High Wind - Park it or Run it when loaded?

Ha ha,

Unfortunately there is truth in that one!

From Highway Patrol, eh? Love it.

 

Except that pic is from South Dakota. That happened west of Murdo out by the 1880 Town exit back in 2013 or so. I think there were 7 or 8 trucks total that day.

 

I ran reefer/dry van out west my last 2 years before retiring. I also ran out west on occasion before that pulling tanker. With loaded tanker (78-79k), I'd probably drive with 50 MPH STEADY crosswinds, because the tanker trailer just sheds the crosswinds. With dry van or reefer I would drive with STEADY 40 MPH crosswinds, but usually with winds you get steady AND gusts. You only need gusts that last a few seconds to blow over a dry/reefer. 55 mph direct crosswind will blow over a 53 foot trailer, depending on the weight. So if driving due east or west I would drive in 40+ mph headwind/tailwind and be uncomfortable. Only a few roads are nearly straight lines so you almost always get a combination of head/tailwind and crosswind. I think WY puts out "high profile/light weight warnings at 35 mph". I pay VERY little attention to the forecasts and almost only pay attention to current conditions which you can get on your phone almost everywhere. I would NOT preemptively shutdown for a forecast of high winds.

I would probably run through the Gorge on I-40. The hills block some of the crosswind and funnel them into head/tailwinds. I don't like WV much, but I seldom had too much choice except to drive the most direct route because of dispatch or time. Don't confuse a long uncomfortable day with impossible to drive. In your case, you guys seem very level-headed and not quick to bail-out at difficulty. I would trust YOUR judgment. Meaning I would let you decide for me and I would not confuse second-guessing yourself all day for we are driving into a catastrophe. We have not had bad winter weather yet so every weatherman in the Southeast has saved up their ration of panic and is dumping it onto this wind event. I'm a son of the Southeast, it's how we "suffer" weather when we mostly have very brief periods of uncomfortable weather during our 10 months of very easy weather every year.

 

when I lived in Green River Wyo in the mid 70's I commuted to job sites on a '68 Triumph Bonneville.

nothing like leaning way over and still going straight!! . lol

 

Especially as a flatbedder -- your biggest problem with wind -- is likely to be too much "wind" -- from other "blowhard" drivers...or similar people in management.

-- L

 

My friend in Daytona had a early Bonneville with the gearshift, clutch/brake pedals on the wrong side.

 

I tried driving an old Harley with a gear shift, about killed myself!! lol

I used to rebuild Triumphs and BSA's. loved 'em

 

Depends on what I got in the back, what kind of trailer I'm pulling, and whether a diversion is viable.

Good examples being that reefers and less than 35k in a van will see me diverting to the 70 instead of the 80 if possible, just to keep them out of WY. 35mph sees me parking a connie, as a hard rule... even with the tarp collapsed forward, those suckers still do their best to lay you down, and they do it far more ruthlessly than any box I've ever pulled. Same story as connies if I'm empty with any other type of trailer I've pulled. Otherwise, assuming I'm grossed out with a van, I've generally found my limits where I start struggling to keep it upright and between the lines to be roughly when it gets up to 50mph sustained... at that point, I'll park it.

Now, mind you, I'm NOT a good example on this front; my tolerances are inflated out of necessity, because leaving and returning to my home typically means driving through the Columbia Gorge, and if I followed conventional guidelines then I'd never get through that stretch. That being said, if I don't like what I'm seeing in my mirrors, then I'm parking regardless of whether I've met my limits or not. No load is worth my life or my career.