Heading out to Billings next week (Bozeman, Livingston: rental, living, moving)

[beaverfan]

After wanting to move to Montana for the past five years, it's finally going to happen. My wife and three young kids are packing up a moving truck and heading out next Thursday (5/1). I'm a little nervous about driving a big 24' Budget rental truck through Livingston/Big Timber on I-90. I've heard the wind howls pretty bad through there. Is it bad enough to blow big trailers over? Does anyone have any advice for how to drive through these windy areas without ending up in the ditch? I'm trying to find a link that will let me know how bad the weather is in these areas. I guess the one good thing is that the truck will be loaded up pretty good.

Derek

[rickers]

It's time to hide from the wind when you see the big rigs pulled over. If it's going to be windy it's usually worse in the afternoon.

[rangerider]

If you are heading westbound, you'll likely be fighting a headwind most of the way - the winds usually round the corner at Livingston and head towards Billings. From about three miles west of Livingston to approximately the bridge over the Yellowstone just before Columbus hill is about the worst of it, with the max velocities occuring from about Reedpoint to that point three miles west of Lvn.

Straight on winds aren't going to bother you a lot, but there are several areas along I-90 where you catch sidewinds. There are also a couple spots where you pull through canyon cuts that swirl around a bit, and they can catch you off guard. I pulled that stretch a lot when I was tanking fuel out of Billings - being round in configuration, they don't have a big problem with the sidewinds, but it still can make you nervous when gusts get over about 50 or so mph.

There are wind socks periodically along I-90 - watch for them and drive carefully when you see them about 2/3 extended or more. Slowing down sure helps but high winds will still destabilize your truck. Know your route and that way you'll be able to know where the little towns are that you can pull off to if it gets too bad. There are gates across the interstate on either side of Livingston - they'll close them if the crosswinds get too bad. I'm not sure if they close the frontage road alongside the interstate going west, but that'd be another option - still have to fight the sometimes nasty crosswinds, tho.

Tune into KPRK AM in Livingston, 1340 on the dial. They usually do a good job of keeping the road conditions on the air. There's also at least one DOT transmitting station alongside the highway that will constantly broadcast updates. There's also a couple of big warning signs - one's just east of Bozeman, another just west of Livingston, and I can't remember just where the third is.

Take it easy and listen to the weather, slow down and stop if you have to. I've seen a lot of rigs that tried to push their luck and lost along that stretch. I've had a trip or two that I was nervous even with a tanker trailer; it was mostly late afternoon or early evening trips, and I know I was fighting 70+ mph winds. If you go easy you'll do fine.

[bigtrees]

Yes, the wind can easily be strong enough to blow a truck over if it's in the right direction. You'll know ahead of time (they warn on the radio and also have flashing lights) so I wouldn't worry about it.

But to give you an idea of how intense the wind can be, it has blown trains right off the tracks in some parts of the state. Not frequently, but it has happened in the past.

[beaverfan]

Thank you all very much for the info!!! Rangerider, I appreciate all the details you provided...that's exactly what I was looking for.

[rubydi]

also be careful to watch for deer and antelope. a couple of years ago the deer were exceptionally thick around Big Timber