Driving an RV on a windy day is never fun. The constant push and pull of the wind can make keeping your RV on the road feel like a battle.
And let’s be honest, it’s not just driving that’s challenging—being inside your RV on a blustery day, whether you’re on the move or parked, can feel downright unsettling. Every creak and rattle… Wait, is the awning still secure?!
Sometimes, it’s not just about the struggle to stay in your lane but also the stress of watching the trees sway, debris scatter across the road, or other vehicles fight the same battle.
Windy days can feel unpredictable, and even a sudden gust can test your nerves, especially if you’re crossing a bridge or driving through an open stretch of highway. For those towing a trailer, the sway can be even more pronounced, making safety your top concern.
Have you ever found yourself behind the wheel and thought, “This is too dangerous; I need to pull over”? We’ve been there, too, faced with gusts so strong they felt like they might tip us over. It’s a nerve-wracking experience, to say the least.
Once you’ve responded to today’s poll, we’d love to hear about your own windy-day adventures. Did you brave the storm or find a safe spot to wait it out? Share your stories with us in the comments below. Thanks!
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I wish you had a vote for ‘No but should have’.
We would if we thought it prudent.
Not a big surface area. However, would if needed.
I answered NO. I plan ahead & use windy.com, set it on wind gusts. I have delayed travel several times due to high wind predictions. A few days ago I was met with 38 mph wind gusts travelling from central to north FL. Those wind were mostly from the NW – the direction of travel during the last 1/3 of the trip – as predicted by windy.com. So the strong gusts turned into headwinds. To prevent trailer sway I installed dual friction sway control bars – as recommended for trailers over 6000 lbs. Just before my trip NW, I stopped at the rest area and increased the friction control arms.
No, but have slowed down considerably.
Once and glad I did.
Never been in a bad wind storm, but we have slowed down considerably in high winds. Why ruin a a whole trip over a couple hours of wind. Just not worth it.
I couldn’t vote either. A couple years ago I was driving 81 South in New York. When out of no where I think they call it a downburst let loose. It was like driving into a tornado. Rain so hard you could barely see 10” in front of you. Road looked like it had a foot of rain or more on it. Brutal winds and no where to pull off because of guardrails. Luckily I was driving slow when it hit. Made it about a mile or so before it stopped.
We haven’t pulled off the road because of winds but we did leave very early one morning to beat the predicted winds at our destination and when we arrived, we left our slides in until it calmed down.
Pulled into a rest area on I-95 in Florida to avoid a nasty looking, fast moving thunder storm ahead of us.
We live and tow in South Texas and don’t usually have high winds (hurricanes at times). I have lived and traveled, without towing, in high wind locations. I have seen a semi trailer blow over on I-25 in Southern Wyoming.
Wind is a fact of life here in the SW, especially during spring “windy season”. I started off from ABQ to Tucson, weather predictions didn’t have the winds nearly as bad as they turned into. From south of ABQ, they kept ramping up, I could almost see the fuel gauge move. It took me longer than usual on the road, with slower speeds & more gas stops. By the time I reached southern NM, I changed my goal for the night. I would have been 4 or 5 hours later than planned. I pulled off at a KOA in Lordsburg. Suffice to say, the winds were such that I had to lean against the trailer door to exit, so once I was in for the night, I stayed there. Turned out I-10 closed just as I got off the road.
I’ve been in a RV park when it was too windy to leave that day, so we stayed an additional day waiting for the winds to die down and left at 5 am to get out of the area before the winds picked up again.
We pulled off during a torrential rain storm in FL and heavy winds in NM. Several other times we just extended our stay due to winds or rain.
Thank you, RV Travel! The wind on a spring Texas day were so strong that they were slightly shifting the retracted and seated slide as we drove on an interstate. I pulled over long enough to question our manufacturer about the movement. I was assured that it would remain minimal, so I got back on the road. It did remain minimal until the wind abated. At that point the slide ceased moving. Have a great day and safe travels!
Several years ago while driving through a forested area we could see the tops of the trees were being blown by a strong wind. Lots of twigs and leaves were being blown all over the road but we were unaffected by the storm. By the time we emerged from the forest the wind had died down but there were two tractor trailers laying on their sides about 50 to 100 ft off the road. I can only imagine what would have happened to us if that wind had hit our rig.
