteras a couple of years ago. Filled the water, black and grey filled to 3/4, stabilizers down, left it hooked up to the truck.

Gusts to about 65. No problems, just a little bouncy ride.

Having gone through Andrew in Miami (with massive damage to my stick house), I can say that a Hurricane is a whole different matter. Which is why I spend my summers in Wyoming.

Mike

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by n2916s

We went through a tropical storm at Cape Hatteras a couple of years ago. Filled the water, black and grey filled to 3/4, stabilizers down, left it hooked up to the truck.

Gusts to about 65. No problems, just a little bouncy ride.

Having gone through Andrew in Miami (with massive damage to my stick house), I can say that a Hurricane is a whole different matter. Which is why I spend my summers in Wyoming.

Mike

Great information thanks

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by goshawks00

I suppose it depends on how good your ins. is<G> Short of that the best move would be several hundred miles away.

I guess it is time to get insurance. Just got the title a few weeks ago and working out the bugs before the maiden voyage. Thanks

[Jim Clark]

The wind coming your way should be no problem but do not be complacent. Your trailer is in more danger from flying debris or a snapped tree. My 2005 was hit by my gate which swung open in Isaac, which was my fault as I should have secured the gate better; I now have a Hurricane proof gate in place.

The primary roll our trailer plays in life is for Hurricane evacuation, secondary is vacation .Of the 3 trailers listed below two have been used multiple times for evacuation the new one not yet. We get out early and try to avoid the path of the storm, tornadoes and snapping trees are just as dangerous as the storm itself. We are very careful where we park when we evacuate, avoid pine trees. BTW it is very nice to have a nice trailer to stay in that you can run on a small generator when the power is out for days.

Good Luck Stay Safe.

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by Dyoung59

I guess it is time to get insurance. Just got the title a few weeks ago and working out the bugs before the maiden voyage. Thanks

You may not get insurance on the trailer with a named storm in the area, you may have waited to long.

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

The wind coming your way should be no problem but do not be complacent. Your trailer is in more danger from flying debris or a snapped tree. My 2005 was hit by my gate which swung open in Isaac, which was my fault as I should have secured the gate better; I now have a Hurricane proof gate in place.

The primary roll our trailer plays in life is for Hurricane evacuation, secondary is vacation .Of the 3 trailers listed below two have been used multiple times for evacuation the new one not yet. We get out early and try to avoid the path of the storm, tornadoes and snapping trees are just as dangerous as the storm itself. We are very careful where we park when we evacuate, avoid pine trees. BTW it is very nice to have a nice trailer to stay in that you can run on a small generator when the power is out for days.

Good Luck Stay Safe.

Thanks you are right it will be nice to use after the storm when the lights are out. I will enjoy the a/c and stove,

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

You may not get insurance on the trailer with a named storm in the area, you may have waited to long.

Yes you are correct, I may have to go on vacation during the storms for that reason.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Dyoung59

Yes you are correct, I may have to go on vacation during the storms for that reason.

Wait until the current one has left the area, then get your insurance.

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by Dyoung59

Yes you are correct, I may have to go on vacation during the storms for that reason.

We spent 2 weeks at Fort Wilderness for Hurricane Katrina.

[Protagonist]

An Airstream will withstand Category 1 winds easily enough, lengthwise. That's no different from the slipstream when you're towing. Crosswinds, I'm not so sure, though if nothing else it will do better than the SOB trailers.

There are three things to watch out for with any hurricane:
1 - Wind.
2 - Torrential rains.
3 - Storm Surge (in coastal areas). Along any river, there's a chance of flooding there, too, due to high rains causing the river to exceed its banks.

Wind carries with it windborne debris. Home hurricane shutters are tested by firing a 2×4 stick of lumber at 150 mph, and if the shutter doesn't let the lumber through, it passes. Make sure there is nothing at all within a range of about 500 feet that might go airborne and strike your trailer. In my case, my Airstream Interstate rode out Hurricane Isaac, but I made a point of parking it where a three-story building provided a windbreak on the south and east sides.

Rain might be the biggest problem. Wind-driven rain falls sideways, not down, and if there's any place in your trailer that might leak, it will leak. You can test in advance by taking your trailer to a do-it-yourself car wash, and blasting the whole trailer, all sides, at close range, and see if any water gets in. Especially around the windows and doors, rooftop vents and ACs, and every riveted seam.

If you live in an area subject to storm surge or river flooding, getting out is the only option.

My personal hurricane plan goes something like this:

For anything Category 2 or less, I'll park my Airstream and my Honda where they're protected, and ride out the storm. But the Airstream will be fully stocked, with empty holding tanks, full fuel, fresh water, and propane, a week's worth of non-perishable food and a week's worth of clothes and bedding, and my cell phone, laptop, tablet computer, and wireless broadband modem all fully charged. That way, in the event of a prolonged power outage at home, I can move into my Airstream until services are restored.

