TOO WINDY? East from Vegas towards Dallas 4/7- Wind Advisory

[8amps]

We were planning on heading out from Vegas east across Arizona towards Gallup (en route to Dallas, TX) in the morning.
There is a wind advisory in Flagstaff starting around 11 am, which is earlier than we will get there (approximately 250 miles away)
We are towing a 40 ft fifth wheel with a 3500 Dually. At what point is too windy? I know this will effect MPG but my concern is safety. It would be nice to just wait it out, but we have a family commitment in Dallas on Friday.
We were planning to go I-40 just because it is about 150 miles less total, but if conditions necessitate could detour south and take I-10 east to I-20 at Abilene.

From National Weather Service
WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 6 PM MST TUESDAY
WINDS... SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 20 TO 30 MPH... WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.
AREAS OF BLOWING DUST MAY DEVELOP ACROSS NAVAJO AND APACHE COUNTIES... ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40... CAUSING REDUCED VISIBILITY.

• A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS FROM 40 TO 57 MPH ARE EXPECTED.
• WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT... ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES.

 

[bobca1]

I am also interested in what is considered safe in wind like this. I am pulling 38ft with a 3500 SRW. I hear it's a pretty steep climb out of Kingman up to flagstaff so speed will be reduced that has to help. I am also driving east i40 but one day after you on Wed, starting in LA and Williams is my destination.

 

['Lil Guy']

A 50MPH tail wind would sure help on mileage. I'd be careful. Good luck

 

[Lynn1130]

You may get a good tailwind with this one as it looked like the forecast winds were out of the NW. I have crossed that many times with 40 MPH quartering winds. The cross winds are the worst and the biggest danger is

AREAS OF BLOWING DUST MAY DEVELOP ACROSS NAVAJO AND APACHE COUNTIES... ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40... CAUSING REDUCED VISIBILITY

If it is blowing dust pull off and shut your lights off. If you can see the dust ahead of you pull off and wait. Because of the high number of semis, one car that decides to slow or stop in the dust can and do cause major accidents on that road and on I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix. I cannot stress this enough-this a dangerous area if the dust is blowing (or snow).

As I recall from the weather reports last night the entire east side of Arizona is under high wind warnings for today and into tomorrow. That would be I-40 and I-10 both.

 

[Lynn1130]

This is the NOAA weather forecast for Flagstaff. They say SW rather than NW. Either way it will quarter I-40.
FOR TODAY...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL COMBINE TO CAUSE WIND ADVISORY AND CRITICAL
FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. WIDESPREAD WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 35 TO 45
MPH ARE EXPECTED ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. THIS MAY
LEAD TO DECREASED VISIBILITY IN BLOWING DUST ACROSS PORTIONS OF
THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY. WINDS WILL LIKELY REMAIN
ELEVATED OVERNIGHT DOWNSTREAM OF HIGH TERRAIN.

ON WEDNESDAY...THE WEST COAST LOW IS FORECAST TO PUSH A COLD
FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA. STRONG WINDS WILL PERSIST AHEAD OF
THE BOUNDARY...MAINLY AFFECTING NAVAJO AND APACHE COUNTIES. COLD
AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL CAUSE A DECREASE IN TEMPERATURES AS WELL
AS SLIGHT CHANCES FOR LIGHT SHOWERS MAINLY NEAR THE ARIZONA/UTAH
BORDER.

 

[MCTalley]

Slow down, carry some extra water in the tank for lower center of gravity and give it a go. You have a dually, so that will help a bit with cross-wind stability.

Generally speaking, if I see semis on the road (upright and moving), I feel more comfortable traveling in the wind. Be flexible and ready to pull over and spend time (or even overnight) in a truck stop or other area, if needed.

Also, not always the case, but a lot of times the wind doesn't kick up until later in the morning or early afternoon. We will sometimes just plan on heading out super early in the morning to beat the majority of the wind (or get past it, depending).

 

[Lynn1130]

It is already blowing here and our winds are not supposed to be as high as the plateau. Semi's on the road are not the problem with our dust storms. Idiots who drive into it then stop or slow down are the problem. The semis then crash into them causing major pileups with many vehicles. 35-40 mph winds will not be a deal buster. The blowing dust will be.

give it a go

LOL, easy advice if you are not the one making the trip and have never driven that stretch of road before.

It is doable just watch what you and especially the other drivers are doing.

 

[BouseBill]

If you're going primarily east bound with a SW wind you will have a quartering tailwind. I'd much rather have that than a quartering headwind I have on more than one occasion spent two extra days at a RV park because I didn't want to pull in a strong crosswind/headwind. Keep an eye on the wind and drive a bit slower if you must.

 

[MCTalley]

LOL, easy advice if you are not the one making the trip and have never driven that stretch of road before.

Actually, we just did a couple weeks ago. Granted, the wind wasn't high, but I understand what you are saying about dust storms.

