Handling in high wind...?

[skodacanada]

Hi,

A quick question; I have a nice 19ft Dodge camper van with high top. Handling for the most part is decent, though of course being 8'8" with single rear wheels whilst being relatively narrow (compared to large As or Cs) wind gusts to get it when in open plains or over passes.

Besides common sense driving, and keeping weight low and gas tank full, is there anything that can be done to help this?

I have hefty off road truck tires in great shape, but I was thinking that smoother truck road tires may help road-holding and grip?

I also have rear airbags that I usually keep inflated and they add a few inches of height. Would it help to keep them deflated or lower inflation so the van hulks down more?

Any other thoughts would be great. I have two little ones, so I'm more safety concerned than if I was by myself.

[Froggy1936]

There is very little you can do, about cross winds. The regular truck tire would probably help a little Due to more contact surface, The air bags should not be inflated to maximum, Mid range is preferable, But even 40 ft trailers get blown over when empty, Wind is very powerfull ! Sorry there is no anchor remedy  Frank

[Rickf1985]

Heavy duty sway bars front and rear will stop the rolling motion from the wind but it will not stop the side ways push. Air bags at max just make for a worse ride and do nothing for sway control.

[Lefty]

Off road tires that are taller than the original are only going to make a vehicle that already has a high center of gravity handle even worse.
As mentioned, a good aftermarket set of front and rear sway bars can help... but you can also see an improvement just by replacing the stock original sway bar bushings and end links with polyurethane bushings and end links. Make sure your shocks are in good condition, and keep tires at the proper pressures.

[skodacanada]

Thanks for all the comments.

The shocks are new this year and mechanically its in good shape with everything up to spec. I'll look into the sway bars, but it's the side wind push that I hate the most as opposed to the generally sloppy handling which doesn't really bother me.

I'm going to try it with airbags deflated just to see.

[Rickf1985]

Those of us with class A's know all about side wind push. W%

[eXodus]

drive slow. the physics is simple driving 50 + 40 miles of wind = 90 mph vacuum pressure on the side where is on the off side.

so you not only get pushed by 40 wind, you get pulled on the other side by a vaccuum.

slow down to counter that force

[skodacanada]

Thanks again for all the replies.

I tend to drive slow already for mpg/handling issues (emphasis on 'tend to'), but I wonder how slow I can go without becoming a menace/problem on the highways.

[TripleJ]

About your tires, Im curious about exactly what size and what load range the tires are?

In my opinion you will need at least a load 'E' tire in the factory recommended size in order to not roll/wallow under the weight of a camper body.  Its possible that your off road type tires are a 'C' or 'D' tire and may even be taller than stock.  These will not have the side wall stiffness that you need to keep the vehicle feeling solid and straight. 

[eXodus]

Thanks again for all the replies.

I tend to drive slow already for mpg/handling issues (emphasis on 'tend to'), but I wonder how slow I can go without becoming a menace/problem on the highways.

"slow" is something very different for every person.

40 is on a lot highways the legal minimum limit. I had been driving with 50 on highways with 75 speed-limits without feeling insecure. Make sure your tail lights are on and in good shape. Change to LED if possible.

There is no shame to and no ticket involved if you drive really slow (30-40) through a windstorm.

[skodacanada]

Thanks very much for the additional comments.

On the point of Load Rating, I did check and they are indeed C Load Rating Tires, and reading what I can about them they are supposed to be decent but soft sidewalls. This could be a big factor in my issue.

Problem is I can't seem to find (after a quick check) any E load rating truck tires in 15" (235/75/15). Perhaps I have to adopt 16" steel rims with a lower profile tire to try to keep the same overall diameter (lots of room in the rear, but don't have tons of room to go larger in the front.

[TripleJ]

Some may disagree, but I wouldn't put 6ply 'C' tires on a regular van, much less an R/V.  I think you've found a big part of your problem

[eXodus]

Thanks very much for the additional comments.

On the point of Load Rating, I did check and they are indeed C Load Rating Tires, and reading what I can about them they are supposed to be decent but soft sidewalls. This could be a big factor in my issue.

Problem is I can't seem to find (after a quick check) any E load rating truck tires in 15" (235/75/15). Perhaps I have to adopt 16" steel rims with a lower profile tire to try to keep the same overall diameter (lots of room in the rear, but don't have tons of room to go larger in the front.

that's strange, did you ever check the ride hight against specs ? maybe your front springs are worn out and have settled, soft springs would explain a lot, and be a quick and cheap fix.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep!  The more windy it gets, the slower you should be driving.  We get some serious cross winds in our travels out west...so we keep it very slow on windy days...sometimes as slow as 30mph.

Kev