ATV owners often spend a lot of their time off roading in the months where the weather is good. Through spring and summer they are driving up and down mountains and on all kinds of terrain to get out there and go off-roading. But when the winter months roll around, the cold weather sets in and the ground is no longer stable. For an ATV to go riding up and down a mountain, something else needs to happen, and that is maintenance and storage.
ATV Storage and Maintenance Tips
When you take the time to properly store your ATV, you can preserve the machinery and ensure that when the winter does end, it works better when it comes time to remove it. Understanding just how you can store an ATV for the winter months and the offseason is important because while it may seem like a lot of work, you can make sure that you're protecting what is essentially a great investment.
Taking the time to maintain it will ensure that you won't have to buy a new one or perform any massive or costly repairs once the spring rolls back. The work that you put in now is going to be something you thank yourself for later, so let's take a look at some storage and maintenance tips for the offseason.
Keep it clean
The first step to good maintenance to your ATV is to keep it clean. That means you need to clean it as much as you can, and whether you do it yourself or you take it to a specialist, it's completely up to you. Any kind of dirt or residue or water left on the quad can eat away at the paint and you end up with rust and other issues that you cannot reverse. Taking the time to make sure that you get every area of this plane will leave you in no surprises when it's time to pull it back out again.
Change all the fluids
A good area of regular maintenance is to change all of the fluids in the vehicle. You want to refresh any liquids that your car is going to be using, and that includes the gas tank and the oil. For some, it may not seem like a necessity, but it really is because the cold weather can thicken up the liquid in an ATV. Not only will this damage the engine, but it can cause parts of the engine to erode, especially if dirty oil is there. If the oil filter is not clean, this is something that you should absolutely want to change before you get that stored as well.
Give the tires their once-over
Which can be difficult on tyres, so you need to ensure that you are getting your tyres the once over before you get it stored away. Not only do you need to ensure that they are inflated to the correct pressure, you need to make sure that you are not dealing with any flat tires when you take them out of storage. Speak to a mechanic about test checking and fixing any tyre pressure issues that you might be having, but you might need to consider upgrading your tyres as well.
Close it up
Did you know that your ATV could become the new nesting home for animals over the winter? You need to take the time to block out any pipes or any gaps along your ATV. You can use fabric tape or even an old Pringles tube to be able to cover the pipes, but whatever you do, you need to keep it covered so that you don't have any mice or snakes crawling in during the winter months.
Get it covered
While you are considering blocking any potential gaps, make sure that you cover the vehicle with its own cover for the winter. It should be of high quality and you should ensure that you are keeping it inside even with a cover on top.If you are storing the ATV outside, you definitely need a waterproof and reflective cover on it so that you can protect it from the weather.
Invest in your ATV
ATV storage is easier when you are investing in your ATV properly. For proper ATV Financing in Canada, make a point of calling the experts to get your ATV up to scratch during the off season. Doing this will keep your current ATV in the best shape while allowing you to buy a new one if necessary.
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