 

[8amps]

Just thought I'd give an update. Left Las Vegas at 915 am, went through Flagstaff around 1. Nothing major except 8 MPG. Once we got up and over the top, it's now gone up to 9. We do have half a tank of fresh water so that can be contributing to the low # also. Wind may be behind us but also right to the left (is that what a quartering tailwind is?). Haven't felt too much in the truck until we stopped just before Winslow. Then I got a true idea of what the winds were! I don't know about 50mph but certainly got my attention. We hope to make it to Gallup tonight but will stop earlier if conditions dictate.

 

[Lynn1130]

I turkey hunt in Kansas in the Spring. My wife and her brothers still own and run the family farm in Kansas, I hunt pheasant in the Fall so I can give you a pretty good idea of weather conditions on that stretch just about any time of the year as I travel it ALOT. It can be a piece of cake or it can be one of the ugliest trips you ever want to drive.

If you stop at Gallup there is a nice RV park on the west side just off of I-40 can't recall the name right off the top of my head. The other one on the east side of Gallup is not that good and is too expensive or at least it was.

I just looked it up. USA RV Park 2925 W highway 66. The other, that I thought was too expensive is the KOA on the other side of town.

 

[VKTalley]

Just has a text message from 8amps. They were about 60 miles out from Gallup and doing just fine.

 

[8amps]

We made it to Gallup with no problems. Even got set up in the daylight. I guess I have to stop moaning about the width of the dually for parking because it sure was steady. Off to find some good tamales. We are at the Red Rock State Park campground. Really pretty! Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[8amps]

Thanks again everyone for your help and advice today. It was more than a little concerning to check the weather and see that high wind advisory. We haven't traveled in that before so it was nice to have some experience here on the forum. The wind is following us east, so not out of the woods yet. We'll alter plans as necessary though we are hopefully headed to Amarillo tomorrow. NOAA says: (my emphasis)
.STRONG WINDS...LOW HUMIDITY AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE WEDNESDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SLOWLY PASSES A
LITTLE WAYS NORTH OF NEW MEXICO KEEPING STRONG WINDS ALOFT OVER THE STATE. DUE TO COOLER TEMPERATURES AND LESS INSTABILITY...
POTENTIAL FOR CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL DIMINISH NEAR AND WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WEDNESDAY. HOWEVER...SIGNIFICANTLY WINDIER
CONDITIONS OVERALL ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY COMPARED TO TODAY...
LIKELY PERSISTING INTO THE EVENING CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST BEFORE DIMINISHING.
Lynn1130, thanks for the RV park recommendation, unfortunately, I didn't see it until after we'd stopped for the night and pulled into Red Rocks State Park. I found it on rvparkreviews.com. I appreciate the info on the road situation for sure!

On a side note, it is really pretty out here with interesting rock formations. If (!) I get up early enough in the morning I will check out the sunrise since we are right up against the canyon. Lots of space, far enough away from the highway and train tracks to not be an issue, and water/electric for $20. They have rodeo grounds, horse boarding, and a hot air balloon launch area. (Not that any of that applies to us but just an FYI). Fortunately, just about the time we arrived the wind was dying down. There is a real fine sand here, it looked really pretty in ripples from the wind but not sure how great it would be for an extended stay when windy. Several other RVs here.

We went into Gallup for fuel and dinner. Ate at Jerry's, off Route 66 and 3rd Street, no tamales but outstanding salsa (like the best ever!), red chile, and sopapillas. The chicken enchiladas and chile rellenos were good, but not outstanding. But I'd definitely come back just for the salsa. That's the trip report from Gallup. On to Amarillo tomorrow.

 

[Lynn1130]

Sorry, I can't help with RV parks in Amarillo since I usually make the turn at Tucumcari and head for Dalhart/Guyman but I can tell you that it will be windy, again, and Amarillo is as flat as it can be so you have the danger of wind and dust again. Good luck and since the front is passing the wind is going to switch and may cut fuel mileage down considerably. Oh, and there are some passes that you will be going through in NM that will have some high danger of cross winds and blowing dust including the flats into Albuquerque. Several of the passes have windsocks to help but it was blowing so hard one time that the sock was blown over at one location. Once through Albuquerque and over Tijeras ( long climb out of Albuquerque) it gets flat and dusty again. As I recall the weather last night was forecasting some nasty stuff for the Plains (Amarillo) so keep checking and watching. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[TravelTiger]

We like the Oasis RV Park just west of Amarillo on I-40. Great pull throughs, easy in/out. All paved, no trees but that's ok for overnight.


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[gwalter]

We stayed at the Ft Amarillo in Feb when heading to Kerville. It was a good experience. Gander Mountain is right next for.

 

[bobca1]

Arrived in Williams this afternoon, little breezy on the way but did not feel unsafe. The condition of the road between Kingman and Williams is worse than the wind!

 

[Lynn1130]

Wait till you get to Winslow/Holbrook it gets even more exciting. The front is long past Williams and is in NM and Texas.

 

[bobca1]

Williams is as far East as I am going... Grand Canyon next 2 days then back to Havasu for the weekend. So I lucked out this time came through day after big wind event.