Tyres losing traction

You get fwd vans for a few reasons , cheaper to build , lower flat floor possible, the two main ones. Most vans dont run near max load , for most of their time, and dont go off bitumen . Its not surprising that problems arise when you use them for building motorhomes .
 
Hymer do a 4 wheel drive option on some of their Mercedes based Vans, but at a premium of £10300 - £10800.

Mercedes are also making a front wheel drive Sprinter, on which Hymer have based the B Class Modern Comfort vans. Because there is no drive shaft to the rear wheels the chassis can be about 6 inches lower. I've ordered a Hymer BMCT 580 so I hope Mercedes 1st front wheel drive Sprinter is OK
 
Buy a merc or Iveco. Proper drive axle position or at least it was untill the new model Sprinter came out.
 
I think shoz was pretty brave going up that hill in a motorhome it is narrow and very steep. It can also be very busy going up in the morning and down in the afternoon. A big chance of meeting someone in the opposite direction. It's not that easy just walking up or should I say panting up.
 
Buy a merc or Iveco. Proper drive axle position or at least it was untill the new model Sprinter came out.
I have a rear wheel drive Sprinter based Hymer. It does not solve every problem and comes at the expense of weight, floor height and underfloor storage. My next motorhome will be front wheel drive because I want to stay below 3500kg and will have to accept the possibility that in some circumstances there may be less traction.
 
I have a rear wheel drive Sprinter based Hymer. It does not solve every problem and comes at the expense of weight, floor height and underfloor storage. My next motorhome will be front wheel drive because I want to stay below 3500kg and will have to accept the possibility that in some circumstances there may be less traction.
Lack of underfloor storage? My Geist has quite a bit but it is in external lockers
 
Had a top end Hymer with full underfloor storage in outside lockers.
It could legally take over 1000kg, BUT, I was always on my hands and knees.
Not good when a person is getting oldish!
Isn’t it easier with outside lockers than underfloor where you have to lift floor panels though? Most things get more difficult as you get older Graham lol
 
It's probably because I'm old school, but I hate front wheel drive. It's too much to ask the front wheels to do everything, especially in a large vehicle. Hence it took me nearly two years to find the right motorhome for me, transit with twin rear wheels. More payload and all the grip you'll ever need.
 
Many thanks for all the responses - they confirm the thoughts I already had.

Grippier tyres are my favourite suggestion, but I think I'm going to have to accept that I can't take a 3.4 tonne van where I used to take a T4.
 
Well I do remember a rugby playing (solid) mate one having to get out my Honda Civic and keep bouncing up and down on the front number to maintain traction in snow. Not really advisable to use this method though lol
 
Well I do remember a rugby playing (solid) mate one having to get out my Honda Civic and keep bouncing up and down on the front number to maintain traction in snow. Not really advisable to use this method though lol
Always said you had strange friends ?
 
What I have done when in similar situations in my FWD MH is to stop when I see a really steep hill and move weight forward to the cab from the habitation area, if that's possible. We have 2 extra water containers, a battery booster pack and tool box that are all easy to move, That has always mainly worked for us, apart from stupid drivers coming down hill forcing us to pull over into the mud then having to reverse like you did. In the future I might try wider tyres on the front of the camper as I have a spare set of wheel and tyre. Steepest angle has so far been 16% in this MH no problem at all in the dry, some loss in the wet.

I have some traction issues with my FWD car, I fitted the next size up wider tyres on that, that has cured the issue on the car. I also have standard size winter tyres for the car, have snow chains but never used them, yet. On mine the standard narrower size snow flake tyres seem to bite and grip through the snow better, that's with the softer rubber.

The winter tyres, (snow flake), also grip better in the summer when in the wet, that's over the standard size tyres, the wider tyres that I have for the car are M&S but a harder rubber than the winter tyres. Next winter I will probably run the car on snow flake on the front and M&S on the rear; That's because I have worn some tyres down but also the wider tyres have a higher weight load, handy in my estate car.

Yes, 4WD, RWD, and split drive, electric motor rear and engine at the front would all be better options than what we have at the moment, unfortunately they aren't really feasible to existing FWD MH.

Hope this helps.
 

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