Hurricanes in the RV: Stay or Run?

The end of Hurricane Season is finally here. This season marked the fourth different way we handled our storm season. So this now this brings me to a question that we have asked every year, and with every storm, what should we do to protect our family?

I just asked our teenager, “If a storm is coming, what are our options?” After the ‘what?’ look, he finally answered. No quote here, I’ll paraphrase: tie the RV down and hope for the best, or hook up and run.

I think he covered the biggest question, but I’m going to add some yes/no questions in to help with the decision.

We all know our rigs are not designed for severe weather. I would not want to be in one during a tornado, a hurricane, and some times I don’t even want to be in it during a summer thunderstorm in Florida.

Here are the 4 different experiences we have had with hurricanes.

1: Living in a block house 60 miles in-land
With a direct hit coming, we boarded up all the windows, got our hurricane kit finalized, and worried the whole time as the winds broad sided our house for 12 hours. This was during Irma (2017, named retired). Our city and area suffered, and damages were apparent for years following. It was nerve wracking listening to the trees creaking, and every bump in the night got our attention. It seems lately most of the storms coming through the area are at night.

2: Parked 50 miles in-land at home base
Our first year full timing, we were at home base when a named storm was coming through. The rig was only about 7 months old at that time. We had access to a concrete block building at the time, so we decided to not move the rig. We were on high land, so I was not worried about flooding, but the wind was going to be an issue.

We secured the windows in the block house we were at. Made sure the hurricane kit was prepared for everyone there. Made sure we had gas for the generator, water for drinking, and then debated on how to prepare the rig for the coming onslaught of wind.

We filled the fresh water tanks, I think we filled the waste water tanks, and then the bright idea of tying the axles to the ground. I found some mobile home tiedowns, put them in the ground a few feet on either side of the axles, and used heavy duty rachet straps ran over the axles.

Then we waited. The storm passed, and we went out to assess the damages. Our rig had survived the storm with no damage. BUT the anchors that were 2 feet in the ground has wallowed out a 4″ cone where the stakes had moved. That leads me to believe the rig was being shook all night long (did you sing it?)

3. Parked 4 miles inland, Inside the cone of uncertainty
No safe building to hunker down in. We knew that was not the place that we wanted to stay. We decided that we were self-contained and we could pack up and leave. We had enough time to head north to get out of the path of that storm. It did chase us all the way to Virginia, but we were able to stay safe and avoid it by running. With land fall in Florida, we stayed inland at a campground in Georgia. We saw some wind there, but it was only a long lived mild event.

4. 2024 our travels took us outside the state of Florida during hurricane season
With the amount of devastation this year, I am glad we were out of the way and not a drain on resources. I feel bad for the others who were in its path.

We still had a lot of anxiety watching as major storms passed on top of our family and friends, but we did not have to worry about our home (the RV) being safe because we were across the country. Luckily, all our friends were safe.

After thinking back on 4 different Hurricane seasons, I am glad we are mobile with the RV and can leave an area that may have severe weather. This may not be an option all the time, so we make sure to have a plan in place PRIOR to hurricane season starting.

With some of these ideas in mind, you must decide what the best way is to keep your family safe. This is a decision each family has to make. But here is my input on this. Nothing is worth your life. It is better to evacuate and be safe than to not evacuate and die. We have insurance to cover material items and even though it is difficult system to navigate it is better to replace some items than to lose a friend or family.

Being in the RV community, we have mobility on our side, which means if there’s a situation that we do not feel comfortable we can pack up and leave. This goes for both storms and bad situations or campgrounds where we do not feel comfortable.

If you are in a scenario where you cannot leave then you have the option to make sure that your rig is protected as possible, and then evacuate to a safer area.
Be safe out there!