Securing trailers from wind gusts
Securing trailers from wind gusts
I was driving westbound through the Southern California desert near Blythe on I-10 yesterday. A storm rolled in from the south and the wind gusts were so strong it blew over 4 tractor/trailers that were rolling down the interstate. It was all in the matter of minutes and the storm was gone.
Freaky!
Has anyone ever seen any empty trailers blown over on the playa from high wind gusts?
Freaky!
Has anyone ever seen any empty trailers blown over on the playa from high wind gusts?
- Bob
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Lightweight ones eg pop-up tent trailers will jog downwind if you don't secure them to stakes.
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
- MikeGyver
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Not much to do other than tie your stuff down really good and keep your center of gravity low if possible.
The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.
- dragonpilot
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Yeah...most camping trailers are OK in high winds on the playa. Unlike the trucks, most campers are part of a mass of tents, campers, and other structures that go a long way in breaking up the wind coming across the playa...you'll be ok as long as you're mixed in with others and not out on the SW edges.
Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.
- Bob
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Lightweight trailers wander around if not staked down, same as airplanes.
http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/airport/tie_downs.html
http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/airport/tie_downs.html
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
I haven't staked my tent trailer yet but then again it's only been to the burn the last two years. Looks like I'm going to have to come up with a remedy for that, probably 2ft rebar at a 45 and ratchet straps on each corner so I can tweak the tension, I can't tie tensioned knots for shit.
Sooner or later, it will get real strange...
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- CapSmashy
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Playawaste Raiders cordially invites you to suck it.
Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
I'll then weld two nice chain links (one welded the other loose) on the side flush with the top and drive them flush with the ground, easy way to run a rope through or hook a ratchet strap to. I have scrap metal around here, maybe some two foot chunks of 1-1.5 in. angle iron. Anyone ever staked with angle iron care to share?
Sooner or later, it will get real strange...
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- Just_Joe
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Jackass wrote:I haven't staked my tent trailer yet but then again it's only been to the burn the last two years. Looks like I'm going to have to come up with a remedy for that, probably 2ft rebar at a 45 and ratchet straps on each corner so I can tweak the tension, I can't tie tensioned knots for shit.
I hate to say it, but the (1/2") 2' rebar I used for my carport last weekend didn't give me much confidence. I added a couple of 3' concrete stakes which ended up making me feel warm and fuzzy.
If you use 2', expect to pound it "below grade". The top 6" of the playa are/will be very crumbly. Welded chain links sound like a good idea.
Ropes are easy. Stop by for a knot lesson or just learn a truckers hitch (bowline, alpine butterfly and two half hitches).
Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Yeah, I think the 3ft concrete stakes with chain will instill some confidence. I've got some practicing to do on my knot work. I know the truckers hitch, I just cant seem to secure a good knot after I'm under tension. By the time I get a knot on it the ropes not that tight any more, maybe I need thinner rope. The top of my tent trailer sits around 8ft. so I imagine the wind force gets fairly wicked up there, better safe than sorry.
Sooner or later, it will get real strange...
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- portaplaya
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
The trailer for a tractor/trailer combo is about ten feet high, plus 3 feet for the wheels underneath. And up to 52 feet long.
That is a much bigger wind profile than any camping trailer, all of which have a lower bottom edge so you can step in/out. I have never heard of a playa wind rolling a trailer or RV during the event, ever.
That is a much bigger wind profile than any camping trailer, all of which have a lower bottom edge so you can step in/out. I have never heard of a playa wind rolling a trailer or RV during the event, ever.
Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
portaplaya wrote:The trailer for a tractor/trailer combo is about ten feet high, plus 3 feet for the wheels underneath. And up to 52 feet long.
That is a much bigger wind profile than any camping trailer, all of which have a lower bottom edge so you can step in/out. I have never heard of a playa wind rolling a trailer or RV during the event, ever.
I wouldn't expect the trailer to flip but I could see the top and canvas getting ripped off after repeated gusts
Sooner or later, it will get real strange...
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- Gonzo Frothwood
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Nail the tires down.
"There is nothing so over-estimated as a piece of ass, and nothing so under-estimated as a good and greasy shit." Boneman Johnson
- Bob
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Just drive two stakes so they make an X. Lash w/ rope or tie wire.
A tautline hitch is easy to cinch. Don't use a trucker hitch unless you're tying something down on a truck.
A tautline hitch is easy to cinch. Don't use a trucker hitch unless you're tying something down on a truck.
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Bob wrote:Just drive two stakes so they make an X. Lash w/ rope or tie wire.
A tautline hitch is easy to cinch. Don't use a trucker hitch unless you're tying something down on a truck.
What length stakes might you recommend in this case?
P.S. I need to study your rigging section a bit closer.
Sooner or later, it will get real strange...
11th Principle: Depussyfication - Keeping Burning Man potentially lethal. Token
11th Principle: Depussyfication - Keeping Burning Man potentially lethal. Token
- Bob
- Posts: 6748
- Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 10:00 am
- Burning Since: 1986
- Camp Name: Royaneh
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
At least 18", I'd guess.
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
- Just_Joe
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Re: Securing trailers from wind gusts
Bob wrote:A tautline hitch is easy to cinch. Don't use a trucker hitch unless you're tying something down on a truck.
Tautline is easy, but if you use cheap polypropylene rope (which is what most people buy), it can slip.
http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/truckers-hitch/
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