Transit wheelspin-is it just us?

[DrDeath]

We acquired our virtually new transit based Bailey Adamo this time last year. We have spent about 20 weeks in it since including ten in France and Spain.
It’s a 160hp van and travels effortlessly on motorways and A roads BUT any attempt to get tasty at roundabouts or lights and the front wheels light up!!
Also very poor on wet campsites!
The question I ask is in essence, is there something wrong with the Ford chassis or something wrong with the Bailey weight distribution? Or nothing wrong at all??
It’s the only motorhome we’ve driven!
Many thanks for your input

 

[Tea Bag]

They are based on a commercial chassis. They are not built for getting tasty. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Hi.
Its all in the " Judging the Flow " at roundabouts. Our Fiat Ducato has an inbuilt " Roundabout Soother ",,,,,,,,,, If you have Quick feet it can go into limp mode...... Me ?.. I would settle for just Wheel spin..... " Kummin Threw !! "...... JOKE.
Tea Bag

 

[DrDeath]

I have run my own small fleets. Including sprinters and original FWD Mercedes Vitos. The sprinters when loaded up Would go anywhere, even deep snow.

The Vitos when delivered on factory fit tyres, would literally slide down the hill from our car park.

So when we bought a motorhome, I decided it had to be RWD sprinters.

Two were twin rear wheel and one was single rear wheel drive. Excellent grip and the first one, 416cdi chassis would drive through deep snow with ease. Always preferred propulsion over traction.

I was worried when we bought our current, older Fiat Hymer. After towing my brothers Fiat off wet grass in France and seeing lots of others getting stuck.

But this Hymer we have is fairly heavy over the front axle. Water tank, diesel tank, batteries, gas bottle along with driver and passenger over the front axle. Engine and gearbox too !. Makes for great traction.

It’s not just about driving wheels. I’ve driven up a steep hill in an Audi A2 FWD with winter tyres in snow. The same hill an AWD BMW X3 couldn’t.

I had to visit Someone up on a very steep Hill up to a farm in Derbyshire. They told me not to come as they could not get their AWD Volvo XC60 up and had to walk. I got up to the farm in our Toyota Previa, mid engine RWD with winter tyres. Same place, my sprinter van (not motorhome) drive up with ease.

My Range Rover isn’t great on all-season tyres !

Old Top Gear did a test of winter tyres vs 4wd on summer tyres-similar really
A lifetime ago I had a mazda mx-5 and where I lived the roads had a lot of camber centre to gutter. RWD mazda could not stay on the road while my colleague in a fwd fiesta whizzed around!
Put a bottle on it’s side, use a pencil and push it-almost impossible to go straight!!
Pull it and it will follow faithfully! Doesn’t speak to grip but tells which is easier to keep on the road!!
BMW suspension seems to preclude snow travel (I also had an M3) .
Earlier suggestion of Grabber AT might be worth trying, as I have had these on my evoque for years, softer ride than than standard pirellis but big improvement over muddy ground!

 

[Odd-no-more]

We had a rear wheel drive transit PVC,, on grass it was useless had to be towed many times I think part of the problem was no weight over the back wheels it had a rear washroom plus it was an auto, it did have the option to start in second gear but then the clutch slipped so much it didn't help. If I could afford it I would have a 4X4 MOHO.

 

[Guigsy]

I was at a campsite in St Ives at the beginning of the year. On leaving day, the VW Transporter next to me took 3 attempts to get up the wet grass hill to the road. He ended up just flooring it to get as much momentum as he could and tore the field up. My 6m Fiat A-class, I was expecting to have to call the warden to tow me. I just drove out without any slip.

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[Sapper520]

We had a rear wheel drive transit PVC,, on grass it was useless had to be towed many times I think part of the problem was no weight over the back wheels it had a rear washroom plus it was an auto, it did have the option to start in second gear but then the clutch slipped so much it didn't help. If I could afford it I would have a 4X4 MOHO.

We’ve got a Fiat PVC front wheel drive, it’s rubbish…..can just about get off damp grass on the flat! I’ve got plenty of experience with driving off road / recovery techniques etc, but the camper van tyres are pants off road…..and I wouldn’t call a grass pitch on a campsite ‘off road’.

Continental tyres, once they need changing I’m going for BFG’s or alike.

 

[Old Gibber]

I had a new 7m motorhome on a Ford chassis. It was 170bhp auto. Just to correct a few points raised earler:

1. The Ford chassis, unlike the Fiat, can be upgraded to 4200kg without any modifications to the tyres or suspension.
2. Tyre pressures on the Ford are lower than the Fiat. The max quoted on the tyres was 65psi, and I found between 55-60 psi OK for the front.

Yes, of course you can get wheelspin, but I can't remember it ever being an issue. I suspect most of the OP's problem is due to the guy in the driving seat. A motorhome is not a racing car, just allow a bit more time, and a lighter right foot.

 

[ivorantony]

Many years ago, we had our first 4-wheel drive Mitsubishi Shogun. We got stuck on a muddy field at Chatsworth House and were the laughingstock of everyone around us

Did you forget to lock the front hubs?

 

[Gina M]

Did you forget to lock the front hubs?

