How to use a wheeled rover?

[alexeykuzmin0 0]

Guys, I have a problem.

I built a minimum possible rover on motorized wheels, but for some reason it does not move. When I press W or S I see the wheels rotating, but the rover stays at the same place. Brakes are off. Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong?

[Vanamonde 13,081]

Your wheels are rotated 90 degrees. They visually touch the ground but are not actually in contact with it. The mount needs to be aligned vertically.  

[magnemoe 2,588]

Yes, also use fixed solar panels at least on bodies with atmosphere as they will be destroyed then you drive. 

[Sharpy 1,977]

Eyup, the fake wheels. They aren't actually round, think more like motorized skis. They have only one surface, on the bottom, that provides propulsion.

Additional tip: add a reaction wheel and run in SAS 'prograde' mode. Rovers tip over all the time. Especially on low-gravity bodies. The reaction wheel allows to tame it a bit. Hold your left hand on Q/E keys to fix the alignment if it starts to tip over. SAS in Prograde keeps your rover's pitch and yaw, leaving you roll to control.

BTW, there was a mod that provided genuine round wheels that worked even upside down... anyone remember the name?

[Snark 14,137]

Moving to Gameplay Questions.

[bewing 3,015]

11 hours ago, magnemoe said:

Yes, also use fixed solar panels at least on bodies with atmosphere as they will be destroyed then you drive. 

Actually, that's not true anymore. The Gigantors won't break until you reach speeds of 60 m/s. So they are fine on this rover.

 

[magnemoe 2,588]

2 minutes ago, bewing said:

Actually, that's not true anymore. The Gigantors won't break until you reach speeds of 60 m/s. So they are fine on this rover.

 

Ok did not know, used the standard that solar panels should be retracted while driving. Yes it also give some protection then rolling. 

[alexeykuzmin0 0]

Great, thanks for the answers!

Really non-clear behaviour