# Skidding



## chopper (May 22, 2005)

HI

i have a tracker and this weekend went away on recently rained on CL and the van was like Bambi on ice, the grass was short the field was level, swapped last year from a Trigano tribute that never got stuck once no matter what the ground was like, this weekend was the first (in the tracker) time not on hard standing and am greatly disappointed at its performance!

now i must state that on entering the cl i filled up the water tank which is located at the back of the tracker, and filled it to the top, would this have affected how the van behaved as in my view it must have made it rear heavy and front light, or am i wrong

any advice would be grateful as i don't want it to be the end of rallying on fields and only able to go to (expensive) club sites with hard standing!!!!!!!!!!

Keith


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi
Like yourself,that would be my first thought,but having worked off road with road vehicles,different types of tyres can change the whole characteristics of a vehicles grip. I am sure that the tyres on your motor,will be of a reputable brand,but some lesser brands i am sure are made of Bakerlite type compounds so although they never wear out,they don't grip either.
Another tip to try is to use a higher gear as possible,and try to trickle it off. In future carry some modified bread trays and when parking on grass roll the drive wheels onto these the tyres will not sink in to far,and it gives you some momentum forward to get the weight rolling for when you hit the grass .Hope this helps,i have my mate 'Skip Rat' looking for more supplies as i write this.
Good luck.
Jented


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm sure the extra weight on the rear axle will have had an effect but the other matter to consider is the tyre pressures on the front wheels. If you are running with the front tyres inflated towards their maximum pressures then this will certainly adversely affect the handling on wet grass. This link may be of interest http://www.motorcaravanning.com/vehicles/tyres.htm


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Sounds to me as if you should have reversed off. you will need to carry the bread trays or similar.

cabby


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

We rally with our van all year round and more often than not on wet grass.

I have several bread-crate bases which I can make a small road way to get moving on, I also park on these so stop the van sinking in.

I have changed the front tyres to the M&S rated tyres to give more grip and run the front pressures at 65 psi to help with traction.

I also have a set of snow chains for when the above fails, these make a huge difference. But are messy to put on and take off.


Richard...


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

For interest:-
My 2002, rear lounge Tracker.
Weighed last year fully loaded.
Front axle 1260Kg.
Rear axle 1750Kg.

There is no way to put more weight at the front!

The maximum allowed weights are 1650 and 1750.

I've never been stuck but I am extremely careful when on wet grass and occasionally have to rock backwards and forwards to move! :wink:

PS. I use the latest Michelin Agilis camping tyres.


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi 
Just read EJB's letter,and we had Michelin Agilis on our PVC renault,a couple of times the ground looked wet and dodgy but we got off OK,so could be worth remembering.
Jented


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Richard

65psi seems VERY high for a front wheel tyre pressure!!

The higher the pressure the stiffer and more rigid the tyre will be, on a slippery surface this is exactly what you DONT want!!

Serious off roaders often run at very LOW pressures in order to get as much grip as possible.

Chopper

Wet grass is about as slippery as ice so a very high gear and gentle throttle use is what is req. 

If its very slippy I would use third gear, NO throttle and let the clutch up very very VERY slowly. that way the engine management computer will try very very hard not to let the engine stall and it should enable you to just "chug" along untill you get decent traction.


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

Mrplodd said:


> Richard
> 
> 65psi seems VERY high for a front wheel tyre pressure!!
> 
> ...


Using a load based calculation for my Vehicle with 225/75R16 tyres and a Axel weight of 2100KGS 65psi is the correct calculation.

Richard


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## Otto-de-froste (May 20, 2005)

Centre of Gravity.........

The Tribute has rear wheels right at the back

Our 650 was reasonable on grass and handled very well on fast roads

Previous Bessy E445 and current E460 have long rear overhang, storage behind the rear wheel
They go nowhere when it's even the slightest bit slippery

The Tracker, I understand has a rear kitchen & washroom

Current E460 drive very well, but feels light and floaty at the front even on dry roads

You could try keeping as much stuff as possible in front of the rear wheels when on the road (subject to it being stored safely of course)
Otherwise, as stated by others, try to use higher gears, slip the clutch a bit and no throttle 


Otto


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## chopper (May 22, 2005)

thank you to all that have made their comments known.

regards

keith


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