Towing in 30mph-35mph winds

How bad is the towing in 30-35mph winds? I have a 2014 tundra crew cab with a TRD sway bar and timbren springs and my trailer is a dual axel 22ft Eclipse Milan that weights 4100lbs dry and I’ll be running the trailer dry. I also have a WDH the fastway e2 with trunnion bars rated for 8000lbs and 800lbs TW that’s installed correctly but I have never towed in those types of winds. I’ll be traveling up north from Southern California and that’s roughly a 4 hr drive. I also have a Tekonsha primus brake controller that I’m still learning but currently have it set at 5.6 gain and on boost 2. Hopefully that’s enough to travel in high winds for 4hrs at night. Any tips or tricks will be greatly appreciated!

 

Hopefully the WDH does it’s job to keep it at 55mph

 

Drive the conditions, you’ll know if you’re going to fast. If it feels wrong - it is, slow down

 

The problem won’t be the weight of the trailer. It’ll be that you’re pulling a giant brick behind you while driving a truck shaped like a brick. No aerodynamics. Like they said, just slow down or pull off the road (not the side of the road) for a bit if it gets too bad.

 

Slow the hell down when you need to!

You will either know when that is or you will be miserable and hopefully learn.

I drove through Wyoming and Montana right before the Pandemic in a brand new Sequoia pulling the tiniest UHaul trailer that you can get and I was astounded at how bad it was once the winds and Ice and Snow whipped up there!?!

We literally were driving 20 mph on the interstate and anyone who fell out of the single lane line was found down the road in the ditch,really!

There were also rigs all over blown on the side from being there and trying to just drive at all with trailers in that wind and it was all over the media everywhere too that it was just to windy to drive in ut I was already on the way and had no real alternative.

I have driven a lot of rigs in a lot of weather but the winds were 50mph or higher sustained in places and you just could not get moving regardless of power and the vehicle at all.
I was wondering the whole time of the new truck had mechanical issues really but once out of the winds it was just fine.

 

As mentioned, adjust your speed accordingly. Does your WDH have sway control? The sway control will help tremendously. Towing confidence will come from practice and experience obviously.

 

If you have high wind speed as headwinds, map out your gas stops ahead of time. Not kidding. If one is getting 8 mpg or under, one can get into issues really fast.

 

I made it and my setup got me through some nasty 35mph-40mph winds and I was on cruise control at 50mph and sometimes 55mph. My WDH did it’s job and was comfortable all the way.

 

Looks like June lake loop...

 

sure is! That’s silver lake behind me

 

As everyone has said, don’t be afraid to slow down. If you start getting sway, ease on the brakes a bit. Don’t slam on them, just ease them on. The trailer brakes should help slow the sway. If not, your balance is too much toward truck brakes and squeezing/tapping(not familiar with the primus) on the manual trailer brake will help out. I’m NOT saying slam on trailer brakes, just bump them a bit. You can practice going slow in a parking lot to get the hang of it. The slight drag on the truck and trailer from the trailer brakes often helps calm everything down.

I’ve also found a slight tongue-down angle on the travel trailer helps towing behavior overall, along with setting up the WDH correctly of course. Watch surrounding traffic, sometimes a huge gust kicks in and it‘s going to move the trailer regardless of what you do. Try not to pace or be paced by anyone next to you.

Have fun!

 

I actually got back yesterday from my trip and the wind was blowing both ways there and back. I was driving in 40Mph winds at times but my setup handled it beautifully and was able to cruise control at 55mph there and back