I-80 in Wyoming …famous for unpredictable winds.
Yup, once on I-80 Wyoming and the other on the I-40 Texas….
We have driven in several high wind situations. One of the reasons I choose a dually diesel long box to tow our 35′ 5th wheel. The stability is just incredible!
I use Drive Weather on my Android phone (and pay the subscription fee for the pro version). Put in start, destination and when you will hit the road. The pro version will allow for alternate routes. The app will give you precip, temp, and winds (speed [steady/gusts] and direction for the route at the estimated time you will be driving in that location. Yes, you could do this by checking the hourly forecast in multiple locations, but trust me, this is so much simpler. It is also why I haven’t had to pull off for wind since I started using it. I adjust our start time in the app if things don’t look good, until they do look good.
Sand storm on the Hopi rez. Stopped and turned my back to the wind to protect the engine from sand. Waited over 5 hours.
Another time in Kansas during a wind storm. Hid out behind a Walmart until the next day.
Sometimes it just isn’t worth a crash.
Or the cash
Very weather alert! Have delayed driving because of weather, but never been out in middle of it.
We have never been in such an event in the Motor Home or past Travel Trailers. We have pulled off during some heavy rain events where the road just disappeared while driving the toad. Just got as far off the shoulder as we could turned on the 4-way flashers and prayed someone would not hit us in the rear. Only happened twice in the 60 years I have been driving and both times in Michigan.
When you cross the Great Plains, the wind sometimes wins. Last trip, wind tore up one of our slide toppers. We had to stop (twice) and tape the whole slide topper down. Luckily, we don’t have to extend that slide to reach anything important.
I had a situation in WY a few years back. We were hit with a strong T-Storm while on I90. The hail was so big I thought if I kept driving (class A gasser), it would eventually break the windshield. So, I pulled off the highway onto the shoulder. Shortly after stopping, a lightning bolt hit one of my amateur radio antennas mounted on the RV. The bolt traveled half way down the antenna then exited and hit the ground right beside us. Nothing in the RV was damaged, not even the amateur radio attached to the antenna. However, our toad (a 3 month old minivan), 35′ behind the antenna had all 10 onboard computers fried because of EMP thru the Onstar system in the minivan. Pretty scary event.
Waited out the now infamous “Perfect Storm” in the parking lot of the Montauk Lighthouse on Long Island NY’s east end.
I spent an extra night in Van Horn TX in order to avoid high winds the following day of travel.
Almost did, way back in 2017, when the wind near Manti Utah, was super strong. It must have been 60 -70 mph. So very strong when we were in a head wind we got 5 mpg and could only go 50 mph on the freeway. It was bad. We kept trudging cause it was afternoon and the wife had to be to work very early AM. I was amazed that strong of a sidewind didn’t blow the RV over, but it didn’t.
I always pull off the day before and wait it out in comfort
Pulled off in Barstow when I noticed that the Highway signs were moving a few feet. Stop signal masts were also moving like crazy. Stayed for about 2 hours and drove south where the winds were quieter. Talked to friends that left later than we did. Two lost awnings, One spent the night roadside, and one had to replace door hinges.
1) San Diego 2 Yuma along I-8/10 Santa Ana winds. Tr-trailer rigs on their side. Found exit ramp & low spot behind a bldg. 2) Near Fort Stockton, TX tornado headed toward us. Had set up 4 the night. Decided to high tail it outta there…w/o trailer. 20 miles later it passed. Thk God. 3) Traveling from the N side of Grand Canyon to the S on the east. Pulling an R-Pod w a Nissan Xterra. Not good. Pulled over, waited 4 sure. 4) Outside Platt, NE a black cloud made us pull over. Trees bending sideways. 5) Outside BR, LA rained so hard. No visibility. Afraid a car was going to run us over on the shoulder.
Driving on a backroad in Wyoming I had a headwind so strong that my tranny kept downshifting! I found a picnic table pullout and spent the night rocked to sleep in my coach.
Traveling thru nw Iowa one summer we had a very very strong crosswind. It caused our rolled up awning to tear and it was flapping making a terrible noise. At the next exit, thankfully, was an RV dealer who took the time to cut off the old and brittle awning, but had no inventory to replace it. Because of his great customer service we ordered a new one from him and returned a few weeks later to have it installed.