Storm prep - preparing for wind and rain

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What do you do when you know wind or rain are coming?

Take down the shelter but leave everything else up
4
14%
Take everything down and put it under the tear
1
4%
Take everything down and put it in the car or truck
4
14%
Leave everything in place and hope for the best
7
25%
Relish the opportunity to tie things down even more securely
4
14%
Bug out (leave the campground or campsite)
0
No votes
Enjoy weathering the storm inside the camper
8
29%
 
Total votes : 28

Storm prep - preparing for wind and rain

Postby tearhead » Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:08 pm

I can't find anything specifically on this, after spending 45 minutes on various searches, so am posting a poll.

When you know that wind or rain is coming, do you:
Take anything down/in?
Leave everything up and hope for the best?
Tie things down a bit more?
Bug out?
Hole up in the tear?
Pat from Wisconsin
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finally found a thread on this subject

Postby tearhead » Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:11 pm

Finally found this thread by searching "driving rain" http://tnttt.com/viewto ... iving+rain

Looks like hitching back up to your car is a good plan.
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Postby JenniferandPups » Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:23 pm

I'm new to TTT, but when camping in our tent with our father-in-law with his airstream, we've always taken anything light or breakable into the truck or airstream, taken down all awnings, and folded up all camp chairs and laid them in a stack. We camp at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska quite a bit, and it gets WINDY there. We've been there with 70 to 90 mph gusts before... not sure how we'll keep the TTT secured. Hitching it up to the car sounds like a GREAT idea, though.
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Postby doug hodder » Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:52 am

I just fold up the EZ up if I had it up and hunker down. On the way to Minden Ne in '07 I had it up while camped at the Cabelas...went to bed and it was raining...heard the tornado sirens, got up in the night and took it down. I found out the next day that Gage got up on his way to the restroom in the middle of the night and was wandering around the field looking for my EZ up. I had taken it down hours earlier. Thanks to Gage for looking out for me! The restrooms were the tornado shelters if it got that bad. Doug
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Postby 48Rob » Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:27 am

We always (first) hook the trailer back up to the truck, and if not already done, put the stabilizer feet down.
If the winds are just typical thunderstorm, we add a rope over the middle of the awning, parallel to the trailer and stake it down.
Then we enjoy the rain on the roof.

If severe winds are called for, the awning comes down.

If it looks/feels really scary, then the above is done and we wait it out in a building.

Rob
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Postby tinksdad » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:05 am

I guess a lot depends on where you are/live geographically.

I grew up and lived most of my life on the eastern end of Lake Erie. Did a lot of fishing with my dad. There we would keep an eye on the horizon and if you saw something starting to develop, you "beat feet" back for shore. When we were camping, if the weather turned nasty, we would just usually lash things down a little snugger and ride it out. Over the years, camped in every thing from a pup tent with the Boy Scouts to a 23' Yellowstone with my "ex". Worst that ever happened was some dings from hail in the top of my aluminum truck bed topper that we camped out of for a few years.

Now that I call the Mid-South home. It's a different animal all together. I haven't developed any kind of hard and fast plan as of yet; but from reading this, I think I will. I know now to watch a different part of the sky. A couple of weeks ago, when the storm came through, I was almost three hours from home base (without the trailer). It was an interesting ride home to see if my house was still there or if it was in Oz when I got there. The whole time driving, I was watching funnel tails drop from the bottom of the clouds and suck right back up. Found out the next morning, an EF2 tornado touched down about a mile from the house. The really bad part about that is I am a very heavy sleeper. I have a tornado siren about 300 feet from the house and I don't hear it if it goes off while I am asleep. I do have several friends who will try to call me on my cell phone if the sirens start to wailing. The cell phone will wake me up; but not the sirens. Figure that!! My house is in kind of a little bowl, I think that helps protect me somewhat.

Not sure what I would do while out camping. So I guess I really DO need to develop a plan.

P.S. An afterthought to the storm mentioned above.... while all my neighbors were fumbling around with flashlights in the dark because of the power outage, I was nice and cozy with my Coleman lantern and stove for cooking. One of the benefits to being a camper!!
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Postby Shadow Catcher » Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:32 pm

Having survived the thunderstorms at Boogie in the Hills we will leave things up and well staked down in the future. If it does not survive it is time to try something else.
We survived many storms while tenting, but we had good quality well built equipment. One of the things I did find out, is that our new Swiss Gear screen house is not water proof and not well built. Not only did seams leak but rain came through the fabric in a fine mist.
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Postby Steve_Cox » Sat Jun 27, 2009 7:17 am

If it's going to rain I cover the firewood with a tarp, put the chairs under the EZ-UP. I usually anchor the EZ-UP when we set up camp, and use spring clips around the edges to keep it tight enough rain will run off and not collect on the sides. Other than that, when it's raining it's time for a book or a game of cards. We did get 5 people in our teardrop once, but it wasn't raining. 8)
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Okay, I have to ask!

Postby tearhead » Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:10 am

:thinking: :) Well I can't let that one sit! If not rain, what motivated the five people to all cram into the tear? Was it one of those "how many clowns can get into the VW" things? A dare? A bet? Idle curiosity? Or...?

And...how was it? :lol: :R
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Just to clarify

Postby tearhead » Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:11 am

OOps, just to clarify, I am not suggesting you or any of the others in the tear are, or ever were, clowns! (Hm, maybe I should have said "college students". ;)
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Re: Okay, I have to ask!

Postby Steve_Cox » Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:50 pm

tearhead wrote::thinking: :) Well I can't let that one sit! If not rain, what motivated the five people to all cram into the tear? Was it one of those "how many clowns can get into the VW" things? A dare? A bet? Idle curiosity? Or...?

And...how was it? :lol: :R


It wasn't bet, girls just like to have fun!! Anyway, it was me and 4 of the women in this picture. I'm not telling which 4 :lol:

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This just keeps getting better!

Postby tearhead » Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:46 am

:oops: 8) The four best sports, no doubt! So you didn't answer the "how was it?" part but maybe that's too nosy a question! 8) 8)
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