with Australian weather as we know it, how do you go in really
bad weather in your motor homes / vans?

all we do is to poke the nose in to the wind (the camper/motorhome is designed to take the worst the road can throw at it from that angle) batten down the hatches (well, close the top and the hatch and any windows facing the storm) keep away from any trees and anything that is likely to come loose and bight you, snuggle up in bed and let it blow over the vehicle will easily cope with winds that exceed 120 kph if you have the nose straight to the wind, side on and you are gone, so be aware of any wind changes, if you get a severe storm warning and you have time, then pack up and get the hell out at speeds of 80 kph and over tree limbs will become dislodged and drop, 90 kph trees will fall over, 100 kph and over you will have the toilet block chasing you down the road or at least it's roof assess the situation and the danger and give yourself plenty of time to get away, if you cant, then stay in the open with your nose to the wind and have a "bumpy" night, be aware of wind direction and be prepared to change position to keep your front in to it we copped the tail end of a cyclone or it's outer spiral up north one year, winds in excess of 120kph, it was an interesting night

In cyclone prone areas some parks provide tie down chains on slabs. Other places use star pickets. Knock them into the ground so there is only 30cms exposed, and tie down. I have chains, shackles and turnbuckles from my time in Broome where I was chained down to the slab for 9 years. It works, but it won't stop the trees falling on the van. The tropical roof I had over the old van saved severe damage when a mahogony tree fell over my way. I would treat any storm anywhere with the same respect. It can be very frightening. If you can, it's advisable to get out of the van and find refuge in a solid dwelling. In a park it could be the camp kitchen or recreation room. Failing that, the amenities block can offer safe haven. One needs to have a contingency plan in the event of a natural imposition on your holiday or camping trip. Cheers Chris

dave06 wrote:

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we copped the tail end of a cyclone or it's outer spiral up north one year, winds in excess of 120kph, it was an interesting night

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Dave, so did we, in caravan. Was on Barkly Tableland - very open and exposed. At least we didn't have to worry about falling trees. Had to pull over in mid afternoon into rest area, due to increasing winds and horizontal rain. Was dark at 3pm. Definitely an interesting night - we weren't game to put up the poptop on the van.

 

caravans frighten the hell out of me in the wind, I much prefer the camper, once the top is down and the nose is into the wind I can sleep but oh hell those vans, i cant sleep in them, i've seen that many just blown over it's not funny we had little rocks hitting the front of the camper and like you say the rain was coming straight on, when we checked in the morning our wipers had actually blown UP and were sticking straight out, wind got under them I suppose we had one of those caravans that lift up in the middle and the beds come out each end, our first trip was down to port hughes to "try it out" we struck a storm while we were down there snuggled up in bed, I swear the bed lifted a good foot and a half and then came down with a bang many times as the wind got underneath it then let it go, it was like trying to stay on a bucking horse, what a night, we sold it within six months and got the camper

Ha Ha Ha ,sure it was the wind Dave

if I could have been in the right position the night may have turned out to be quite different, but alas I was merely after an unacheivable nights snooze one for the memorys, we camped on a gravelly bit of ground up north one year and caught a blow, got up in the morning to find we were about 3 feet closer to the river bank than when we initially parked, that was with the pop up caravan/nissan patrol setup, she had dragged her legs (no brake applied) and unhitched