When big storms hit what do u do?

milo · Guru

When big storms hit what do u do?

magraret · Senior Member

first get insurance

second pray that it passes

we have been in bad weather but not hail and as there is not much you can do if a storm hits other than put the awning up,ride it out and use the air con if you have one

Rip and Rosie · Guru

Roll in the awning
Put loose items away
Put pop top down
Pull away from trees
Face the van and vehicle into the wind.

Any or all of above

jimricho · Guru

Rip and Rosie wrote:
Roll in the awning
Put loose items away
Put pop top down
Pull away from trees
Face the van and vehicle into the wind.

Any or all of above

Have another drink (or several) then put your head between your legs and kiss.............goodbye wink

(more seriously, good advice, R&R, covers it well)

neilnruth · Guru

Put the poptop down if the winds are bad. Tighten the guy ropes on the sailtrack awning. And as previously said, pray it will soon pass. Plus bring anything inside that might become a missile.

jetj · Guru

I get inside and change my undies.

Baz421 · Guru

Same as Rip and Rosie (ecept poptop). Face into wind can be a damage mitigator and ESPECIALLY away from trees and creeks.

Nomad246 · Senior Member

jetj wrote:
I get inside and change my undies.

for fear of scorn ,,,, I'm not going to comment on this one ,,,,,, but

damn it ,, self control is frustrating

Cheers

jetj · Guru

Sorry, but big storms scare me!

Nomad246 · Senior Member

Do you remember the movie Forrest Gump with the legless man up a boat mast challenging the storm ,,,, how empowering was that

Storms are full of energy, you need to suck it all in.

EllenajoeL · Senior Member

+1 Nomad 246.....(there are most certainly storms that are truly bad and somewhat humbling to be in, like a supercell, but otherwise) storms are readdressing electirc polarity and freely give LOTS of atmospheric energy for the willing 'participant'..... I love them, even if I am with but swag and motorbike.

countryroad · Senior Member

My brother and his lovely wife spent about 4 years travelling in a pop top van and a dk green forrester

Some of you may have met them John & Di, they were in a hail storm and van was badly damaged, insurance paid for full repairs.

Their small print covered hail.

-- Edited by countryroad on Sunday 2nd of December 2012 03:23:19 PM

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Theres a dividing line between exhilarating and terrifying. I love to watch lightning, even when it crashes close by. But strong winds hitting the camper-trailer broadside and rocking it during the night was scary. We recently endured a hail storm which lasted over an hour, although the hailstones were only tiny, rolled the awning in earlier, and pulled the pop-top down when it got bad. When it stopped we looked out and it looked as if it had been snowing!

Rip and Rosie · Guru

Strong winds are scary when they hit side on, which is why, when you can, move around so that they hit end end on- its a smaller target and if you are hitched to the car it makes a heavier one.

glassies · Guru

i too like to watch thunder and lightning storms i still find them scary but i was actualy quite terriffied when i was younger
due to my nan always grabbing us and making us get under the bed it reminded her of the war (poor woman)
but nowadays i can sit outside on our front deck and watch a storm its quite amazing.

jetj · Guru

Gerty Dancer wrote:
Theres a dividing line between exhilarating and terrifying.

So true and while it is spectacular to watch at times, I have to overcome the fears of previous storms in having my vehicle dented by golf size hailstones, having sheds blow away in the wind as well as an aviary and the fear of losing the roof of my house.

I wish I could just relax and enjoy the storm and maybe one day. Mind you lots of people go through much worse damage than I ever have.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Rip and Rosie wrote:
Strong winds are scary when they hit side on, which is why, when you can, move around so that they hit end end on- its a smaller target and if you are hitched to the car it makes a heavier one.

Its a lot easier with a caravan to turn it around, but the night of the big storm in the camper-trailer we had been set up for a couple of days in a caravan park, would have been a really big job to partly pack up, move it and set up again. With the benefit of hindsight, we might still have done it if we'd known how strong that storm would be. To its credit the Aussie Swag kept us dry and the canvas was all intact after the storm. It was at Princeton on the GOR, there had been several tents near us at nightfall, and they were all gone in the morning. We hoped they just packed up and left, instead of having the tent blow down on them!

Jetj, can understand your fear after going through such a bad experience, its hard to not think of it every time you hear thunder etc.

mr glassies · Guru

DONT PARK UNDER A TREE

beiffe · Guru

I bring the awning in and pack up every thing.

Never park under tree limbs at anytime as they will fall when they like and normally it is not the wind that drops them but the heat or water left in the forks of branches that expands.

The other day I was being shown around the area here at Maldon and did a bit of fishing and when we were driving on a bitumen road we had a largish branch fall right on top of the cab,

Was heavy enough I could not lift it up to remove from road so we had to drag it off the road.

Whith rain storms never stay near a creek as it may swell very uickly and often the further north the uicker they can rise.

If in an area where large storms are predicted and you can move out of the line then move. Can never understand tourist that get caught in cyclones etc because they can travel a few hundred Ks and be out of trouble. They know a few g=days ahead of the large storms normally.

Similar with fires, have the fire apps in your phone and check daily and if in doubt move to an area where you know you can get to a save area quickly.

Regards
Brian

milo · Guru

What do people in avans do in the bad weather?
I like avans alot but just have a fear of it falling on me in my sleep!