driving in strong wind

Coming from MN TO IA my truck & a Frio Lay truck were blown almost over. Fritz Lay was in front of me and his left side tires came off the ground, so I assume mine did to, before we both returned to 18 wheel trucking.

 

Yeah, slower if at all. It takes about 55-60 mph direct crosswind to blow an empty truck over.

 

Yeah if I have a trailer full of empty beer cans that means it's time to stop and get full beer cans till the wind goes down .

 

Listen to your gut. If it feels unsafe park it. Preferably between two other rigs.

 

To some degree it depends on your load, how high your centre of gravity is. If it is loaded right to the roof it will blow over easier then a high density load sitting only a foot high. But even then if the wind is strong enough, it may not blow you over but it can still push you around pretty bad, especially on icy roads.
I hit extreme winds in Wyoming one time, I got off the highway and parked in a quiet truck stop and placed the truck facing the wind so it wouldn't blow over in the parking lot. I had a load of bagged wood shavings, about 38,000 lbs but close to eight feet high.
One of those expensive bus chassis motorhomes was laying on it's side when I got off the highway.

 

Loaded heavy it's not that much of a big deal. Lightly loaded it can get bad real quick. I'm always monitoring the weather radar and I would always pull over when approaching the leading edge of a storm. If the weather radar shows red it's going to be a nasty hit. It's never more than a ten minute wait for the nasty part of the storm to pass most of the time. Just overall windy weather I slow down and prepare for the worst which is tense sometimes, gets kind of tiring.

I pull a tank now and tanks are pretty much invincible in most heavy wind conditions. You can feel the wind pushing the cab around but it's nothing like a lightly loaded van or reefer trailer, not even close.