towing in high wind

[jason_5132801]

as enyone towed in high wind!

 

[spj]

Hi Jason,

I towed last saturday across the M62 fron Leeds to Wrexham with no problems, the van was 1400kg fully laden but it was empty as it was sold and the car is over 2100kg unladen.

Previously I have towed when windy with other cars but have been

blown about a bit, but I think the bigger the difference between car and caravan wieght the better. Towing at 60mph last weekend was absolutely fine.

spj.

 

[Guest]

I've driven the M62 in high winds with and without a caravan and I've seen two very large caravans blown over and was told it was not due to the spped or driving but just the wind strenth.

I've also been forced to stop and take cover on the Calais to Ostende road some years ago travelling with the caravan having seen a caravan on its side and a van and a 13 metre articulated lorry in the ditch.

Why the question ?

 

[rayc]

jason, a few years I was towing from Cambridge to kings Lynn when strong winds and gales came on. It was impossible to tow, the wind acroos the open Fens was pushing the van sideways and the back end was way out of line. I stopped in a laybye overnight anything else would have been madness.

 

[RogerL]

I've towed a high ratio outfit (95%) down from Scotland to the Midlands in quite high winds, not gale force the one below.

The worst part was over Shap because it's very exposed. Like any driving hazard, whether towing or not, one's speed needs to be APPROPRIATE so reducing cruising speed prevented any drama.

 

[jason_5132801]

thanks for your coments i ask if enyone as towed in high winds as iam going away most weekends in the winter and iam sure i will come across this

 

[Steve L]

I tow a twenty foot twin axle van with a Laguna estate. In high winds I do reduce speed to about 50 on motorways but generally I haven't had too much trouble.

I too have travelled over shap coming from Scotland back to Hereforshire in a gale and it was no too bad.

I doo thik that the twin axle setup does have a major benifit in these conditions as you have a chassis that inherently wants to go straight and the tyres offer resistance to swaying.

I do use a snakemaster stabiiser as a precautionary measure and also pay attention to keeping 70-75 Kgs as my hitch weight, all of which helps to maintain a stable outfit.

By the way the van is a 100% tow capacity match for the car.

Steve.

 

[RayS]

Over the years I've towed a lot in high winds, typically over the hills from Irun to pamplona.

Clearly you need a well loaded and balanced outfit, but there are a few other tips. Try to keep up with which direction the wind is coming from - this helps you anticipate possible gust effects as you go in and out of "cover". You may also get gusts from the gaps between HGVs on your or the opposite carriageway.

In the winter, trees may be less help and there are not many windsock indicators in this country. In hills the wind direction can change very rapidly as it swirlls round the various bumps and valleys.

If you are mixing with HGVs, try to get as far to the left as you can as they overtake you, and back off a bit, such that the gap between you and them as they pull in gets as big as possible as quickly as possible.

Drop you speed - particularly in anything of a head wind - remember the drag of the outfit goes up as the square of the speed, and 40 mph into a 60mph wind is an airspeed of 100 mph.

It is easy to loose touch with the elements from the comfort of a nice warm dry car. Remember this when you stop and be very careful opening doors, particularly if the wind is from behind you.

 

[Arrow1]

Good advice given.. on a lighter note...

my wife suffers high wind and towing for 5 hours in that, unable to open the windows because of rain.. THAT's difficult !!!