Sidewind? (1 Viewer)

[AndyPandy]

Hi folks,

we are on a week mini tour and have today driven from Seahouses north to Dunbar, just over the Scottish boarder, mostly on the A1.

It said on the radio the wind was gusting 40 to 50 mph.

We sail a 33ft yacht and are well used to dealing with gusts as the boat is designed to cope, however, having seen an Asda home delivery van going the other way ON TWO WHEELS and ourselves being pushed further and further over, I wonder how you guys cope with these situations?

We slowed down, doing 20 mph at one point, and hung on. I knew it was quite bad as we where on bits of dual carriageway and no one was overtaking us,

AnY tips would be good,

Happy sailing, er I mean driving

Andy

 

[camocam1]

has been like that since Friday up here and getting worse every day, was out in the MH at the weekend and eventually just pulled into a sheltered layby and waited for the winds to ease off.

 

[maz]

Hi folks,

we are on a week mini tour and have today driven from Seahouses north to Dunbar, just over the Scottish boarder, mostly on the A1.

It said on the radio the wind was gusting 40 to 50 mph.

We sail a 33ft yacht and are well used to dealing with gusts as the boat is designed to cope, however, having seen an Asda home delivery van going the other way ON TWO WHEELS and ourselves being pushed further and further over, I wonder how you guys cope with these situations?

We slowed down, doing 20 mph at one point, and hung on. I knew it was quite bad as we where on bits of dual carriageway and no one was overtaking us,

AnY tips would be good,

Happy sailing, er I mean driving

Andy

I'd just slow down as you did, steer gently (no harsh over-correction as that's how you can get into a 'snaking' situation) and watch what the lorries are doing.

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[Sidney]

High winds can get the adrenalin pumping so it's not a great experience nor healthy.

You could take the approach that you have your home behind you so pull over, make a cup of tea and read the paper to see if it gets any better.

If you have to carry on, pull over at the services, fill your fresh water tank and drain this through to the grey water tank - then fill your fresh water tank again. Having full tanks can add up to 200 kilos in ballast and lower the centre of gravity, giving the vehicle more stability. Filling the diesel tank will do the same as this is under the floor at the front most Ducato/Peugeot vans.

You could also check lockers to see if you have heavy items up high and decant these to the floor - this may have some impact too.

 

[GJH]

I'd just slow down as you did, steer gently (no harsh over-correction as that's how you can get into a 'snaking' situation) and watch what the lorries are doing.

Good tip.

We were once driving down the A19 at the start of a trip and saw a lorry pull into lane 2 just before the Leven Viaduct, even though there was nothing in front of him. We then realised it was because of side winds from the west (to stay away from the edge of the viaduct) - and copied him

 

[electricscott]

reminds of when we were in Holland on a motorbike tour and very concerned about crossing a bridge, as luck would have it the wind was head on. but at the coast it chopped and changed side/front etc. at one point the front wheel lifted of the ground. there was hardly any traffic and when we got to the campsite I jumped a red light as the wind was that bad if I had stopped I am sure with the missus on the back it would have blown us over.
all this with a BMW GSA (300kg) a motorhome (3500kg) might have felt a bit safer but the driving techniques are completely different.

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[Minxy]

Very gusty here today in E Yorks, we were out in the Smart and when driving along the A63 next to the Humber estuary hubby really had to concentrate quite hard to keep it on the straight and narrow, obviously its light weight didn't help!

 

[pappajohn]

best advise....slow down.

you stand more chance of safely correcting any deviation off coarse if going slow....amnd if the worst does happen, less chance of personal injury.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Pull over, park up,kettle on,watch a bit of telly,cook something to eat and wait for conditions to improve.The beauty in owning a Motorhome!



VLAD

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[Spottycatz]

Jeez, if you pull over up here and wait for the wind to ease off, you'd wait that long you'd end up having to pay the community charge.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

If it were a choice between crawling along at twenty,being up on two wheels or sitting it out I know what I'd opt for!



Vlad the cautious.

 

[magicsurfbus]

It was pretty gusty in the Pas de Calais last Friday - made for an interesting crossing of the Pont de Normandie followed by the Pont de Scalextric near Le Havre. When we parked up at Calais I went for a sandblasting stroll along the beach, and decided not to risk putting the satellite dish up in the evening.

Best advice is given above - slow down, and keep a wary eye out for high-sided lorries. If you see the lorry up ahead getting blown about in a windy gap in the landscape, anticipate and adjust your speed.

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[gordoncbrown]

High winds can get the adrenalin pumping so it's not a great experience nor healthy.

You could take the approach that you have your home behind you so pull over, make a cup of tea and read the paper to see if it gets any better.

If you have to carry on, pull over at the services, fill your fresh water tank and drain this through to the grey water tank - then fill your fresh water tank again. Having full tanks can add up to 200 kilos in ballast and lower the centre of gravity, giving the vehicle more stability. Filling the diesel tank will do the same as this is under the floor at the front most Ducato/Peugeot vans.

You could also check lockers to see if you have heavy items up high and decant these to the floor - this may have some impact too.

Of course, make sure the drain alve on the waste tank is shut......

 

[Sidney]

Of course, make sure the drain alve on the waste tank is shut......

Yeah otherwise this will turn into a, "what do you do with you grey waste" thread

 

[Wizbangs]

Over the weekend we stayed at Crowden, which is between Manchester and Barnsley. They had a notice up warning walkers of 90mph gusts on the hill tops. On Monday, on my drive over the tops to Barnsley, the worst part was meeting another high sided vehicle. The effect of the wind between us as we passed each other was dramatic and very noisy. Talk about a white knuckle ride. The lorries on the M1 were struggling, as was I. It made for an uncomfortable and tiring journey home, but SO worth it, to stay in such a beautiful area.

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