Most riders know before winter comes that they have to begin the process of storing their vehicles for the long cold interlude between riding seasons. This involves emptying their fuel, doing one last clean and maybe a little maintenance before its stored away; however, there are some people who still brave the winter on an ATV/UTV. In this blog we’ll talk about the benefits and drawbacks of using to tracks to make your vehicle an all season machine.
The winter, especially up here in Canada can be a cold and cruel that you don’t want to be trapped in. There are less people driving around outside and a lot of places are much harder to get to if something does happen. Now you’re probably thinking “okay, I don’t want to be stuck, so what can I do?” Well one thing you can do is buy tracks.
Tires and tracks are made differently and are meant for different utilities. Wheels absorb the hits they’re given because of the air inside; however tracks don’t have that same luxury. They’re made of a bunch of links that don’t have the cushion like tires do, which means they won’t take as much and are easier to break depending on how and where you ride. The reason we switch to tracks in the winter is for gaining surface area, so we can grip the snow and plow on forward where tires would otherwise be left in a rut. Tracks can also work well in the sand and mud for this same reason as well. Now, if you’re goal is a winter powerhouse, tracks are not for you because they take away a lot of your middle and high-end torque, but gives you in return lots of low-end power, perfect for a winter workhorse.
There is another significant negative to tracks and that’s their cost. Tracks cost so much money; some are in the high $3000s while others climb into the higher $5000s with some even higher than that. At such a price you’re basically paying for another ATV or more likely if winter riding is important to you, a snowmobile. For speed there’s no better alternative than a snowmobile in the winter, they basically own the season. If you’re looking to keep moving loads back and forth or have an unbridled love for your ATV, then tracks might be right for you. These are really for the explorer at heart, the kind of person who wants to go where others have gone before, but get there in a more stylish manner in a season best tackled by a warm cup of coco.
The title for this blog is “Don’t Let Your Vehicle Hibernate This Winter, Add Tracks and Defy the Season,” but you don’t necessarily need to take off the tracks depending on the brand you have and how they were designed. Tracks are great in mud like stated before and can move unstable loads because of their inherent low centre of gravity. You’ll still lose a ton of top speed no matter the season, but if you want to forgo tires and just use tracks you can.
Tracks are one solution to the winter problem, another being a good winch to pull your vehicle out of the deceivingly deep snow. There are other solutions out there, tracks though are quite distinctive and merge tank with recreational machine. If tracks are good for the army when they go into foreign lands with varying environments, then they can be good for you too.
Sources:
- 5 Awesome UTVs that Traded Tires for Tracks: http://www.atv.com/5-awesome-utvs-that-traded-tire...
- Buyer’s Guide ATV Tracks for the Snow: http://dirtwheelsmag.com/home-page/home-features/b...