How to use a wheeled rover?

[alexeykuzmin0]

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]

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]

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

[Sharpy]

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]

Moving to Gameplay Questions.

[bewing]

  On 11/26/2018 at 9:27 AM, magnemoe said:

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

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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]

  On 11/26/2018 at 8:50 PM, 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.

 

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

[alexeykuzmin0]

Great, thanks for the answers!

Really non-clear behaviour