| Re: [GMCnet] Our GMC handled 80 mph side winds better then I thought last night. [message #320802 is a reply to message #320801] |
Fri, 21 July 2017 17:01   |
Jerry Wheeler
Messages: 246
Registered: January 2013
Karma:
|
Senior Member |
|
|
I was driving west on Interstate 80 out of Cheyenne on June 16th and
encountered a steady 30mph crosswind and gusts of 55+ mph. There were
about 5 electric signs that warned of gusts 55 and over. I had the same
problem of trying to stay in my lane. Needless to say, it was a struggle
all day long until I got to Green River and eventually turned onto highway
30, heading northwest to Idaho. One gust was so hard that it blew my
driver's side Ramco mirror over and I spent the next 5 hours reaching out
the small toll window and bending it back into position. At Green River, I
stopped for gas and found a small auto shop that allowed me to borrow the
hex tool I needed to tighten up the set screws. I was delivering this
coach to the new owner in Idaho; it was not my coach and the coach should
have had the hex tool that came with the mirrors. This was the second time
I drove that stretch of road and encountered those same strong winds about
15 years ago.
JR Wheeler 78 Royale NC/OR
On Fri, Jul 21, 2017 at 5:46 PM, Rob Mueller
wrote:
> Helen was an avid gardener and when she learned of the International Peace
> Gardens that straddle the border between the USA and
> Canada she put it on our bucket list.
>
> To get there you drive due north on ND-3 N. While driving we encountered
> heavy cross winds coming from the west at 50 - 60 mph (I'll
> explain how I know that in a bit). The difficult part of driving came when
> I was steering to the left to compensate for the wind and
> came to a section of the road that had a stand of trees on the west. The
> wind was blocked and dropped so much that I'd wind up
> across the center line! I'd correct and when I had passed the stand the
> wind would pick up again and it would blow the GMC into the
> soft shoulder. Helen was quite scared and noted she didn't know if she
> REALLY wanted to see the gardens after all!
>
> It didn't take me long to figger out that I had to keep an eye out for
> trees and get ready to adjust quickly. I also slowed down to
> 50 mph from the speed limit of 65 mph.
>
> As we were driving all of a sudden I heard a loud THUD and the coach
> swayed badly. I looked in my side mirror and noted that the
> awning had deployed! The westerly winds were strong enough to unroll it!
> Needless to say I slowed down quickly and heard a second
> THUD when it rolled itself up.
>
> I realized I was going to have to come up with a quick fix. I wound up
> drilling a couple of small holes in the drip lip, and
> enlarging them so I could put a tie wrap through it and around the awning.
>
> While I was working a State Trooper pulled up to see if all was OK, I
> explained what had happened and he noted, "yep, we find
> awnings by the side of the road all the time when it's this windy." I
> asked him how strong were they and he noted 50 - 60 mph is
> common.
>
> I found out that Zip Dee makes a little clip that holds the awning in and
> installed it as a permanent fix.
>
> Regards,
> Rob M.
> Sydney, Australia
> AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
> USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
> USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces@list.gmcnet.org] On Behalf Of James
> Hupy
> Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2017 6:58 AM
> To: gmclist@list.gmcnet.org
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Our GMC handled 80 mph side winds better then I
> thought last night.
>
> We went through a similar storm on that same highway during our route 66
> trip. Never want to do that again. No fun at all. Black sky, wild winds,
> rain in buckets. Glad you survived it intact.
> Jim Hupy
> Salem, Or
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
|
|
|
|
GMCforum
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