We were green as grass newbies to 4-wheel drives. I got us out of it and a man came over and asked me if I would try and get his girlfriend's car out of the mud, which I did to another round of applause

 

[DrDeath]

None taken
My wife has driven across Europe in the last few months (not rushing) and it was a recurring problem

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[martin2603]

Just an observation but the Bailey has a very long rear overhang from the rear axle which of course will reduce the weight distribution to the front for good traction . Some years ago we entered a site in Derbyshire in packed snow and ice , towing our I 10. We went up a hill onto the pitches and never slipped at all. Even amazed me! The only time we had a problem was returning to the tunnel from Rouen when there was a heavy deluge of snow. Everything stopped. When things started to move I cleared a few feet in front of the front wheels with a thin chopping board and away we went up the long hill.
It is a 5ton tag plenty of weight on the front .

 

[Odd-no-more]

Having driven many vans at work I've found front wheel drive is better in snow and rear wheel drive is better on grass

 

[bigtwin]

With motorhomes both axles are heavily laden to similar levels and I don’t see that FWD or RWD makes a lot of difference. As long as you keep the steering straight why is RWD seen as better?

I can see that throwing the weight backwards gives RWD better grip when accelerating on track or road. What I can’t see is that there is any great difference when pulling away gently on wet grass in straight line, which is what matters in a motorhome.

Front wheel drive cause the front suspension to extend which results in weight being transferred to the rear and reduces front grip. This effect is more pronounced if attempting a rapid take-off but occurs irrespective of the rate of acceleration.

Rear wheel drive causes the rear suspension to squat and improves rear grip.

Ian

 

[Pausim]

Front wheel drive cause the front suspension to extend which results in weight being transferred to the rear and reduces front grip. This effect is more pronounced if attempting a rapid take-off but occurs irrespective of the rate of acceleration.

Rear wheel drive causes the rear suspension to squat and improves rear grip.

Ian

I am sure you are technically correct but on wet grass the acceleration I use wouldn’t even rock a glass of water.

 

[EML]

Front wheel drive cause the front suspension to extend which results in weight being transferred to the rear and reduces front grip. This effect is more pronounced if attempting a rapid take-off but occurs irrespective of the rate of acceleration.

Rear wheel drive causes the rear suspension to squat and improves rear grip.

Ian

So RWD gives you better grip when accelerating. But, if you do get wheelspin when moving off at a roundabout, it's presumably more difficult to recover. Wet grass is something else, though. It feels like the bigger problem is turning the wheels as slowly as possible, and making sure that the turf remains attached to the earth underneath, which is down to contact area.

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[bigwood]

When we swapped to from Transit vans to Fiat and Talbot vans for breakdown work they were eating front tyres because of the weight they carried and towing. They all had an extra leaf put in the back springs and ran on winter tyres all year.
At one point a 4x4 Talbot van appeared I don’t think it was kept for long. Knowing our firm it was probably to exspensive.
We kept a few Transit 150,s for towing the heavier trailers. I always had a Transit from the start and the vehicle change policy was like for like.
Our Rienza is on a rear wheel drive chassis and quite a hard ride but so far we havnt been stuck. I am still wary of some grass pitches.

 

[Jonno1103]

They are based on a commercial chassis. They are not built for getting tasty. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.

It's a wide track motorhome specific chassis

We acquired our virtually new transit based Bailey Adamo this time last year. We have spent about 20 weeks in it since including ten in France and Spain.
It’s a 160hp van and travels effortlessly on motorways and A roads BUT any attempt to get tasty at roundabouts or lights and the front wheels light up!!
Also very poor on wet campsites!
The question I ask is in essence, is there something wrong with the Ford chassis or something wrong with the Bailey weight distribution? Or nothing wrong at all??
It’s the only motorhome we’ve driven!
Many thanks for your input

It sits on 235/16's which we've never had an issue with. Is your traction control turned off... do the Bailey's have it?

Even the 130ps wheel spins if you drive it like a Fiat.

 

[DrDeath]

It has a traction control button but I am yet to experience any meaningful effect

 

[Pausim]

It has a traction control button but I am yet to experience any meaningful effect

If it is similar to the Fiat one it will help you on wet grass but maybe not “to get tasty at roundabouts or lights”. The Fiat one is not a limited slip differential or anything sporty like that, it uses the ABS to brake a wheel that is starting to lose traction.

 

[DrDeath]

I will recheck the Ford manual
The “tasty” remark was a way of shortening my original post as I was losing the will to type any more!! Not a suggestion that I was trying to race or rally!

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[gus-lopez]

so second gear starts not really an option

That will just ruin the clutch.

We had a rear wheel drive transit PVC,, on grass it was useless had to be towed many times I think part of the problem was no weight over the back wheels

as I posted previously my rear wheel drive works vans always ran at 3,5t .I wouldn't even pull to one side on to a grass verge to let someone past in the lanes as you would never move it again.
My pvc also has Fords'anti stall' feature where as you let the clutch up & with right foot completely clear of the throttle the ecu increases the revs by 200 to prevent stalling.Easy to pull away on it.

 

[DrDeath]

No clutch
Fully automatic transmission

 

[Otter Spotter]

My considerations for a moho was not layout or pay load etc.. but was RWD.
It all depends on your style of camping...hardstanding etc you should be fine with FWD, however 90% of our trips are on rally fields or THS's or CL's/CS's so for me RWD is a must.
As an ex4X4 tugger I can not remember how many FWD mohos I have pulled off fields... sometimes dryish fields.
Can't however remember ever saving a RWD one though.

You won’t in the UK, al, the LHDs are in Spain

 

[poppycamper]

You won’t in the UK, al, the LHDs are in Spain

???