Strong winds
Our local news carries an item today warning of windy conditions tomorrow - Saturday 20 August - especially on exposed coasts in the SW. Campers are being urged to peg tents and awnings well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635412
Take care out there.
Comments
-
Our local news carries an item today warning of windy conditions tomorrow - Saturday 20 August - especially on exposed coasts in the SW. Campers are being urged to peg tents and awnings well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635412
Take care out there.
It's all those pasties TW
0 -
Our local news carries an item today warning of windy conditions tomorrow - Saturday 20 August - especially on exposed coasts in the SW. Campers are being urged to peg tents and awnings well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635412
Take care out there.
It's all those pasties TW
0 -
Not been a caravanner for very long, would it be prudent to drop the awning before the wind increases? I am not out this weekend but your advice may be valuable when I am in the van and strong winds are forecast.
0 -
It's a judgement call between getting it down safely and double pegging it out and adding extra guy ropes/straps/bungees.
Don't forget you can park the car next to the upwind side to take some of the energy out of the wind. I suppose on a CC site that might be frowned upon but hey, if it came to it and I was caught out I certainly would.
A lot depends how and where you are pitched, the wind on a hill overlooking the sea can be very different to a pitch in a steep valley.
As a newcomer and on balance, perhaps get it down before the wind comes up but if the wind has already hit don't try taking it down, it can be dangerous.
Hope this helps.
0 -
Thank you Fysherman. Your answer certainly does help. We are very green with regards to the awning. We put it up in nice weather recently but I am wary of the pegs as they seem to pull out easier that I think that they should. Does anybody agree with my
thoughts on the peg subject? We have bought storm pegs but they don't penetrate far enough into the ground for my liking. As I said, we are very green with regards to the awning and I may be over cautious.0 -
Hi John, as a self confessed new vanner, I would take it down. Especially if you have the time. It will give you less to worry about as there will be noises and movement that you will not have experienced before. Even with it down the van will be moving
,but it's all part of the experience. Enjoy the shoogle !!!! Cheers, Alex.0 -
Thank you Fysherman. Your answer certainly does help. We are very green with regards to the awning. We put it up in nice weather recently but I am wary of the pegs as they seem to pull out easier that I think that they should. Does anybody agree with my thoughts on the peg subject? We have bought storm pegs but they don't penetrate far enough into the ground for my liking. As I said, we are very green with regards to the awning and I may be over cautious.
Put pegs in at 90 degrees to the guy line. This means that they will have to pull against the entire length of peg before they will come out. You can also double peg giving twice the holding power.
If its the base/sides of the awning being pegged out try to double peg as you cannot get the 90 degree angle.
0 -
Thank you Fysherman. Your answer certainly does help. We are very green with regards to the awning. We put it up in nice weather recently but I am wary of the pegs as they seem to pull out easier that I think that they should. Does anybody agree with my
thoughts on the peg subject? We have bought storm pegs but they don't penetrate far enough into the ground for my liking. As I said, we are very green with regards to the awning and I may be over cautious.Put pegs in at 90 degrees to the guy line. This means that they will have to pull against the entire length of peg before they will come out. You can also double peg giving twice the holding power.
If its the base/sides of the awning being pegged out try to double peg as you cannot get the 90 degree angle.
Write your comments here...Thanks for that. After reading your reply, it is fairly obvious that pegging at 90 degrees gives the best chance of holding. Will remember your advice in future - thanks.
0 -
Thank you Fysherman. Your answer certainly does help. We are very green with regards to the awning. We put it up in nice weather recently but I am wary of the pegs as they seem to pull out easier that I think that they should. Does anybody agree with my
thoughts on the peg subject? We have bought storm pegs but they don't penetrate far enough into the ground for my liking. As I said, we are very green with regards to the awning and I may be over cautious.In the UK the prevailing wind is generally from the South West. It is possible these days to look online and check prevailing wind for an area. In the UK some areas have more notherly and some more southerley. Near me westerley is most common. If I site
the caravan facing North then the awning is in the lee of the wind and better protected. I don't use an awning these days as it is no longer needed. When I di dI carried sufficient standard rock pegs to fix but also extra pegs so that I could double peg with
two pegs angled away from each other. A single vertically inserted peg is more prone to pulling out. I also carried a dozen extra length pegs and had storm straps with decent right angle section pegs available.Some 5 years ago we were on site at Bernard Castle when a hooley blew up. We were having a day in the van as OH had either injured her knee or her back. We were parked with awning in the lee of the van. The couple facing us had gone out for the day and his
three quarter length awning was taking the brunt of the wind. I went out and double pegged but as the pitch seemed sand beneath the stone and was very wet even tha twould not hold. Storm straps would have made a big difference. Before his van got damaged which
it would have as the awning legs were kicking about I grabbed the warden and we took it down. If you really need to take an awning down in such weather then at least seek help from others. Extra weight to hold the awning down whilst you collapse the poles
from inside can be useful. Do not try and remove the awning from the outside in my opinion in high winds. Collapse it totally from the inside.0 -
Thanks Easy T. More good advice for the memory bank. Dont think that I would like to be offsite with a rising wind and the awning in danger. On the subject of wind direction etc. I am a Yachtmaster and am very familiar with shipping forecasts and wind trends.
