Towing in Wind! How windy is too windy

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Darcey22

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Hi there
I am due to go to a clinic 40 mins away on Sunday and have read that there is due to be winds of up to 40 mph. Is this safe to tow my 16.1 mare in or should I cancel? What are tips for towing in windy weather?
 
I tend to go by the rule if I am asking myself the question, it’s probably because I am not happy to want to travel in that sort of weather, especially in exposed areas or somewhere a tree branch could take out my car. I appreciate that’s probably not terribly helpful 🤣 If it’s just a clinic - there will be others so on balance I probably would not travel in high winds.
 
It depends on so many variables as Caski said not only car and trailer but terrain, exposure, driver experience, ability and confidence. Bare in mind that if 40mph is forecast that is your average wind speed and gusts will be around 10-20mph higher, more in open ground or where the terrain creates a wind tunnel effect.

I've been towing for 30 years and have various advanced driving qualifications including HGV, I've towed all sorts here and abroad so I'm not short of experience or confidence. I always ensure any set up I drive is well within the appropriate weight/towing limits.

I never set out now if the forecast is for 30mph or above for any part of my planned trip. This is because of an experience I had around 10 years ago now. I set out for a ride about an hour's drive away. Forecast was for winds of 30mph later in the day just after when I was due home. Had a lovely ride in beautiful weather and set out for home. Within 10 or 15 minutes the skies darkened and the wind had picked up significantly. By the time I was halfway home the wind was howling and I was down to 30mph on the dual carriageway in order to keep control as the wind buffeted trailer. The rest of the journey was horrific. Luckily I knew the road well and knew where I was likely to be exposed to the worst gusts. I was never above 30mph the whole way, frequently down around 20-25mph to ensure I kept control.

Thankfully I got my boy home safely but that journey was the result of the forecast being only slightly wrong. I checked and the wind speeds that day they were 40mph with frequent guests to 60. So the forecast had been an hour out time wise and 10mph out strength wise. Not a lot. Usually of course the forecasters err on the side of caution and conditions are less bad than forecast but having experienced the worst journey of my life when they were slightly wrong in the other direction I have decided there's no ride/competition/clinic worth risking my horses life, my life or other road users lives for.
 
Darcey22 said:
Hi there
I am due to go to a clinic 40 mins away on Sunday and have read that there is due to be winds of up to 40 mph. Is this safe to tow my 16.1 mare in or should I cancel? What are tips for towing in windy weather?
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Sorry I have overturned in a trailer on a nice day in, cross winds and speed in a open gully on the M4. I would not tow in winds that fast, my horses life not worth it. There are more clinics on better days. You only need a big truck to zoom past you and.............. stay home keep horses safe and yourself.
 
Why dont you ring the organiser and see if you can move the entry over to another day when they are having a clinic. Would be much safer for all. They may even cancel the clinic as others will be feeling the same surely.
 
expanding_horizon said:
Is the wind risk in a lorry much lower? Versus a trailer?
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I think 3.5t are probably the safest in the wind as the bigger lorries can still get caught where they're taller.

Out of interest does anyone know if any of the supermarkets stop their deliveries in strong winds? I'm pretty sure that I've had some poor sod delivering to me in a storm before which would make me think they don't - my thinking being that if supermarkets have done all their assessments etc and they think their 3.5t delivery vans, which are fairly similar to a horsebox are safe then a 3.5t horsebox would be as safe too?

Not that I'm actually trying to advocate for taking a horsebox out in a storm/ high wind more a musing.
 
Absolutely the right decision! Worst of it looks to be afternoon and evening but definitely not worth the risk. We were due to move our horse to a new yard today that’s only a 10 min drive but we didn’t want to risk it so moved yesterday instead. Gusts of 50-60mph predicted here x
 
expanding_horizon said:
Is the wind risk in a lorry much lower? Versus a trailer?
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When following a horse lorry, especially the 7.5ts which are tall compared to their length, I’m always rather horrified how much they lurch from side to side as they go 😳. That’s without factoring in big winds.

Lorries in general get blown over regularly, which is why they might get additional speed restrictions or be banned altogether on some elevated sections of road in high winds.
 
Squeak said:
I think 3.5t are probably the safest in the wind as the bigger lorries can still get caught where they're taller.

Out of interest does anyone know if any of the supermarkets stop their deliveries in strong winds? I'm pretty sure that I've had some poor sod delivering to me in a storm before which would make me think they don't - my thinking being that if supermarkets have done all their assessments etc and they think their 3.5t delivery vans, which are fairly similar to a horsebox are safe then a 3.5t horsebox would be as safe too?

Not that I'm actually trying to advocate for taking a horsebox out in a storm/ high wind more a musing.
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Re supermarkets don’t know but lots of racehorses out at races today. You do occasionally see withdrawals for weather transport reasons but not often. Just looked and a Scottish trained horse withdrawn from chelmsford today for travel reasons.
 
We live on an exposed hill so often its windy with us and not windy down the hill, however I still err on the side of caution and if Im asking myself if I should go then the answer is usually no. Personally Id be going nowhere with wind warnings, remember it might be acceptable enough when you go but youve still got to get back and the wind can pick up quickly!
 
Just bumping this, can’t believe how calm it is now and the predicted wind speeds for this evening and tomorrow.

Going to assume that PC is cancelled!
 
depends on so much- would i go 15min down sheltered country lanes to park up in a nice sheltered yard....yes (and will be doing so on sunday if too wild to hack safely)

long motorway trip thus exposed roads-nope
 
It’s 3 miles away and indoors, but with 50mph gusts I doubt it will be on.

Not sure I’d want to teach half a dozen freshly off lead rein small children in it either!
 
cauda equina said:
It's not just the towing - it's the loading/unloading with trailer doors trying to take flight, car doors blowing around, tacking up with numnahs flapping and blowing away, all that
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Add the overflowing rubbish skip sited on the parking area of a professional establishment on a windy day.

Not only did I have to deal with mannerless unsupervised dogs running in between my horse’s legs we additionally had large empty plastic sacks blowing straight at her.

Never returning there.
 
Supposed to go to a show tomorrow, we are in Scotland right enough so not quite as bad as england are getting… 48mph gusts/wind speeds of 22mph where I’m going and can’t decide wether it’s too windy to travel… would be going in a 3.5ton
 
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