on the mun with a useless rover..

[Warscribe]

SO, after the successful landing and return mission i designed a rover and landed there for permanent research.

(i still cant believe it landed straight)

now here's the thing..The rover wont move..or not in a particular direction. (SAS is turned off, the brakes are loosened). It just sits there and spins. (and sometimes drifts off, which is why i activated the brakes in the pic)

Any suggestions on fixing this?

[rryy]

It is possible that the angled wheels are making the motor not working. Try building it in the SPH and make the wheels vertical, and then transfer that into the VAB to build the rocket, or you can just build a rocket right in the SPH.

[creator1629]

what rover controls are you using, is it the default WASD? because i had a similar problem until i changed the default rover controls to IJKL

[Vanamonde]

Yes, the stock rover wheels do not like to be at an angle to the ground. I tried a similar arrangement to the one you've used, and in testing at KSC, the wheels would not grip unless they were vertical, or close to it.

[Warscribe]

oh man, thats back to the drawing board, then..

[ThatBum]

Always test your rover on Kerbin first, to make sure it indeed works adequately before committing to sending it somewhere. Drive around the slopes of the launchpad to test stability.

[Warscribe]

it actually was a test, so successful i carried on. Xx

[Tristavius]

Can't begin to stress enough some of the thing I've learned in a few days of solid rover experimenting...

1) - Always, always use docking mode (or re-bind keys). It'll make your rover far more stable. Several previously useless designs work perfectly like this!

2) - Keep the center of mass as close to the middle of the wheel base as possible.

3) - Have a SAS/ASAS unit, they're a big help for going straight and stable.

4) - Another big, big help - lock the steering on the rear wheels... you'll turn slower but be much less likely to tip over especially on low grav. A key binding to toggle can be useful so you can turn tighter circles at low speed when you want to.

5) - Some RCS pointing skywards work very well on low grav. Have keybinds to toggle RCS clusters on an off so you can use only the skyward ones for example. When struggling to move off on a low grav world, thrusting the RCS will push you onto the surface getting a stronger grip. If you're starting to 'wobble' on your wheels, thrusting the RCS will again push you down, hopefully stabilizing you.

6) - Use a light touch on the keyboard, small smooth movements, and if you feel it start to lose control stop accelerating. Be ready on Q and E on a low grav world to fix any spin if you start rolling

[tom1499]

Get out and push!

Edited April 28, 2013 by tom1499

[Warscribe]

Tristavius: well, except for the previously mentioned symmetry problem, my rover actually fulfills all your criteria.

[tom1499]

Lol rovers can be annoying.

[HoY]

Am I missing something? Is the rover not upside down?

Close your solar panels, press R then hold Q till all of your wheels are on the ground they don't provide movement from the top side of the tire.

Assuming that we're talking specifically about the rover pictured how it is...

Edit 2. Are the wheels installed in 3 way symmetry in the VAB?? I get it now... They only propell from the bottom of the tire, they will work slightly angled but not from the front, back, or top of the tire:(

Edited April 28, 2013 by HoY