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Topic: what would you do?

jayne with a y

20/5/2015 at 3:53pm
Location: None Entered
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just been thinking over the last few weeks about wind.

if you are to far away from home just to pack up and cut you trip short and the weather man warns of strong winds 40pmh plus or where ever your limit is would you put your tent flat and spend the night in the car or would you risk it in the tent?

I know every ones situation is different. for me it is just me and my 3 young children.

PaulaMB

20/5/2015 at 4:01pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Outfit: Albatros-Safir 7-Trisar 3-Octapeak F8

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We just stay in the tent. Two of our tents are designed to cope with wind though so I am not sure I would give the same answer if we had something less sturdy. The small ridge is only used for weekends and the odd night here and has sort of been replaced by the tipi tent so the chances of it happening when we were in that one are slim.

We experienced a storm with gusts of 50mph last year in the Dales and our tent didn't move. Good job really as it was only a couple of days into our trip and we were four hours from home.

Tynxuk

20/5/2015 at 4:37pm
Location: Sunny Suffolk (West)
Outfit: inflatable dome Palamos6 frame tent

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Same as Paula, we also just stay in the tent. Ours is a pyramid similar to Paulas and they are designed to cope with wind.

I'm guessing Paulas storm in the Dales was the same as ours in Northumberland, beginning of August tail end of hurricane Bertha. Was a little worried during the night due to my over active imagination but in the light of day it was barely moving (we removed the canopy just in case).

jelboy53

20/5/2015 at 4:46pm
Location: Cumbernauld Scotland
Outfit: Monty 6Icarus 500 Halo 300

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Totally different situation from you Jayne as I have no young children to consider when making the decision you refer to....

But for what it's worth.....

I personally don't have the luxury of following "Good Weather" when planning my trips away....So tend to go whatever is forecast for my time away...All I ask of the camping gods is "Fair(Ish) weather when setting up or taking the tent down...As for the rest of it....I take what's thrown at me on that particular trip...

I have sat through some dreadful weather where it has been blowing a right Hoolie....To be rewarded with fine weather when the storm has passed on several occasions...Likewise I have had times where I have thought to myself "What am I doing sitting here" in the middle of a field in this rubbish....And the only thing that has kept me there is that it has been too windy to even attempt taking the tent down till the storm abated....

Sat for four days on my summer hols last year in a howling gale and driving rain....But still managed to get out and about...Though the holiday did not really live up to my expectations...

My only advice is stuff you will find in other places on here about pitching your tent bum (back) to the prevailing wind and using walls/hedges...Or your car to deflect the worst of it....Make sure the tent is well pitched/guyed out and hope for the best till it passes...

Its not the first time and certainly not the last where I have retreated to the car/van for the night leaving the tent to its own devices....Worst I have had is a bent or broken pole to deal with....That may have been more good luck than any skill on my part....

Jelboy.

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Valk_scot

20/5/2015 at 5:22pm
Location: Scotland.
Outfit: Conway Camargue Lots of Vangos. .

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If I was expecting high winds I'd make sure I'd done my absolute best with pegging the tent down and making it as secure as possible, Then I'd spend some time tidying up so I could move myself and the essentials into the car with the minimum of hassle. It's always worth having an evacuation plan and knowing where everything you need to grab is. Having said that I've never had to jump ship yet, I'm pretty good at pitching tents and know most of the tricks about storm guying etc.

TimCESmith

20/5/2015 at 6:06pm
Location: London
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It depends on the tent, but I'd make sure it's properly pegged and guyed in the first place and then check all the points as the wind strengthens. If it's the first time in a blow for that particular tent be prepared to check it out every hour or so - and take the opportunity to secure any random debris like empty bins blowing about.

I find it's hard to love a tent until I've been through a storm in it, but if I ever had to abandon ship in the night I'd head for the shower block / other solid building rather than sleep in the car.

74giggles

20/5/2015 at 8:35pm
Location: Suffolk
Outfit: Eriba Famila 320

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As already said, peg it out properly and you should be fine. We were camping last August with dear old Bertha blowing a gale , we rechecked the guys and pegs a couple of times, but were fine. There's always a spare couple of guy ropes in each of the tent bags and good pegs so we can add extra's if we ever needed to.

Our Vango's got their TBS system, so it helps keep the tent stable in high winds and it does work. We removed one lot of the straps and boy did we notice how the tent felt slightly less stable!

The joy of having the VW T25 with the rock&roll bed means we can sleep in there if we have to. Would be a squeeze with the 2 of us (and I'm not a little lady) plus 2 teenagers!

dk168

21/5/2015 at 9:30am
Location: Devizes Wiltshire
Outfit: MWB VW Crafter PVC

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I chose my current tent, a Dutch canvas pyramid, for its ability to withstand stormy weather, after my last tent was damaged beyond repair in high winds back in September 2011.

I was sleeping in the car with the dog when the top section of the old tent collapsed. It was very windy, and the dog was unsettled due to the noise, hence we went to sleep in the car. Good job we did.

My Hypercamp Escala 4 has nearly 40 pegging points on the tent alone, and once it is up, it is very sturdy in windy and stormy weather, and it has served me well since Oct 2011.

It is also a lot quieter in the wind compared with my previous poly/nylon tent.

DK

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fran1000

21/5/2015 at 7:50pm
Location: East Sussex
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Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 20/5/2015
If I was expecting high winds I'd make sure I'd done my absolute best with pegging the tent down and making it as secure as possible, Then I'd spend some time tidying up so I could move myself and the essentials into the car with the minimum of hassle. It's always worth having an evacuation plan and knowing where everything you need to grab is. Having said that I've never had to jump ship yet, I'm pretty good at pitching tents and know most of the tricks about storm guying etc.

Excellent advice as ever, Val.

WE had to decamp to the car once, when we had a tunnel tent with metal poles. Two poles snapped and one ripped the flysheet. Getting us, the dogs and our bedding into the car in the dark in a howling gale was a bit of a challenge, to say the least.

floppy-poppy

21/5/2015 at 10:26pm
Location: notts
Outfit: Outwell Oakland xl & Bear Lake6

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Having just gone through 50-60 mph gusts in Shropshire (see my recent post) we obviously didn't jump ship. We did as all other people have stated - bum to the wind, pegged down well (and kept re-checking), parked the car at the back for extra protection etc..
Like jelboy, we have camped too many times to give up as the promise/hope of sunshine the next day when the storm has passed outweighs a few stormy hours (although on this last camping trip it was not the case).
On saying that if the same had happened when we took our 3 children when young, we may well have jumped as it was quite scary.
As I said in my post, we were both really pleased with the Outwell tent and its' sheer resilience to budge, once up (we also erected the tent in high winds) it never moved and the pegs and guys stayed put.
You mentioned about puttting your tent flat - even if pegged, in such high winds, surely it would flap and possibly rip or blow away

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May - Dorset
July - Saundersfoot
September - S. Wales
October - S. Wales

+ others unknown to date

ficklejade

21/5/2015 at 11:06pm
Location: Isle of Mull
Outfit: 2 x Outwells Kairos 400 Caranex

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Stayed in Outwell popup tent at CCC site at Edinbane, Skye, about four/five years back. Bad winds forecast for second night so offered a normal pitch or one behind a tough high wooden fence on higher ground not normally used. Opted for latter though pitched well clear of the fence itself. Well, second night it got very windy from totally wrong angle for the site. Steady 45mph and gusting far higher. Tent still standing in morning thought not a restful night.

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