Getting Your ATV Unstuck
Exploring the great outdoors with your ATV is a perfect way to spend a fall afternoon. However, you can end up going pretty far out into the wilderness and if you get stuck somewhere, this can be a real challenge. It’s always best to have another person riding alongside you to help you get freed, but you might also be working on your farm or property and manage to get stuck by yourself. Whether you get stuck on mud or your ATV falls into a ditch, you need to have some strategies to help get yourself free and rescue your vehicle.
Interstate Cycles, located in Lake City, is your Florida ATV dealer. Below, you’ll find five tips for freeing your vehicle from a sticky situation so you can get back to riding as soon as possible and avoid a costly tow or trip to the repair shop.
1. Use a Winch
Anchoring a winch to your towing vehicle is a great way to ensure that you always have a way to get out when you’re caught somewhere. Small winches attach to the front or back of your ATV and you can anchor them to a friend’s quad, a heavy tree or another vehicle to either drive or tow your ATV out of the mire.
2. Pack a Come-Along & Tow Straps
A small device called a “come-along” can be used to haul your ATV out of a ditch. This item is a hand-powered winch that can help you and a friend free your vehicle. Tow straps are used to anchor the come-along to your ATV. Most come-alongs will fit neatly into a backpack, so they’re easy to bring along on an off-roading adventure.
3. Create Your Own Anchor
If you’re out somewhere that doesn’t have a convenient tree or heavy item to attach your towing straps and winch to, then you’ll have to make an anchor point yourself that lets you drive your ATV out of the mud. Many ATV riders will pack a small steel rod that has an eyebolt on it or a set of ice-climbing anchors to use as makeshift anchors. Drive either of these items into sturdy ground angled away from your vehicle and hook up your towing straps to make a solid anchor for your ATV.
4. Bring a Shovel
Sometimes you may find yourself stuck where there is no anchor and there is no way to create one. For those times, you’ll probably need to have a small folding shovel in your backpack to dig out your tires to help them gain purchase on the ground. Scooping some of that mud away from your wheels can give you just enough traction to hop back on your ATV and get going again.
5. Tilt Your ATV Back and Forth
If you feel like you can get unstuck without a winch or you just have no other option, you can try to generate some momentum instead of hitting the gas and letting your wheels spin out without traction. Try rocking the ATV back and forth with your body weight, leaning into the motion to try to inch your vehicle forward until you can gain some purchase and get yourself out of a jam.
We hope these tips prove helpful to you the next time you’re having traction trouble while riding your ATV. Still searching for the perfect ATV? Peruse our website to view our wide array of new and used ATVs for sale at our dealership in Lake City, FL. We even offer financing options to help you get the ATV you want right now. Interstate Cycles proudly serves the cities of Jacksonville and Gainesville, FL.