How to Get Your ATV Unstuck

It’s happened to everyone who rides a powersports vehicle: you’re cruising along through the mud, enjoying yourself, when suddenly your wheels start to spin and you find yourself completely mired in muck. Or maybe you’ve ridden into a ditch and misjudged the angle and have now found yourself wedged awkwardly without a way out. What are you supposed to do to fix this sticky situation?

As your California ATV dealer near Sacramento, Roseville Motorsports in Rocklin is here to help you however we can. Here are five suggestions on how you can get your ATV free and back in motion once again.

1. Attach Your Winch

One of the easiest ways to free your ATV is to attach a winch to the front of the vehicle if you’re riding with a friend. Have your companion use the strength of their ATV and the winch to pull your ATV out of the mud.

2. Create an Anchor

If you bring a small steel rod with an eyebolt welded to it or an anchor designed for ice-climbing, then you can stick this into the ground at a distance from your ATV. Attach your straps to it and use that leverage to pull yourself out.

3. Dig With a Shovel

You can carry a small foldable shovel with your ATV gear to help yourself if you’re riding alone. Use the shovel to dig out the mud around your tires and remove debris so that you can gain some traction.

4. Use a Come-Along & Tow Straps

A “come-along” is a type of hand-powered winch that you can use with tow straps by yourself or with a friend to pull your ATV out. These tools are easy to throw in a backpack, so they’re a good and compact option for getting unstuck. 

5. Rock Back & Forth

If all else fails or you don’t have another means available, you can try this more rudimentary method. Get on your ATV and use your body to rock it left and right or front and back as much as you can, in whichever direction you feel would be most advantageous. Once you get some momentum going, this might just be enough to let your wheels gain purchase so you can start moving again.

We hope that one or more of these tips helps you to get any ATV out of the mud and back where it belongs on the trail. Seeking to purchase a new ATV? Come on down to our Rocklin, CA, dealership today to view our current stock of new and used ATVs for sale. Roseville Motorsports serves greater Sacramento as well as the city of Roseville, CA.