Closed to high sided vehicles

Threebarkingdogs
Threebarkingdogs Forum Participant Posts: 23
edited December 2018 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

I thought this might be a topical one with all the wind at the moment..

Being fairly new to the world of motorhomes I was wondering what the definition of a high sided vehicle is in terms of bridge closures?

Does our 2004 Autotrail Tracker on a Fiat Ducato count as high sided? I know it has come as a bit of an eye opener when it comes to the "wash" you get off lorries, coaches and other large(ish) vans when they pass you on the motorway. OK it doesn't knock you off the road but you can feel it and it came as a surprise to me as a car driver of thirty years.

Our nearest bridge which suffers from closures is the Skye Bridge and if that is out there is really no way around it!

Andy

 

 

Comments

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited November 2018 #2

    I don't know if this is any help to you but these are the details for the Severn Bridges regarding vehicles in high winds.

    LINK

  • ABM
    ABM Forum Participant Posts: 14,578
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    edited November 2018 #3

    The  Link  Brue  has  posted ( refering  to  the  English / Welsh Bridges ) clearly  states  6.1  metres  as  the  qualifying  height,  Andy  and  I  cannot  see  Scotland  being  any  more  liberal  with  their  normally  more  'breezy'  situation  surprised.  In  the  spring / summer  months  you  could  always  check  out  the  Glen  Elg  ferry  to  Skye  coolinnocent.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2018 #4

    Typo there, Brian. It’s 2.1m (6’ 9”).

    Were you thinking of that double decker caravan?😀

  • ABM
    ABM Forum Participant Posts: 14,578
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    edited December 2018 #5

    Dammit,  Tinners  and  I  thought  I  was  perfect  embarassed,  still  it  shews  somebody  reads  my  posts  wink

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited December 2018 #6

    Basically anything taller than a standard T5 van constitutes a "high sided vehicle" then. Some of those 'highline' Sprinters, Transits, and Renault Traffic's that I see batting down lane 3 worry me sometimes.

  • Aspenshaw
    Aspenshaw Forum Participant Posts: 611
    500 Comments
    edited December 2018 #7

    The term 'High sided vehicles' is generic and allows an element of common sense. Some bridge crossings charge by height which makes it easier to determine whether you are high or not. Given the number of times the Sky Bridge is closed for high winds and the problems this causes, I'd check it out with whoever runs the bridge. I tend to view my motorhome as a high sided vehicle.

    Wash is inevitable when you have flat fronted vehicles overtaking.It can be reduced by ensuring, where possible, heavy items are packed low down in the motorhome and lighter items higher up.

    Motorhomes also rock and roll over tramlines created by heavy lorries over the years. The road surface is campacted where the road takes the weight on the lorry wheels. Tramlines are best seen in the sunshine. A car can sit between the tramlines but a motorhome chassis is too wide to do this but not wide enough to fit into both the lorry tramlines so it straddles one or the other.

     

     

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