Mud and Snows?

[homelesshartshorns]

I been running steering tires on the drive axle for the last five years. Got stuck on some wet grass once. Considering heading back out to the desert and beaches. Would I be happier with mud and snows?

[Kirk W]

I always ran the same tires on all wheels of our class A. I used tires designed for motorized RV use which are all position. I found the follwoing on a truck tire selection webpage.

Quote

Steer/All Position Truck Tires

Steer front tires are designed for the steer axle position of a truck, but also suitable for the trailer position. They are optimized for steering, handling, driving performance and driver comfort while also providing the necessary safety required for safe mileage.

Drive Axle Truck Tires

Drive tires are designed for the drive axles offering maximized traction on various surfaces. It is especially important to consider regional or long haul usage. Closed shoulder drive tires are best suited for over the highway use in higher speed and longer haul operations using tandem axle configurations. Open shoulder drive tires are best suited for regional operations with single axles and higher torque.

 

[Pat & Pete]

I run steer / all position tires front and back on our Monaco . 

I've been stuck a couple times , because of soft ground and aided by the moisture . 

I doubt that lug tires would have prevented or even helped . 

Now , if I have any question as to solidity of my path , I get out and walk the ground . 

Looks can be deceiving .

Edited October 13, 2022 by Pat & Pete

[Ray,IN]

6 hours ago, Pat & Pete said:

I run steer / all position tires front and back on our Monaco . 

I've been stuck a couple times , because of soft ground and aided by the moisture . 

I doubt that lug tires would have prevented or even helped . 

Now , if I have any question as to solidity of my path , I get out and walk the ground . 

Looks can be deceiving .

Yep, me too.  Mud lug tires might help sometimes, but since virtually all MH.s have an open differential, if one side begins to spin,you're stuck.

homeless, the problem with driving in mud or sand is mainly due to the front tires having to push their way through instead of pulling through.

A side story; In 2010 we stayed near St. Augustine FL to visit the beaches. One beach permitting driving on the beach. A MH was driven onto the beach and became stuck. There was only one wrecker service who did beach retrievals.  He charged $300 to respond, if he hooked on that was an upcharge. I seem to remember that MH driver paid the wrecker owner $700 total to be pulled off the beach to pavement.

[Lou Schneider]

The basic problem is the weight of the RV means you have to run 100 PSI in the tires on terrain where much lower pressure would let the tires float on top of the ground instead of digging in.  If you have 30 PSI in a car tire it will press down on the ground with 30 lbs on every square inch of the tire's contact area.  If your tire is inflated to 100 PSI it means the ground has to support 100 lbs per square inch. Vehicles driven in mud or sand often run less than 10 PSI of pressure in their tires.

If you weigh 200 lbs, put your weight on a cane or crutch with 2 square inches of contact area and see what happens.  You'll be fine on hard surfaces but you'll sink into softer ground.   Same thing happens with an RV.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Lou Schneider

[TXiceman]

2 hours ago, Lou Schneider said:

The basic problem is the weight of the RV means you have to run 100 PSI in the tires on terrain where much lower pressure would let the tires float on top of the ground instead of digging in.  If you have 30 PSI in a car tire it will press down on the ground with 30 lbs on every square inch of the tire's contact area.  If your tire is inflated to 100 PSI it means the ground has to support 100 lbs per square inch. Vehicles driven in mud or sand often run less than 10 PSI of pressure in their tires.

I

Lou, that is not how it works.  By de-airing the tire, you will generally provide a larger footprint for the tire to exert pressure on the ground this having fewer pounds per square inch on the ground.  30 PSI in the tire does not mean 30 psi on the ground.  The tire will still support the same weight on a larger footprint.

Say the tire is carrying 5000 LB and with 80 psi pressure in the tire and say the tire has 100 square inches contact area, the tire exerts 50 sq. in. pressure under it on the ground.  Say you deflate the tire to 40 psi and the contact area goes up to 150 sq. in. the pressure exerted will be 33.33 psi exerted on the ground.

You cannot make magic work on sand.

 

Ken

[Ray,IN]

I disagree Ken. Auto tires normally have 30-40% reserve capacity, MH tires OTOH usually have only around 10-15% according to Roger Marble/Tireman9, a retired tire design engineer.

This means MH tire sidewalls are over-flexed when underinflated, resulting in tire damage. The "footprint"  is actually  the tire sidewall collapsing enough to become a weight-bearing surface the same as the tread on sand.

When a sidewall is pinched/over-flexed the outside appears normal but the rubber bladder lining the tire is compromised.

[bruce t]

Keep in mind that on any dual wheel if you deflate you decrease the distance between the tyres. That becomes an issue of not enough clearance between tyres thus heat and junk between the sidewalls can become a major problem.