Towing a 26' bumper pull in the wind

[acadianbob]

Does anyone have experience towing a "lite" 26' trailer in the wind? We plan to tow from Minnesota to Tucson in March. Tow vehicle is an F350. WDH is a Weigh Safe Middleweight. I am thinking that this combination should work pretty well but any experiences are welcome.

I am thinking that towing with a full fresh water tank might be a good idea. Extra weight and down low.

 

[RobbieH]

I've towed mine in west Texas in wind so strong that the sky was orange, about 50-60 mph headwind. My fuel mileage and DEF mileage went down significantly, and I forgot to take my spare DEF with me - pack extra. And don't get in a hurry, even with diesels like ours you are still pulling a parachute and you'll feel it. But yeah, you'll be fine, our friends who were meeting us there were pulling in the same wind but they had a large 5er behind them, he was pulling with an F350 dually but had to keep it at 55 mph.

 

[jjscsix]

I can’t speak for that combination, but i pull a 34’ trailer with a short wheelbase Expedition. I have pulled for over 100 miles twice in 20-25mph crosswinds. It handled them fine. No question it will move around a little, but just remember to stay calm and use small corrections.

 

[Reverse_snowbird]

You are pulling a 'box' and some movement is normal.
When we were towing a tt in the mountains, the one thing that I wasn't expecting was 'cross winds'. Some roads have 'cross winds' warning, some don't.
It can be challenging when the 'box' is pushed sideways.

 

[NMWildcat]

Been towing in the SW winds most of my life. I finally learned that I don't have to

Headwinds and tailwinds are not a problem, but trouble is, they are almost always slight or direct cross winds. If sustained wind speed is >35mph, which means gusts can be double, we start looking for a truck stop or camping area to wait it out. Usually just means waiting until sundown when wind speeds usually drop, but not always.

When in the SW pay close attention to wind forecasts. They will shutdown interstates if necessary, especially I-10 between Las Cruces NM and Tucson AZ. You don't want to get caught in one of those.

All that said, wind is usually not too bad. They can shut down the interstate one day, and the next the wind is calm. If the wind is bad, we have traveled at night to avoid it, or stayed put until it calms down.

Be careful and enjoy!!

 

[Cabinfever97]

If you do have wind issues, use state routes instead of highways. You will make progress and be amazed at what you will see. I try and plan our trips on as many state highways as possible for scenery reasons. we do sacrifice some time, but I find the trips much more enjoyable. We have traveled 10 hours in a day using mostly state highways and I'm never tired or fatigued when we arrive at our location.

 

[bikendan]

I towed 2 similar sized TTs with a 1/2 ton, all over the West, for 17 years.
With my trusty 4pt Equal-i-zer WDH, I rarely had any scary wind incidents.
Its 4 points of sway control made me a believer in its design.

 

[RhumbleFish]

Does anyone have experience towing a "lite" 26' trailer in the wind? We plan to tow from Minnesota to Tucson in March. Tow vehicle is an F350. WDH is a Weigh Safe Middleweight. I am thinking that this combination should work pretty well but any experiences are welcome

24' box here with a less-capable tow vehicle than your F350. I find the "lite" term a marketing misnomer. No matter WHAT you're pulling with, these things are a big sail - and longer is more sail area. Kansas is a heckuva flatland for high wind side loading (had a few real trailer wag moments btw St. Louis and Denver), and you've got plenty of flatland between MN and AZ, with more wind as you head south. I've also drug a 40' trailer with a Chevy 3500 Dualy up and down IL and MI highways – plenty of flatland there, but not as much wind as Kansas and Oklahoma.

You'll definitely feel aero impact from the trailer, plus bow wake from semis, and side winds, but the heavier tow vehicle and slower speeds will be your friend. Your trailer functions as a 3-ton, 26' long lever, and being bumper-towed decreases vehicle stability over, say, a fifth wheel/gooseneck setup). But, properly setup (Weigh Safe makes a good product) and careful towing and you'll be fine. Not a bad idea to watch wind forecasts and be ready to sit out higher wind events - it does get bad at times. Don't discount driver fatigue, either - get off the road in a rest areas if you need a break.

I am thinking that towing with a full fresh water tank might be a good idea. Extra weight and down low.

I'm not a "tow with full tanks" guy, mostly because how tanks are secured in place (as in, not very well). The trailer is already plenty heavy. Increasing weight by 430 lbs (54 gal * 8 lbs per gallon) won't make your trailer more aerodynamically stable, but it will increase the force that the trailer can/will have on your tow vehicle (lever arm being increased by the distance from the ball hitch to the water tank). I'd be of a mind to load in 5 gal of water for overnighting or potty stops and call it a day.

