As visions from my past raced though my mind, I prayed for one more day, just one more day so I could say goodbye to my mother and friends, some of whom I had not talked with for years. We never stop to think how precious a gift our lives are until we are faced with the possibility of losing it.
Most storms don’t bother me in the least, usually I go to bed and think nothing of it. But this one was different and I admit being afraid. My trailer rocked and shook as the winds howled passed, I knew for sure it would be ripped to pieces or fly off the foundation, myself and trailer never to be seen again.
The next day news of the storm and sighting of tornadoes filled local conversation, according to news reports the tornado had a width of 200 yards and winds reaching 135 mph. The storm damaged several homes, ripped apart trees and caused power outages all over the county.
I was lucky, having only received heavy rain, strong wind and lightning, the actual tornado missing my place by several miles. But this got me thinking, what could I do to make my trailer stand up against similar storms in the future.
My first thought and cheapest to implement was some sort of tie downs. I could drive metal fence posts into the ground at an angle, all the way down to within maybe six inches from the top of the post. Drill holes though the top of the posts and attach airplane cable across the top of the trailer and around the frame at the bottom. Tension could be taken up with metal tighteners.
Another idea is to concrete steel beams into the ground along the outside walls, all the way up to the top of the trailer and welding a cross piece front to back essentially locking the trailer into place. This should keep it from blowing over, but the sides could still be collapsed from a direct hit.
Have any ideas? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. After all it could save my life and make you a hero…
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