I am studying the effects on the road system of a rural region of a drastic increase in traffic, particularly Motorhomes.
My question is this, do motorhomes and other large vehicles have a measurably greater impact on road degradation than smaller and lighter vehicles?
It is the axle weight and configuration that affects the pavement more than the type of vehicle. For that reason and to calculate damage in pavement, the load spectra (Type of axles and load range per axle type) has to be defined. In old, but still used pavement design methods, all truck loads are converted into an equivalent single axle load (ESAL) by using what are called truck factors. In the US, 8.15 t single axle with twin tires is used as the reference axle, while mostly in Europe a 13 t single axle with twin tires is used. If you calculate the equivalence of a passenger car (2 single axles) in terms of a 13 t ESAL, you will find that this number is very very very small (load/13)^4. Therefore, passenger cars are not accounted for when designing a pavement structure. Only, trucks (usually more than 3.5 t) are used. Depending on the axle load configuration and its weight you can find the truck factor. Now back to your question, you need to know the configuration of the axles in your motorhome and convert that into a truck factor to estimate how it impacts the pavement structure as compared to an ESAL.
Amara Loulizi
Thank you very much for your answer. It chimes well with what I have read regarding this topic and, I feel, is a good summation of the knowledge. At the moment, I'm not sure how to use this knowledge, lacking the appropriate background, but I am sure it may come in useful in the future.
Thanks again
Andrew
As previously noted, axle weight is the greatest contributor to rigid concrete degradation. A motor home is mostly a box of air, probably not a great contributor to pavement damage. As for congestion, they are notoriously under-powered and slow to accelerate, as well as difficult to brake.
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