Odds of rolling in 15mph wind with no chocks on level ground and jacks down?

[BooRadley]

Let's say you have a 35' 7000 lbs travel trailer. Parked on level pavement. Jacks down. No chocks. Storm comes, bringing gusts up to 15 mph with it.

How likely is it that the trailer will roll?


(I will get chocks tomorrow. Forgot them, with family hubbub. Storm is tonight, even as I type. Yes, I am a dumbass.)

[JRTJH]

Put a piece of firewood between the wheels on each side. If you don't have that, find something laying around to at least put between the wheels. If there's nothing around, then hitch the tow vehicle and ride out the storm. Chances are nothing will happen, but there's always a possibility.

[BooRadley]

Brilliant!

Thanks, John. :thumbsup:

[byrdr1]

Last year we camped at myrtle beach as hurricane Sandy rolled up the coast, this year we camped during thanksgiving week as that weeks Northeaster came up the coast. Both times we had wind gusts 35-45mph. camper rocked but I was not worried about rolling over. steady winds of 20-25mph.. I think unless you are in direct path of a large wind storm you will be OK. (I.E. Tornado. hurricane, straight line winds..)
randy

[Lost]

If you want to calculate an estimate of how much wind speed is required to overturn your trailer, you can use

V = SQRT(W*b/{0.00666*l*(h-h2/2)*(h/2+h2/4)})

where
V = wind speed, mph
W = trailer weight, lbs
b = trailer width (tire center-center), ft
l = trailer length, ft
h = trailer height (from ground), ft
h2 = tire height, ft

[JRTJH]

Byrd1 and Lost,

I don't think the OP is concerned with rolling OVER, rather he is concerned that without chocks, his trailer may ROLL down the campsite and into the road or ??? That's why he gave all the information about level pad, jacks down, no chocks. His concern was not with the trailer ending up on its side, but rather ending up out in the road at the front of his campsite.

[Outbackmel]

Why would you not have at least those cheap plastic molded wheel chocks? OR, how about finding a few good ole rocks if you do not have firewood? Have a saw? Cut a medium tree limb? What did campers do before Camping World?

I have had my Harley at my campsite plenty of nights in the N Georgia mountains and some 40+ mph winds only on the side stand. Slept like a baby. Takes a lot to move 1,000 pounds.

Not trying to be a smart "A"; but sometimes you have to look around and see what your natural resources are and improvise. Hopefully this little scare will have you thinking more of WHAT IF's and be investing in packing some solutions in your rig. AND, yes, these things can blow over. 2 winters past one 30ft TT blew right over on to the power pole like a ring toss game. Not good. Wheel chocks would not have helped in this situation :eek: Fortunately no one was in the RV.

We all learn from experience, either ours or others. I double and triple check my rv before leaving the ranch and always think about 20 miles down the road, did I lock the door?? Even though it's on my checklist. Brain farts are bothersome :)

[FullTimer]

Oh you guys got hit by the same storm as us, Tulsa Ok. We currently have 1/4 to 3/8 ice on the power wires and trees. Their groaning. bent way over, I was listening to tree limbs break off this morning.
Apparently a bunch of Texas moisture, thanks lol, hit the norther, right over us. Freezing rain on contact.
Took these earlier this morning
Here's what the power lines look like right now
http://imageshack.us/a/img856/6620/nwmt.png
Heres a limb right outside
http://imageshack.us/a/img42/6213/72i5.png




.

[SAD]

Oh you guys got hit by the same storm as us, Tulsa Ok. We currently have 1/4 to 3/8 ice on the power wires and trees. Their groaning. bent way over, I was listening to tree limbs break off this morning.
Apparently a bunch of Texas moisture, thanks lol, hit the norther, right over us. Freezing rain on contact.
Took these earlier this morning
Here's what the power lines look like right now
http://imageshack.us/a/img856/6620/nwmt.png
Heres a limb right outside
http://imageshack.us/a/img42/6213/72i5.png

.

I can relate. Although I'm not sure how you have blue skies. It's still coming down in bartlesville. 3/4" is about what we have so far. Luckily no wind.

[Steve S]

I have construction trailers and flat decks that have well over 20000 lbs on them at a time. I put just about anything in between the tires and never had a problem.
With the cargo trailer it gets hit by some high winds on the coast and it's never moved.
I'm assuming you have you brakes on?

[EricLynnAllison]

According to the formula above my RV could take a 70mph wind before tipping over

[BooRadley]

Why would you not have at least those cheap plastic molded wheel chocks? OR, how about finding a few good ole rocks if you do not have firewood? Have a saw? Cut a medium tree limb? What did campers do before Camping World?

lol

I used to wash with a bucket shower I made myself, and did the laundry in an old industrial mop bucket with a washboard and a mop squeezer. I'm not a stranger to adversity, and am usually quite resourceful. "bouncey:

I am a 41 year old female (I know Boo Radley was a guy, I just like the name :p ), and never was interested in camping in my life or RVs. Not living in an RV by choice, and only been at it for a couple months. Our house is no longer an option due to it's condemnable condition, and we were gifted an RV by a generous relative. Never learned anything about RVs, I am learning now but at a slow pace, due to me being a full time dementia caregiver (Mom lives with me and has advanced dementia), and due to attention span problems and concentration problems, a crappy wifi connection, and fatigue. Never figured I would get old, lol. Short term memory is bad, my hands are full 90% of my waking time, and tis the season for family drama, so I forgot to get chocks.

This is all pretty new to me. There is zero limbs or other wood or even large rocks to be found in my immediate area, it is a very well kept MHP with a few RVs in the front. Can't go on a hike in the woods away from Mom who has mobility issues from recent hip surgery and cannot be left alone due to dementia, to find wood or rocks.

Found a couple of cement blocks 2-3" thick in the back of the truck, along with a 4x4x4 wooden block. I put those items between the tires on each side, and last night was a breeze. I checked the position of the RV this morning, and no rolling was detected. Yay!


Thanks to all for your replies and advice. God bless. :)

[fla-gypsy]

The chances of a TT rolling in a 15 mph wind gust with the stabilizers down? None IMO.

[theeyres]

15 mph is nothing. No chance of going anywhere.

[JRTJH]

15 mph is nothing. No chance of going anywhere.

I'd be very reluctant to say "no chance" All it takes is a "weather forecast for 15MPH winds" and all of a sudden along comes a gust of 30MPH... Just ask the guy that walked next door on a calm day and left his awning out only to have that "freak wind" come up and fold it over his trailer...

How many times have we all stated to "never" unhitch, even on level ground without chocking the wheels?

As I said in my first post in this thread, " Chances are nothing will happen, but there's always a possibility."

I think it is "fool hardy" to unhitch a travel trailer without chocking the wheels. Why? There's always a chance it may roll, even without the wind.

I learned a long time ago, never to say never.....

[byrdr1]

Sorry I thought roll over. Not rolling on a plain. You did the right thing with blocks,bricks. We used to use rocks at the state parks. Wish you well in this adventure.

Randy