Steve Rainwater/Flickr Creative Commons
As the famous Stevie Ray Vaughan song goes, “It’s flooding down in Texas, and all the of the telephone lines are down.”
Well y’all, that epic Wrath of God drought we’ve been sitting in these last eight years or so seems to have had a dent put in it with all this rain we’ve enjoyed this spring. Texas is green as Ireland right now, and like the Emerald Isle, it’s been damp! So today I though we’d talk a little bit about driving in those flooded areas.
I reckon the simplest tip for driving an RV in flooded areas is: if you don’t have to, then DON’T. Sure your vehicle is heavier than the average car, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay on the road any better if there’s flowing water running across it. Furthermore, we’ve seen enough roads wash out these last couple weeks that you heavier-than-the-average-vehicle could easily punch through the surface of the asphalt if water you can’t see is running underneath it. How many sinkholes in flooded roads have we seen on TV? Quite a few. Heck they even shut down DFW airport a few weeks back because of a sinkhole near the runway.
Another thing to think about when you’re trying to decided wether or not to try and cross water flowing over the roadway is just how much side area your RV has. It’s got to be something like 65-75% percent side area, think how much force that water is going to exert on the side of your vehicle, then think how SMALL the footprint of your tires on the pavement is. That tiny little amount of tire on the roadway with a little weight on it is supposed to hold you vehicle against water pushing against the side of the RV? The side of the RV that’s big as a billboard? Also that water will also flow underneath your motorhome thus causing your land yacht to be a non-steerable, non-powered water yacht.
Let’s drive smart out there people. Unless you are in danger of being washed away, leave you RV where it is and we’ll discuss insurance in another blog. Like the Texas DPS says everywhere: TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN!
Hey there… did PPL Motors lot get flooded at all?
We did not. Thank goodness. Thanks for asking, Janelle!