Full Time RV Living When the Wind Blows
"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." ~ William Arthur Ward
In a sticks and bricks home when the wind blows you may feel a draft and hear it howling past a corner. You'll likely close the windows on the windward side to keep the dust from blowing in and papers from blowing off your desk. But in an RV when the wind blows, you rock side-to-side while your slide toppers flap loudly above your head. You might say it's a moving experience -one to move away from - and we agree if truly foul weather is on the way. Otherwise, some common sense preparation goes a long way. When you're full time RV living, you may as well count on having to endure some high winds and severe weather now and then.
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Both Weather Bug and Weather Underground sent wind alerts earlier this week for gusts that were supposed to pick up after midnight. We prepared by bringing in the awnings, stowing away any outdoor belongings that could blow away, and closing most of our windows and all of the roof vents before going to bed. These initial preparations protect our property, as well as our stuff from damaging our neighbors' property. Such as:
- Awnings - expensive to replace and can easily rip or get mangled from a wind gust
- Lawn chairs flying into someone else's rig
- Accordion window blinds - they billow in a light breeze, but can tear easily
- Roof vents from being ripped clean off if they're open
"The wind shows us how close to the edge we are." ~ Joan Didion
When it's exceptionally windy (typically anything over 25 mph sustained) we also bring the slides in on the side facing the wind. This eliminates the loud flapping of our slide toppers and provides a bit more stability. We rock and roll less. At night, that means we can sleep. We've been known to get up and pull in the slides at 4 a.m. just to get some shut-eye.
Weather also determines, to some extent, our travel plans for the day. We try not to drive in extremely windy conditions, though sometimes it can't be helped. Anything over 30 mph, especially if it's hitting us crosswise on the road, is cause for us to either come off the road or delay our travels for a day. We've seen pictures of rigs that were pushed off the road or tipped over by the wind. If it's not safe, by all means, wait it out.
What weather-related safety routines do you follow?
