Motorhomes and mud (1 Viewer)

[Clarky]

Everyone says that Ducato's with FWD are useless on mud and wet grass.
This is our 4.5 tonne Carthago getting out of a very wet and muddy Dunsfold after Wings & Wheels and a wet Sunday night.



Richard.

 

[johnp10]

There's drivers.....then again, there's drivers!

 

[mariner]

Never had a Ducato or Boxer with traction control! My last one was a 2011.

All the ones I had were ok if you could keep moving, but crap if you had to stop.

I expect Traction Control has improved them.

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[MichelleRyall]

We have a 3500Kg Autoroller 707 on a Ducato with no traction control. We tow a trailer and had absolutely no chance of getting out of this on Monday. Tractor to the rescue. The photo doesn't really show how muddy it was. All good fun though

 

[RS_rob]

There's drivers.....then again, there's drivers!

Real Drivers don't have Auto Box's

 

[ianandkath]

opps,, im not a real driver then

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[johnp10]

Real Drivers don't have Auto Box's

I have a Ducatio.
No auto box, traction control.
Mud and wet grass, so far so good.

 

[DanielFord]

Never had a Ducato or Boxer with traction control! My last one was a 2011.

All the ones I had were ok if you could keep moving, but crap if you had to stop.

I expect Traction Control has improved them.

No, still crap! Got bogged down in Belgium last year with traction control, as long as you are rolling it is OK, but crap if you want to get started! We had to enlist the assistance of several burly men to get us rolling!

 

[RS_rob]

Funney enough I met a guy on a wet muddy site & the discussion ensued FWD vs RWD & i Agreed the most part about RWD being a lorry driver.

However RWD guy went & got stuck so FWD guy had to show how he cold pull RWD guy out of the MUD & then went on to turn around with his REAR WHEELS in the mud but not get stuck

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[Lenny HB]

On Monday got stuck in the mud getting out of Twinwood, turned on Traction Plus and reversed out the mud without any problems.

 

[tonyidle]

Everyone says that Ducato's with FWD are useless on mud and wet grass.
This is our 4.5 tonne Carthago getting out of a very wet and muddy Dunsfold after Wings & Wheels and a wet Sunday night.



Richard.

Very well done. I've never understood the FWD vs RWD argument. My last A class had more weight over the front axle than the rear. I haven't weighed this one yet but suspect front weight will be adequate. There is more justification for short rear overhang vs long rear overhang ................

 

[TheBig1]

the youtube clip at dunsfold was more wet grass and a bit of slime than real mud. so long as you have tyres with good tread and dont over rev, you wont lose traction on that

have I ever got stuck in mud? of course I have but knowing how to get unstuck is the trick. last time was 2 years ago when the van sunk into soft ground over night and we stepped out into 3 inches of water. wouldnt of chosen the pitch personally but was towed there when clutch failed. the iveco spec lift truck sent to get us to the garage really struggled breaking the suction round the tyres and took 3 attempts. now that was real mud

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[mjltigger]

No day morning watching the other vans struggle to get off the very wet Dutch campsite I was panicking a bit but once I'd rocked out of the holes my wheels had sunk into low revs and second gear I got off with no wheel spin.. never understood why drivers think high revs is the way out.. one van left tracks the while length of the field by wheelspinning all the way off.. must have left 3mm of tyre on the edge of the tarmac as well..

 

[GWAYGWAY]

The twin wheel tranny, is fine most times, didnt get stuck in the snow storm on Dartmoor getting on to the roadway.
Rear wheel drive is good, with twin wheels even better. Front wheel drive in a heavy van with a trailer must be a nightmare.

 

[Lenny HB]

I was panicking a bit but once I'd rocked out of the holes my wheels had sunk into low revs and second gear I got off with no wheel spin..

When parking on grass unless it is rock hard & no chance of rain always put the bread crates under the wheels.

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[mjltigger]

When parking on grass unless it is rock hard & no chance of rain always put the bread crates under the wheels.

I'm in a PVC.. We don't have spare space for bread crates..

Rocking out is easy peasy and makes you feel like a rufty tufty anyway

 

[nobby &noo]

View attachment 74601 We have a 3500Kg Autoroller 707 on a Ducato with no traction control. We tow a trailer and had absolutely no chance of getting out of this on Monday. Tractor to the rescue. The photo doesn't really show how muddy it was. All good fun though

Wasn't at the Ken Hall meeting was it

 

[nobby &noo]

Looked flat as a pancake try that with a hill saw a swift burn its clutch out on a field in devon

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[jonandshell]

Let's have a rally on a ploughed field and settle the fwd vs rwd debate once and for all!

