I think I spoke way too soon. This is February in the Pacific Northwest. There might be a better day or two, but this is still February in the Pacific Northwest which mean high winds and rain. We have had gust up to 46 mph with sustained wind of 30 mph. It is suppose to calm down in the next few hours to the typical 10-15 mph but until then….
UGH!
Since we are the only RV in the retreat center camp host spot, which has 2 full hook up sites, we did not want to park the typical East/West direction with a view of a building but facing North/South so we could have a perfect view of the water and Whidbey Island and the Cascade Mountains, Mt Baker and at times Mt Rainier.
Worth it!
The only issue we have had with this setup, is when the wind comes from the Southeast, it hits our main slide out and shakes the whole rig and when the wind is over 35 mph + the canvas cover over the main slide out flaps in the wind since it is getting hit on the edge so the wind is traveling between the canvas and the top of the slide out like a sail.
There is really nothing we can do to stop this short of pulling the slide out in and living in a even more confined space, and from experience that is just plain miserable to live in.
Now, I kind of wish we pulled in the slide out when the winds are over 35 mph. But reality is, it just isn’t practical.
I went out today to take a better look at the canvas cover and it’s destroyed. There is a 14″+ rip where the canvas meets the RV on the left side and one of the three straps was so chewed from flapping against the edge of the slide out, I just pulled it off to save time from having to do it later.
We think anything over 50 mph we will bring in our slide out. But until then, we will weather the storm.
I tried to figure out what the best thing to do is, and at this time, I can’t think of anything. The damage has been done to the existing cover. It will need to be replaced. I don’t want to start putting straps on or weight or whatever on top, since I don’t want the extra weight on the slide out roof, and if the winds did get over 50 mph, I would rather be able to pull it in without having to get a ladder to “free it”.
We estimate this will cost $350-$400 to replace. I have been thinking on this all day and short of pulling the slide out in every time, I can think of no other option we had. The canvas is 12 years old and weak. The wind is strong and constant with the wind coming from the Southeast the angle it’s hitting it is “the perfect storm”.
Since we have been here the wind has hit us from every direction, so short of pulling the slide out in every time or parking in different directions every time the wind shifts, I have not yet figured out what we could have done to prevent this.
We had the canvas replaced with a “vinyl” cover over the bedroom a few months ago due to the same reason, the canvas just gave away. That cost $175. And so far it appears to be holding up, but we have a pretty good wind break protecting us from the West winds. We have been hit by winds from the West, and they rock the RV more then the winds from the East, but they don’t hit the cover on the edge like is happening with the main slide out.
Ok, enough about this subject.
We also have been dealing with internet issues. We had 3 MiFi hotspot’s. 2 used the Verizon network, and the 3rd on the AT&T network. Recently our unlimited MiFi has been cut off with zero chance of coming back so we are now down to 2 and both of those are iffy in the best of times. We do plan to get a 3rd one again, also on the Verizon network, but until then, we have been fighting to get and stay online enough to get our work done.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the last few weeks. It is not all “doom and gloom” here, I just can not think of too many happy thoughts at the moment due to the constant winds getting on my nerves and the internet of tubes is too unreliable so I want to get this posted before the tube burst.
Enjoy the night.