Ladies & Gents,
My new job involves pulling double deckers, mostly on a coastal run where the chance of very strong winds is high. Just wondering if anyone could pass on some tips other than a change of underwear and not let my arse chew the seat too much?
Cheers
Double deckers are ■■■■ full stop. 
Watch out what time of day you drive(land & sea breezes etc) & watch out for bridges…
Left the ferry terminal at Dublin Port a few weeks ago with a double decker, too big for the tunnel so a jaunt through the city centre as I was tipping in Dublin. Followed the sat-nav no problem and reached my destination… heading back out was a different story though. The road closures took me into unknown territory, got totally lost and hoped the sat-nav would help me out but I ended up in residential streets, cars double parked, junctions I thought I wouldn’t get out of and weight restrictions. But the arse-clenching moment came when I came across a level crossing with about a 5inch clearance from the overhead power lines and the top of the trailer 
…didn’t think I was ever gonna get out of there !!!
Don’t drive with the curtains open unless you have barn doors, no matter how windy it is.
FarnboroughBoy11:
Don’t drive with the curtains open unless you have barn doors, no matter how windy it is.
…and even then… DONT!
The thin tin roof’s are very flimsy and dont take much to blow the panels off if travelling with curtains open.
Sam Millar:
Ladies & Gents,My new job involves pulling double deckers, mostly on a coastal run where the chance of very strong winds is high. Just wondering if anyone could pass on some tips other than a change of underwear and not let my arse chew the seat too much?
Cheers
I’m assuming you mean the A77 to Cairnryan. We send 3 deckers down there every night and our drivers never have any problems when its windy. If it is that road you are on about, then you won’t be driving that fast anyway so theoretically you’ll be less likely to get blown over anyway.
I pull a decker every day and personally don’t find it any worse or scarier than one of our 14ft singles when it’s windy.
trubster:
FarnboroughBoy11:
Don’t drive with the curtains open unless you have barn doors, no matter how windy it is.…and even then… DONT!
The thin tin roof’s are very flimsy and dont take much to blow the panels off if travelling with curtains open.
I must say, I did it a few times with the 16 footer I hauled around when really windy, I knew about the roof scenario but rather that, than going over, right though always tied them inside the rear doors. Hated that fg trailer, nightmare on general haul.
Double deckers usually sit on smaller wheels, and considering the chassis is the majority of the weight (when empty) this gives them a LOWER centre of gravity than a normal trailer, when loaded, as long as it’s not loaded like an arse (weight up top, light stuff or empty bottom) then I wouldn’t worry about dragging 1 around anywhere in any weather.
I was bringing an empty 1 back from Glasgow to Manchester last year when the winds were REALLY bad, and the only bit that caught me off guard and actually worried me was that little bridge over a small river or road on the M6, hills either side, then this little bridge which just seemed to be a conduit for all the wind pushed me that hard I was drifting into the hard shoulder and didn’t want to ‘jerk’ the steering wheel incase that caused me to have a lie down on the motorway.
BUT, it was fine, just held it and once back behind the hills I regained my lane fully.
As someone else mentioned, worse things with deckers (and tall trailers - we run 15’8") is diversions, especially reversing back from bridges 
Been pulling them for nearly 10 years and never had a problem. If it is really windy slow down a bit - but you would anyway, wouldn’t you?
A lot is to do with the loading, and you have to be strict with loaders as to what goes on the top deck. Put simply - the weight should be less towards the back on the top deck and heavy stuff on the bottom deck. Don’t let the headboard be too light either. Get it wrong and you’ll be sea-sick within 10 minutes 
Don’t ever drive with the curtains open, and keep them reasonably tight. Loose curtains act like a drum skin and can make the effect of the wind worse.
Use common sense and you’ll be fine.
Markoc - AFAIK all power/phone lines are the same as bridges - they have to be above the approved height 16’ 6". But I know how you felt!
I’d rather pull a decker in the wind than a normal. The center of gravity is lower, it’s a much more stable platform. If they have weight on it’s a bonus.
You just have to make sure that it’s loaded right. Get all the weight down as low as possible.
damoq:
Sam Millar:
Ladies & Gents,My new job involves pulling double deckers, mostly on a coastal run where the chance of very strong winds is high. Just wondering if anyone could pass on some tips other than a change of underwear and not let my arse chew the seat too much?
Cheers
I’m assuming you mean the A77 to Cairnryan. We send 3 deckers down there every night and our drivers never have any problems when its windy. If it is that road you are on about, then you won’t be driving that fast anyway so theoretically you’ll be less likely to get blown over anyway.
I pull a decker every day and personally don’t find it any worse or scarier than one of our 14ft singles when it’s windy.
How do you know? 
Interesting stories about the deckers being the preferred trailer in winds, cheers for that fellas.
Sam Millar:
damoq:
Sam Millar:
Ladies & Gents,My new job involves pulling double deckers, mostly on a coastal run where the chance of very strong winds is high. Just wondering if anyone could pass on some tips other than a change of underwear and not let my arse chew the seat too much?
Cheers
I’m assuming you mean the A77 to Cairnryan. We send 3 deckers down there every night and our drivers never have any problems when its windy. If it is that road you are on about, then you won’t be driving that fast anyway so theoretically you’ll be less likely to get blown over anyway.
I pull a decker every day and personally don’t find it any worse or scarier than one of our 14ft singles when it’s windy.
How do you know?
Interesting stories about the deckers being the preferred trailer in winds, cheers for that fellas.
It was just a lucky guess.