 

[funflair]

Let's have a rally on a ploughed field and settle the fwd vs rwd debate once and for all!

We will come.

Martin

 

[Steve and Denise]

Let's have a rally on a ploughed field and settle the fwd vs rwd debate once and for all!

JON if I can borrow a plough that will fit my van I shall plough the field ready for you

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[dave newell]

An awful lot depends on the tyres fitted as well as the load distribution in the vehicle. My little work Ducato used to wear Good Year Cargo tyres and it was utter rubbish on slippy surfaces, if you got within a foot of wet grass it used to curl up and cry, go onto the grass and you were in real trouble. I was experiencing wheel slip at Peterborough on the grass this year and it was dry! Changed the tyres to Hankook RA08s all round and it is totally different, last weekend I even had to do a steep uphill start on wet grass and not a trace of wheel spin.

The ground also plays a big part of course, well drained ground may be wet on the surface but will retain a fair bit of traction while a clay based soil type with little stone in it will be a real challenge with only a light shower on it.

As for the FWD/RWD debate ll I can say is the last time we went to the Cheshire show it rained torrentially on the sunday, all day and when we came to leave on the Monday it was a bog, totally! The exhibition area was akin to the Somme battlefields with a good twelve inches of sloppy mud everywhere and deeper than that in places. My RWD Iveco Daily pulled my 1500KG trailer out of it, I'd like to say with ease but that would be a lie, it struggled to find anything to grip on in lots of places but a big dose of right boot and a long turning circle saw us out onto firmer ground, albeit with two fine rooster tails of liquid mud spraying up and over the trailer. I seriously doubt any FWD would get out of that mudbath unaided.

D.

 

[TheBig1]

Ive camped at very big rallies before where even the tractors were wheel spinning in the mud and everything had to be towed out. some tried and failed after making a right mess of their van and all around. the trick is to know when its better and easier to just accept a tow and get home safe and fairly clean

likewise I have camped on rallies on ploughed fields where very few vehicles could get out but my old RWD transit at the time just rolled on out at tickover. no way would a FWD fiat/peugeot coachbuilt could do any more than sit there spining wheels and sliding into the troughs. People tried though, some with several men pushing, but it was futile. the hero of that meet was an old guy with a 4x4 lada cossack. he pulled everyone and everything out to the gate one at a time

 

[MichelleRyall]

Wasn't at the Ken Hall meeting was it

No...they fortunately cancelled that on the Saturday morning !!! I have done that one in the mud before now too. We were in a stubble field in Salisbury. The track rode great .....but the pits...not so good.

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[nobby &noo]

ken hall was cancelled on the monday morning i rode sunday but bust my foot

 

[jezport]

Our fwd transit stuck on wet grass. The ducato is a lot better.

 

[MichelleRyall]

ken hall was cancelled on the monday morning i rode sunday but bust my foot

Ah apologies, I was told the wrong info. Sorry to hear about your foot, that's gutting. Hope it heals soon x

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[Feltwell]

I think the tyres have a lot to do with it, like Dave Newell says above.

I found winter M&S tyres to be a HUGE improvement on the car in snow and ice. The "family bus" people carrier was absolutely hopeless in snow & ice, I stuck some winter tyres on it and the transformation was incredible. I was sailing past 4x4's that were stuck the last time we had a decent amount of snow.

As the tyres on my Ducato are Mud & Snow marked, I'm hoping they perform that well in mud. I've not got stuck yet, said he tempting fate!

 

[TheCaller]

We used to run Renault 4's as farm vans with Kleber M+S tyres on & they would go pretty much anywhere a Landrover would go & do less damage while doing it - and at a fraction of the cost.

No good for towing or carrying much of a load, but as an individual personnel carrier plus a few bags of sheep feed, they were great.

 

[DanielFord]

We used to run Renault 4's as farm vans with Kleber M+S tyres on & they would go pretty much anywhere a Landrover would go & do less damage while doing it - and at a fraction of the cost.

No good for towing or carrying much of a load, but as an individual personnel carrier plus a few bags of sheep feed, they were great.

Yes, but people holding a chicken in the air claiming their name was Keith invariably eat them!

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