Roof lights and wind (1 Viewer)

[xulih]

When storm Barbara arrived it was a bit draughty up here. I was sitting in the kitchen at home having a brew watching the van wobbling about when I noticed the roof lights were lifting and twisting out off shape ! Went out to the van , the wind speed 10 minute average at this time was 67mph, had a look at the lights from inside to see what was going on and what to do about it so got some gaffer tape and started to stick it everywhere but still had loads of movement. Scratching my head thinking what to do next as there was no way of tying then down I suddenly thought ah ! they are being sucked up so I need to suck them down, suction cups I need suction cups so jumped in the car and shot into town, Half an hour later and £12 poorer I had it sorted

After Barbra passed and Connor arrived, I cant say I noticed when the one ended and the other begun but on xmas day we were all sitting having xmas dinner with the breeze blowing at 68mph again we were commenting how much the van was wobbling in the wind and wouldnt like to be sleeping in it, the front number plate blew off and disappeared down the bottom of the garden

 

[Jim]

Great idea

 

[movan]

Brilliant .. was thinking of one to help me get into my mh ..just inside the door ... step seems to be going higher as I grow older.

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[RogerThat]

Ingenious idea!!

 

[tonyidle]

Great idea

He didn't mention the need for shoe laces as well

 

[Kevan]

it will be fun taking the gaffer tape off, lovely job.

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[sdc77]

Great idea... strange thing to happen though

 

[xulih]

He didn't mention the need for shoe laces as well

And the slats from an old bed

it will be fun taking the gaffer tape off, lovely job.

Set too it the next day so as it didnt get too sticky, came off not too bad and cleaned off any residue with methylated spirit.

Great idea... strange thing to happen though

Its the design, as they are hinged at one end but the handle to put them up and down is hinged in the middle so nothing holding the other side down.

 

[Mikey RV]

Good job you never drove at 70mph before you noticed.

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[Just smiffy]

Good job you never drove at 70mph before you noticed.

Yes my thoughts too, but then fastest I've been is about 62mph...

 

[Foxy1956]

Brilliant .. was thinking of one to help me get into my mh ..just inside the door ... step seems to be going higher as I grow older.

We used to use them to help Sue around the van. Beware the suction does lessen and if you haul yourself into the van you would be better off with a handle bolted through near the door. I've had to pick a VERY cross wife off the floor because of dodgy handles.

 

[jezport]

I sell all sorts of suction cups at shows, I will be at Newark show

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[Euphony]

We had a similar situation at exactly the same time while visiting our daughter on South Uist, it was terrifying, we thought the rooflight above the bed (we were sleeping in the MH as the family were all there) was going to tear off. I had a similar thought (wish I'd taken pictures) and ended up using the suction holder for my satnav attached to the underside, a length of cord from a free-hanging battery powered bulb and tied 2x 2 litre bottles of water by the neck so the the bottles hung like pendulums 2 feet below the rooflight. It worked during Storm Barbara but still lifted slightly on the odd occasion during Storm Conor but not enough to cause concern.
I bought a set of seals when I got home and sealed the open end too which took up the slack, and yes I know its for ventilation purposes but I've left the other others alone so there's still plenty of natural ventilation.
We really would NOT want to do that again.
I'm now grateful for a childhood watching BluePeter, Magpie etc. Sadly I had no need for sticky back plastic or squeezy bottles.

 

[Stealaway]

Its the design, as they are hinged at one end but the handle to put them up and down is hinged in the middle so nothing holding the other side down.

Are you sure they are down fully, if there is any thing on the outside stopping them going down fully they will lift. The hanle lock you see is not the full locking system.
There are clips in the sides that also lock them down and you have make sure they are engaging. Open the window and look at the sides in the gutters for the locks.

 

[Euphony]

Are you sure they are down fully, if there is any thing on the outside stopping them going down fully they will lift. The hanle lock you see is not the full locking system.
There are clips in the sides that also lock them down and you have make sure they are engaging. Open the window and look at the sides in the gutters for the locks.

Hi, yes thanks, I checked when I did it and they fully engage. The movement was only a couple of mm but the seal when compressed is even less.

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[xulih]

Are you sure they are down fully, if there is any thing on the outside stopping them going down fully they will lift. The hanle lock you see is not the full locking system.
There are clips in the sides that also lock them down and you have make sure they are engaging. Open the window and look at the sides in the gutters for the locks.

I will have a look at the weekend

 

[EX51SSS]

He didn't mention the need for shoe laces as well

And clean undies

 

[jezport]

As I sell lots of different suction cups this thread has made me think that surely I can design something that will do this job. Im off to the Shed

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[jezport]

Heres my first attempt.
What do you all think?
It consists of an aluminium tube with rubber caps and an bungee loop holding 2 high quality suction cups.
Now the devil is in the detail. A lot of suction cups are conical and if stuck on a window can create a magnifying effect focusing the sun and causing a risk of fire, the ones we use are stepped so do not magnify and are also UV stable.