Yesterday our ATV got stuck sampling a very wet field. Given how wet this year has been, I expect it’ll happen a few more times over the course of fall soil sampling. I decided to do some looking around online to see if I could find some tips on how to get an ATV unstuck.
The best guide I’ve found is ATV Recovery by Haystack. He gives an extensive list of equipment, but as we’re not going out to the back of beyond, I think we would just need the following, most of which could be stored in the truck rather than on the ATV:
- a spade
- Come-along -4 ton model
- 100’ 1/2” rope (9000 lb strength, approx 6000 with a knot in it)
- 3-3’ concrete stakes and hatchet or small sledge hammer.
His description of how to get out is quite thorough. In our case, it’s pretty rare that there’s a handy tree anywhere near where we get suck, so we would probably be using the method he describes in “what if there are no anchors within reach.” You find a piece of dry, solid ground within reach of your rope, drive in the 3 stakes 2/3 of their length leaning at 15 degrees away from the direction of the load, tie the stakes to each other (top to bottom), tighten the rope between the stakes, then attach your come-along to the first stake and to the ATV and pull the ATV out.
I haven’t tested this at all, so I don’t know how well it work. If you’re using these techniques, be very careful, especially when there’s tension on the rope. If you have any suggestions of better ways to get an ATV unstuck in the middle of a field, please let me know.
EDIT: Our mechanic suggested using the screw in anchors that are used to tether horses instead of the stakes.
Post a Comment