Rovers

[kodemunkey]

Does anyone have a good rover design? i've been trying to build one that doesn't flip over on Kerbin but i've not had any luck.

[astropapi1]

Disable power on the front wheels and disable steering on the back ones, see if that helps.

[kodemunkey]

Is that via the right click menu?

[DChurchill]

Switch to docking mode, too.

[Geschosskopf]

Several things help keep rovers rightside up:

1. Design. Give it a wide stance and a low center of mass.

2. Turning on SAS, especially if you add an SAS (some still labeled as ASAS) module for extra torque.

3. Only make significant turns at low speeds. Have rear wheel steering ON for this to tighten turn radius

4. Only use high speed to cover long distances in a straight line. At most, just barely tap the A and D keys to tweak heading slightly. Helps to have CapLocks on for fine control and be sure rear wheel steering is OFF.

5. Don't hit bumps at high speed unless you're comfortable catching big air. Low, wide rovers with SAS on can usually stay upright if the bump isn't too severe but even they might get damaged when they come down. So the bumpier the terrain, the slower you need to go.

6. DO NOT USE THE BRAKES EXCEPT AT LOW SPEED. Brakes at high speed will usually make you somersault unless you're VERY careful with short taps on B, and doing that doesn't slow you down very fast. The best way to slow down safely is to hold down reverse (S key), which has no tendency to flip you, then only apply brakes once below 5m/s.

7. DO NOT GO STRAIGHT DOWN STEEP HILLS. Most rovers can climb steeper hills than they can descend safely. If the hill isn't TOO steep, you might be able to come down using reverse constantly to keep your speed reasonably low, but this isn't guaranteed. So usually it's better to drive almost parallel to the contour lines across the hillside. This takes you well out of your way but better to get there late than not at all.

It's usually a good idea to set up 2 custom action groups for every rover. But the brakes on one of these, which creates a parking brake. When you trigger this key, the brakes stay on forever, until you hit the key again. Keeps the rover from rolling off when you EVA. The other custom action group should toggle the steering on the rear wheels (and maybe the power on the front wheels, but this isn't really necessary). That way, it's easy to switch back and forth as needed.

[Sof]

Another tip is to retoggle the controls for the rovers, since WASD also control the torque making you roll easier. I have mine set to the arrow keys (after disabling the camera movement). Other people use ijkl, but those keys mess with the RCS and helmet lights.

[Lewiskerbington]

Several things help keep rovers rightside up:

6. DO NOT USE THE BRAKES EXCEPT AT LOW SPEED. Brakes at high speed will usually make you somersault unless you're VERY careful with short taps on B, and doing that doesn't slow you down very fast. The best way to slow down safely is to hold down reverse (S key), which has no tendency to flip you, then only apply brakes once below 5m/s.

To fix the problem with the brakes you can go into your action groups and click the brakes tab. Once there disable the brakes in the front wheels and the rover will no longer flip over while stopping at high speeds.

[Bothersome]

Yea here's a good rover/car/buggy/plane design on this thread on this forum.

Edit added:

When does a rover become a car? Is a rover one made using only the tiny rover wheels? Can rovers be a rover if they are big? Does a rover stop becoming a rover if a Kerbal can ride it?

Edited July 29, 2013 by Bothersome
Fixed Link

[Geschosskopf]

To fix the problem with the brakes you can go into your action groups and click the brakes tab. Once there disable the brakes in the front wheels and the rover will no longer flip over while stopping at high speeds.

Learn something every day . I'll have to try that. However, I still think reverse gear slows you down faster than using even all 4 brakes.

[Technical Ben]

Yea here's a good rover/car/buggy/plane design on this thread on this forum.

Edit added:

When does a rover become a car? Is a rover one made using only the tiny rover wheels? Can rovers be a rover if they are big? Does a rover stop becoming a rover if a Kerbal can ride it?

You seem to have a bugged link there?

[kodemunkey]

How do i do action groups?

[Skorpychan]

Lots of wheels, wide, long wheelbase.

Disable steering on the rear wheels if it flips sideways. If it does wheelies, disable motors on the rear wheels.

Don't turn sharply. Don't pick up speed you can't lose in a hurry. Fit a self-righting mechanism.

Bring spare rovers.

[Benie]

To fix the problem with the brakes you can go into your action groups and click the brakes tab. Once there disable the brakes in the front wheels and the rover will no longer flip over while stopping at high speeds.

Hmm. I need to try this for my Speed Rover. I tend to have issues trying to brake at high speed when I see a "Oh my god that's a dip.. Brake! Brake!!" decline infront of me, going 55m/s.

Oh, using Whack-A-Kerbal helped to flip my rover upright. Just use a 1.00 Mass, low size and low speed so it won't destroy the rover.

(this worked in 0.21.1, haven't tried in 0.20.2)

Edited July 29, 2013 by Benie

[AmpsterMan]

Also, speed in m/s can seem deceptively low

Ex: 30 m/s is a little over 60 miles per hour. Pressing the a or d keys at that speed is like turning your wheel the whole way at those speeds