I might be a little leery of state roads vs interstate - there's not much time or distance difference between the two for your intended route. State roads mean less semi traffic, but definitely more time through small towns, less direct routes, potentially poorer pavement and more potential backups without necessarily giving you coverage form the wind. Interstate means more traffic (and definitely more semi's) out there with you, but the route will be more direct, you'll have access to gas/services that will accommodate your rig's size, and - if there's trouble - you're more likely to be able to get attention faster. Either way, put a good road kit of gear together for your long drive and you'll be good.

You're a seasoned veteran and know what you're doing - just take it easy, keep your speed down (despite how strong your truck is), and enjoy the trip.

Just my .02/hope this helps. I could be - and often am - wrong.

 

[Aussieguy]

I got caught in 30mph crosswinds on i-75 Ohio
was not dangerous but did end up slowing down some

and was always thankful when we got to a patch of trees instead of open fields
Wind breaks....

 

[TitanMike]

Does anyone have experience towing a "lite" 26' trailer in the wind? We plan to tow from Minnesota to Tucson in March. Tow vehicle is an F350. WDH is a Weigh Safe Middleweight. I am thinking that this combination should work pretty well but any experiences are welcome.

I am thinking that towing with a full fresh water tank might be a good idea. Extra weight and down low.

10 days ago I towed my 25' Flagstaff MicroLite from north of Seattle to Quartzsite with my F-150. Lots of wind along the way but more annoying than causing "white knuckle driving.

My hitch is Blue Ox Sway Pro which I really like not just in wind but when Semi's overtake me if I don't notice them first they're alongside without the usual push. Really nice.
One reason I believe the winds (gusting to 30-40 mph from N across the Mohave desert) weren't difficult is before I left I weighed on a CAT Scale, adjusted hitch to even out weight on front and rear truck axles, and utilized the $4 re-weigh to confirm.
3440# Front Axle, 3480# Rear Axle, 6420# trailer axles, and 13,340# GCW.
Truck GVW is 7150# and scale weight only 6920#

Having a nice balance of weight on truck (also not overloaded) sure seemed to help and as a bonus------- the headlights shined on the road, not in the rear view mirror of the vehicle in front of me

With the F350 wind should be no big issue as long as weight in truck is distributed properly and enough weight is on steer axle.

 

[acadianbob]

Thanks for the input. Going from a 33' 5er to a 26' pull behind.

 

[AlaskaErik]

I wouldn't sweat it with an F-350. I drove between Tucson, AZ and Riverside, CA and back in the last week and the winds were ferocious going both ways. In Cali they actually had the flashing lights on by the strong winds sign. I could barely feel it in my GMC Sierra 1500 pulling my 4000 lb SOB. And it was a direct crosswind. I saw a couple of Tundras pulling 30' trailers and they were going slow and white-knuckling it. But you should be just fine in your F-350.

 

[Big1]

Yeah just take you time and don't be in a hurry is key, safe travel.

 

[Mike134]

You'll be fine with a 1 ton; heck the knee jerk answers the tow police give if there is any doubt is buying a 1 ton.
That said even semi's get blown over in 60MPH cross winds, obviously need to watch the weather forecast.

 

[acdii]

Does anyone have experience towing a "lite" 26' trailer in the wind? We plan to tow from Minnesota to Tucson in March. Tow vehicle is an F350. WDH is a Weigh Safe Middleweight. I am thinking that this combination should work pretty well but any experiences are welcome.

I am thinking that towing with a full fresh water tank might be a good idea. Extra weight and down low.

IS it a 4 point sway control hitch? This is the important part of the WDH for the F350 as WD is not important unless it has a REALLY heavy tongue weight.

I towed my old Coleman 28' tag along with an F350, it didn't look like it needed weight distribution as the truck leveled off when hitched, but passing semi's would upset the mix so to say. I installed the bars to where they returned the front weight on the truck and no more pushing, pulling, swaying. Other than looking in the mirror, there was a trailer back there? Made a huge improvment.

I used a Blue Ox on that trailer with 1000 pound bars, tongue weight was 980 pounds loaded with full tanks, but 730 when fully emptied out. Empty it needed the sway control more than anything.

 

[D W]

My advice: Get a handle on your weights. Get a correct setup on your WDH. When loading, always observe your weights and balances. You can mitigate your sway, but there's little you can do to eliminate the "aero-push you get on the open road. RV's are not designed with aerodynamics in mind.