Glad that I asked the question as I have learned lots from the replies.0 -
In the UK the prevailing wind is generally from the South West. ,,, Near me westerley is most common. If I site the caravan facing North then the awning is in the lee of the wind and better protected.
Only if you have one of them thar cack - handed continental vans. With westerley wind and a UK van, you need the hitch facing south.
0 -
Our local news carries an item today warning of windy conditions tomorrow - Saturday 20 August - especially on exposed coasts in the SW. Campers are being urged to peg tents and awnings well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635412
Take care out there.
Write your comments here...Good post TW. Gives advanced warning of the weather. I am down Helston way and it is starting to blow.
0 -
Our local news carries an item today warning of windy conditions tomorrow - Saturday 20 August - especially on exposed coasts in the SW. Campers are being urged to peg tents and awnings well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635412
Take care out there.
I am down Helston way and it is starting to blow.
I'm in Looe and it's picking up. I'm moving up to the north coast tomorrow too, not looking forward to it....
0 -
Our local news carries an item today warning of windy conditions tomorrow - Saturday 20 August - especially on exposed coasts in the SW. Campers are being urged to peg tents and awnings well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635412
Take care out there.
Write your comments here...Good post TW. Gives advanced warning of the weather. I am down Helston way and it is starting to blow.
Thanks, JD. I'm further east than you and it's been blowing on and off most of the day and apparently the expected storm is some sort of freak for August.
Take care everyone.
0 -
If pitching in strong winds or they are forecast try to get a pitch facing into the wind as this reduces the pressure on a caravan. The rear is less streamlined but is better than the side. If you have to have the side facing the wind park the car that side
as it reduces the area exposed.0 -
If pitching in strong winds or they are forecast try to get a pitch facing into the wind as this reduces the pressure on a caravan. The rear is less streamlined but is better than the side. If you have to have the side facing the wind park the car that side
as it reduces the area exposed.Depend if ou have an awning up. I remember some 20+ years ago being on the Durham CC site. Their were exyremeley high winds forecast. I moved the 'van to park tight back onto a tall hedge to break the bulk of the wind. It was still that bad that I roped
the van handles fore and aft to the car. I remember moyor homes moving to be tight up against the toilet block. One couple abandoned their van complete with a budgie in a cage and the por thing was pinned against the cage bars with its wings outspread. Later
in the night I heard whoosing noise overhead, It turned out to be a pile of road signs on A frames stored on the otherside of the 8 foot hefge taking off and spinning over the caravan. The nearby advanced warning sign postss outside the site on the approach
to a roundabout where bent double. I have known worse winds but only once,0 -
We were at Hexham race course site many moons ago, when a storm blew up, luckily we were on the lea of the toilet block so did not get the full force but overnight a caravan had its awning taken off the side of their and a large part of the van went with it
And before that we and several others had tents destroyed in a storm in Saundersfoot (Wales) ended up sleeping in the car
0 -
Can i ask if caravans actually get blown over when people are asleep in them ????
0 -
Can i ask if caravans actually get blown over when people are asleep in them ????
Well, we have been in the Lake District in winds of the sort that I've never witnessed before and we were very worried that the caravan would blow over.......but it didn't.
Wouldn't want an awning up in strong wind though.....
0 -
Can i ask if caravans actually get blown over when people are asleep in them ????
We have experienced 60 to 70 mph winds on the coast at Durness in the NW of Scotland. The van was shaken about quite significantly and it was moderately frightening. However, ours and the other vans were still on site in the morning. I would not want to go a lot higher though.
edit as to your question of while asleep. I can assure you the noise is such, that not much sleep is had.
0 -
Some of the seasonal vans at North Ledaig are chained down so I guess it must be a possibility. Like Nellie, we've experienced strong winds in Scotland but survived to tell the tale.
0 -
Can i ask if caravans actually get blown over when people are asleep in them ????
when we had a seasonal pitch at Troutbeck head there was a storm one night with very high winds, we were not there that night but arrived the next day to find the caravan had actually moved a foot or so sideways, the wardens said that people were sleeping
in the toilet block.It is very unlikely that a van would tip over, I once calculated that its centre of gravity would be about a third of the the height of the van (as most on the heavy weights in a van in lower than half way) and to tip over the centre of gravity would have
to be over and beyond some part of the van, ie a side wall, the angle the van would have be roll by have to be in excess of 40 degrees, It would take a great force to do this.0 -
I hope the forecasters are being a bit over cautious. I'm towing the caravan from Bolton to North Devon tomorrow.
0 -
I hope the forecasters are being a bit over cautious. I'm towing the caravan from Bolton to North Devon tomorrow.
Take care, hope you get there safely.
0
,( must send for some more)