For Category 3 or higher, as soon as my home is in the National Weather Service's "5-day cone of uncertainty" I'm headed inland driving my Airstream and towing my Honda, in a direction well away from the predicted storm track, whether local authorities call for an evacuation or not.

[wahoonc]

I have about figured out the best way to ride out a hurricane in an Airstream...

First you get one of those big V-plow blades from up north where it snows...a lot! Then you mount it on a turntable and put the AS behind it, that allows the AS to vane into the wind and the blade can deflect all the debris.

Problem solved!

Interestingly enough I saw pictures of a campground/RV park after one of the hurricanes of 2005, there were a bunch of destroyed SOB's, there were a couple of Airstreams in the park. One had been rolled on it's side by the hurricane, they rolled it back on it's wheels and were still staying in it, everything else was too damaged to use. During Hurricane Katrina I was working in Mobile, AL, fortunately my AS was in NC, I bailed and went east to Jacksonville, FL and rode the storm out in a hotel.

Aaron

[Dyoung59]

Great information thanks.

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

I have about figured out the best way to ride out a hurricane in an Airstream...

First you get one of those big V-plow blades from up north where it snows...a lot! Then you mount it on a turntable and put the AS behind it, that allows the AS to vane into the wind and the blade can deflect all the debris.

Problem solved!

Interestingly enough I saw pictures of a campground/RV park after one of the hurricanes of 2005, there were a bunch of destroyed SOB's, there were a couple of Airstreams in the park. One had been rolled on it's side by the hurricane, they rolled it back on it's wheels and were still staying in it, everything else was too damaged to use. During Hurricane Katrina I was working in Mobile, AL, fortunately my AS was in NC, I bailed and went east to Jacksonville, FL and rode the storm out in a hotel.

Aaron

Lol you had me laughing. The tropical storm was not to bad. I was told to fill up my tanks and hook it up to my truck. I would hope it would not turn over with my truck with a category 3 . A category 4 I will leave.

[Tomzstream]

Even a TS can be a major hazard, not so much from the TS force winds but TORNADOES often associated with these systems. Case in point, the Tornado that hit Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, FL last evening. I have my 23 footer parked on the Island and a waterspout came on shore just a half mile away. It turned into an EF-1 and toppled quite a few trees. I keep my trailer on a paved lot pretty much devoid of trees, and am glad for that. I live about 7 miles inland and had no worries about this twister, until I remembered I had my trailer out there. Waterspouts are pretty common with these systems.

Like others, I plan on using it for evacuations and for living in after a major Hurricane, specially if the power is out for a sustained period of time, as I can run the AC and cook in the trailer. I also consider it my "Escape Pod", allowing me to evacuate and stay away from harm for an extended period. But Andrea was just too tame with max sustained winds of 40MPH to worry about moving it off the Island, so I thought. Lesson Learned!

There were no injures, but a good bit of damage to the old trees on the Island.

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by Tomzstream

Even a TS can be a major hazard, not so much from the TS force winds but TORNADOES often associated with these systems. Case in point, the Tornado that hit Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, FL last evening. I have my 23 footer parked on the Island and a waterspout came on shore just a half mile away. It turned into an EF-1 and toppled quite a few trees. I keep my trailer on a paved lot pretty much devoid of trees, and am glad for that. I live about 7 miles inland and had no worries about this twister, until I remembered I had my trailer out there. Waterspouts are pretty common with these systems.

Like others, I plan on using it for evacuations and for living in after a major Hurricane, specially if the power is out for a sustained period of time, as I can run the AC and cook in the trailer. I also consider it my "Escape Pod", allowing me to evacuate and stay away from harm for an extended period. But Andrea was just too tame with max sustained winds of 40MPH to worry about moving it off the Island, so I thought. Lesson Learned!

There were no injures, but a good bit of damage to the old trees on the Island.

Yes we had some a tornado touch down a couple of years ago about a half mile from my house. That would have been bad.

[overlander63]

Just an FYI, Bertha (our Sovereign) has successfully ridden out Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Charlie. In 2004, It turned out to be the only RV that survived in the campground it was parked when Charlie passed almost directly over the park. I exercised the better part of valor, and rode that one out across the state in our Argosy. Bertha has also successfully traveled at highway speeds through hurricane-force (75mph) crosswinds.

[Dyoung59]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Just an FYI, Bertha (our Sovereign) has successfully ridden out Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Charlie. In 2004, It turned out to be the only RV that survived in the campground it was parked when Charlie passed almost directly over the park. I exercised the better part of valor, and rode that one out across the state in our Argosy. Bertha has also successfully traveled at highway speeds through hurricane-force (75mph) crosswinds.

Wow that is good news!

[Beer Snob]

We prepped for sandy last year as others have described here. Full tanks, generators ready to go etc. but then we never even lost power in the house. We were kinda bummed.