WIND SPEED

[Fraseb01]

Good morning all,

I have drove hgvs for many years when younger so i know about driving in windy conditions.

I was just wondering what wind speeds would you consider too dangerous for caravaners?

Cheers. 👍

 

[RogerL]

There's no single answer as it depends on the route and wind direction - low level routes with head/tail winds are much better tolerated than exposed routes with cross winds.

If the authorities issue warnings for "high-sided vehicles" on a route I'm towing, or planning to, then I treat the caravan as a high-sided vehicle and make alternative arrangements.

 

[otherclive]

Generally a wind speed given out by the Met Office could have gusts of twice the reported speed. On the BBC weather app if the mean wind speed reaches 20 mph or above the speed indicting turns black to indicate potentially strong gusts. So 20 mph mean could give 40 mph gusts. I guess below 20mph the gusts are less likely to be a risk.
Your question is not an easy one to answer as the risk is not just wind speed it is direction too, as your HGV experience would show. I’ve towed back from Devon with an empty car and empty caravan at 20 mph mean and at times on the M5 it was jittery so I slowed down to around 50 mph.

 

[Beachball]

i would say wind speed of 15 to 20mph the effect increases dramatically winds near 30 mph and higher might not be safe for some.
When out on our last break it was very windy and cross winds on a motorway does not help so i reduce my speed to make sure we got there .

 

[Raywood]

I have managed in wind speeds up to 30 mph and once got caught in a 40 mph one. personally I will not go if the wind speed is over 30 mph now but what is safe varies according to the stability of the outfit.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The force that is created by wind speed changes as the square of the speed increase in other words double the speed quadruple the force it your vehicle will experience. It's just the same as the drag due to air resistance your vehicle experiences as it goes faster.

As others have said, there is no simple single figure you can use, because relative direction wind will change the effect and severity it has.

Most outfits w ell matched outfits will tow at 60mph, but add in a head on wind of 40mph and who knows it might well become unstable, but a 60mph wind from the side and I suspect it would be very unsettled. And of course teh big problem is most roads will take you in all sorts of relative directions to the wind, so it really is an unknown.

As Ray suggests its a question of trying it and when you find a wind speed that begins to make the outfit wander or tug at the car in an unsettling way, ease off and stop until the wind drops.

 

[Buckman]

About 2 years ago while towing our twin axle we got caught in what felt like gale force winds plus rain. Although we could feel the caravan jerking on the towball, the unit remained fairly stable at 50mph. At 60mph I think it would have been a very hairy drive. We had a number of high sided HGVs over take us even though they were rocking in the wind.
Recently just before the Bank Holiday we had some very heavy gusts plus heavy rain that rocked us but as we were only doing 50mph it was not really an issue. Going through valleys at the bottom the wind was normally a lot stronger.
If you take it steady and use common sense you should be okay. See https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...ews/woodhead-pass-caravan-a628-ciara-17716245