Towing in the Wind
Towing an RV in high winds isn’t much fun.
As I write this, we’re on day two of our trip to Galveston, Texas. Like most longer trips, we’ve made campground reservations along the route, so there is always a little pressure to stay on schedule. Fortunately, this isn’t peak camping season, so finding another overnight stop probably wouldn’t be impossible, but we’d still rather avoid losing reservations if we can.
Before leaving Forest Lake, Minnesota, we knew the forecast included rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds. The rain didn’t concern me nearly as much as the wind.
The first part of the trip went well.
We had some rain showers and occasional gusts, but nothing out of the ordinary. We use the MyRadar app through Apple CarPlay, which gave us a good picture of what was developing ahead. It allowed us to time our fuel stops and even pull off once to let a stronger storm move through before continuing.
By the time we reached Iowa, however, the wind had become the biggest challenge.
The trailer remained stable and never felt unsafe, but the crosswinds demanded my full attention. Driving became much more tiring because I was making constant steering corrections to keep everything tracking straight.
After another weather break, the winds eased for a while, and the drive returned to normal.
That didn’t last.
South of Des Moines, the wind picked up again and became the strongest we experienced all day. The final twenty miles to our campground required complete concentration. We never had any unexpected lane changes or moments where I thought we were losing control, but you could certainly feel every gust pushing against the side of the trailer.
When we finally arrived, the wind reminded us it wasn’t finished yet.
Setting up camp became its own adventure. If something wasn’t secured, it immediately tried to blow away. Local reports were calling for sustained winds around 30 mph, with gusts approaching 45 mph, and based on what we experienced, I have no reason to doubt those numbers.
The wind continued throughout the night, although it had eased somewhat by the following morning.
Looking back on the day, a few things stood out.
Watching the weather throughout the day allowed us to make better decisions instead of simply driving into every storm we encountered. Taking a short break to let a storm pass is often far less stressful than trying to drive through it.
High winds also create a different kind of fatigue. Even if the trailer is handling well, constantly correcting for gusts requires much more concentration than driving on a calm day. Knowing when to stop and take a break is just as important as knowing when to keep moving.
We spent the night at Ted’s RV Park in Decatur City, Iowa, and after getting everything secured, we walked to The Barnyard Restaurant for dinner. It was a nice way to end what had been a long day behind the wheel. The food was excellent, the portions were generous, and it was nice not having to get back in the truck after arriving.
Days like this are good reminders that the weather deserves our respect.
Sometimes the best decision isn’t whether to keep driving—it’s deciding when to keep driving.