Tyres losing traction

Shoz

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On a couple of occasions I’ve had problems with the front tyres losing traction, both times going up fairly steep slopes.

The first time was on the hill going out of Coniston to the start of the Walna Scar road, and was down to the numptie coming down who drove past an obvious passing place, causing me to stop – he reversed back to the passing place, but I couldn’t get any traction and had to reverse about 50 metres to take a run at it.

The second time was the hill coming out of Elgol, and this time it was down to me – I took the hill too slowly in first when I should have had a good run at it. The torque in first gear broke the grip between the front wheels and the road, and again I had to reverse and get a good run at it. Had it been busy I could have had a problem.

I’ve got Michelin Agilis Camping tyres all round, with 60 psi at the front and 75 psi at the rear. The van is a Boxer Autocruise rated at 3.4 tonnes.

I don't think I'm overloaded, though I haven't weighed the van. Any thoughts/observations?
 
Maybe lower the front PSI to 55 or so 60 seems a bit too much.
Rear will not make any difference to grip but again seems a bit high..
All depends on tyre size my wheels/tyres are quite big so I am happy at lower pressures.
I have seen many Fiat based vehicle with "Small Wheels"
 
Yes my bet is to heavy at the rear. Have you ever been on a weigh bridge loaded You'll need to weigh both axles as well as complete weight payload is approx 380kg so 2 passengers tank of water 2 full gas bottles awning any other extras you can't afford to carry to much
 
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SeeSaw effect

Many years ago someone i used to work with had fright of his life when similar happened especially as there was a steep drop to the side of the road and he struggled to stop it rolling backwards
 
You Need to get on a weighbridge pdq. Without the knowledge of how heavy you are, or where all the weight is distributed, you could potentially be dangerously loaded. Do you have any idea what your payload is?
 
Hi did you ingage the traction + the buton down beside the gear stick with a T+ when it is engaged and it picks up a wheel is lousing traction it brakes that wheel switching to the wheel that has most traction.
 
All of the above, weight, weight distribution, tyre pressures and tyre construction can all affect traction. There are many tyres in the Agilis range and for some of them there are claims of increased traction. Interestingly this claim is not made for the Camping tyre, which claims attributes specific to motorhome use. It is probably no worse than other Camping tyres (I am no expert) but perhaps we all sacrifice some traction for the construction and pressures needed for the permanent heavy loads associated with motorhomes.
 
Going uphill gives even lower weight on front. You then need even lower pressure on front to get more gripp, but you cant keep liwering and highering the pressure.
When you weigh per axle, I can calculate a safe lowest pressure for on road at normal speed, and it can give some better gripp.
But other trick is to keep your foot of the gass. Most cars then have an engine management that takes care the motor dont shut down.
Then you use the maximum gripp, the tires can handle, and then probably no slipping.
Try it out on a straight road , in the beginning a scary idea, but it could help, and costst you nothing.
 
All of the above is sound advice. But let’s face it, it’s front wheel drive, learn to live with it. It’s not a problem you’ll have every day, is it?
Check axel weights by all means. You know you’ll end up scaring yourself silly over your gross weight . ?
 
It all goes down to the design and construction of all long wheelbase motorhomes that use the Sevel built engine/chassis/gearbox units (Peugeot Boxer/Citroen Relay/Fiat Ducato) all of which are front wheel drive.

Throughout Europe and the UK I know of quite literally thousands of up hill road junctions where even in the dry it would be difficult to gain enough traction for a fast get away and in the wet, it would be impossible!

It honestly does bring into question whether or not these should be allowed onto the open road, after all, you never see any FWD lorries do you?
 
What happens is that when you start off the weight of your motorhome shifts to the rear wheels. It’s like doing a wheel stand on a bike. So the front is lighter and the tyres loose traction. Weighing you rig won’t fix this but will help you work out how to put more weight forward but it’s pretty tough to put enough weight forward
You will help with lower tyre pressure but run the risk of overheat them on the road if left low.
Pay to look for some grippier tyres which are available from reputable tyre suppliers who will also check the weight and speed rating requirements before recommending a tyre
Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10 are an example

https://m.hankooktire.com/us/tire/passenger-cars/hankook-dynapro-at-m-rf10.html

Hope this helps
 
Shoz said:
On a couple of occasions I’ve had problems with the front tyres losing traction, both times going up fairly steep slopes.

The first time was on the hill going out of Coniston to the start of the Walna Scar road, and was down to the numptie coming down who drove past an obvious passing place, causing me to stop – he reversed back to the passing place, but I couldn’t get any traction and had to reverse about 50 metres to take a run at it.

The second time was the hill coming out of Elgol, and this time it was down to me – I took the hill too slowly in first when I should have had a good run at it. The torque in first gear broke the grip between the front wheels and the road, and again I had to reverse and get a good run at it. Had it been busy I could have had a problem.

I’ve got Michelin Agilis Camping tyres all round, with 60 psi at the front and 75 psi at the rear. The van is a Boxer Autocruise rated at 3.4 tonnes.

I don't think I'm overloaded, though I haven't weighed the van. Any thoughts/observations?
Click to expand...
Not much you can do when you run out of traction, it's a function of slope, tyre grip and weight with the transmission willing but insufficient friction. ... vehicle solutions, ... ditch some weight, try reducing tyre pressures, switch to softer tyre compounds and different tread patterns, spread the torque loading with 4 wheel drive, consider the road / track surface and slope and your road vehicles limits, and be kind to your clutch .. lol
 
If one was to reverse for extra traction most vans have higher gearing than first and one would need convenient turning spaces.
I suspect excessive tail heavy loading and perhaps tired tyres.
If the road is this steep perhaps one should avoid it!
 
Let's face it, the base vehicles that are available to be used for Motorhomes are just delivery vans, designed for town and motorways. Drive, or even worse, park with one wheel on a damp patch, especially if it is grass, and you have the potential to get stuck. It should come as no suprise they lose traction on a steep hill.

Given how many Motorhomes that there are on the road now, with more new ones being registered all the time, I'm suprised that a van manufacturer has not come up with a genuine bespoke motorhome chassis.
 
I am no expert on vehicles 4wd etc etc.
BUT surely a good option could be a bit like Toyota prius
ie Electrically driven wheels with and engine or generator to supply the juice.
It should not be beyond the wit of those who know to have all wheel drive.
Considering how much we pay for the habitation area a slight premium on extra base vehicle cost would be worth it.
Presumably batteries could be built in forward to assist with front/rear balancing.
Depending on the solution to supply the leccy the vehicle should be pretty green emission wise !
 
jagmanx said:
I am no expert on vehicles 4wd etc etc.
BUT surely a good option could be a bit like Toyota prius
ie Electrically driven wheels with and engine or generator to supply the juice.
It should not be beyond the wit of those who know to have all wheel drive.
Considering how much we pay for the habitation area a slight premium on extra base vehicle cost would be worth it.
Presumably batteries could be built in forward to assist with front/rear balancing.
Depending on the solution to supply the leccy the vehicle should be pretty green emission wise !
Click to expand...

Ferdinand Porsche, not just famous for chucking engines way out back.

Lohner-Porsche
 
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