Are large gas motor Rv's underpower?
At the risk of getting someone angry for me asking the same question they don't want to see again, that no doubt some people feel has been discussed enough. Are gas Class A's underpowered to tow a...
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rgatijnet1 wrote:valhalla360 wrote:Mr.Mark wrote:
Valhallo360, I had changed my post slightly before yours came up. The John Deere was digging itself into a whole while the steam engine tractor was pulling it. It was good video!
MM.
In that case traction was definetly the issue. Once the wheels start spinning, you aren't able to harness either the HP or the torque.
The rear wheels on those old steam tractors probably literally weigh a ton each, let alone everything else built out of heavy solid metal pieces.
A similar analogy would be to adapt the engine out of a big diesel pusher and put it into a smart car and put it up against a 1 ton pickup with the base gas engine. I can guarantee the pickup would hardly notice the smart car back there even though smart car would easily have more HP and torque.
I think that you will find is that with a steam engine, the power is in the pressure in the boiler, which is already built up to the maximum, before the drive train is put in to motion. It is not like a gasoline or diesel engine that has to develop RPM's before it can start delivering power. As soon as the steam pressure is released to the piston, all of the power is there, even at 1 RPM. The same goes for certain electric motors, which is why they are used in heavy locomotives. The diesel engine in a train powers the generator which powers the electric drive motor that makes the train move. The full power of the electric motor is there to apply to the drive wheels, right from a standing start. It, like the steam engine, does not have to develop any RPM's to have the power to get a huge train in motion.
That may or may not be the case. Steam engines also benefit from momentum which is why they often have large flywheels. In fact if the engine is only 1 or 2 cyclinder, at very low RPM, it may have almost no torque while the piston rod is in line with the crank shaft (or close to it).
So it is similar to IC engines though to a lesser degree but once the JD tires start spinning, it doesn't matter how much HP or torque the engine can supply at the wheel, there is no traction so it can't harness the power and you can't determine which engine/transmission would win.
Of course in terms of a MH climbing a mountain, if you run out of traction, you have other issues to worry about other than can you maintain 60mph.
