ATV Magic

ATVs, or all-terrain vehicles, as the letters stand for, can be a lot of fun, with both versatility and utility in the design. ATVs can be used for fun in camping or just riding around, or in tasks such as plowing snow or hauling small trailers, and are home whether on flat ATV racing tracks or just riding around on some grassy ground. This doesn’t mean that ATVs are perfect, as there’s still the chance that they can flip over if ridden improperly or over unstable ground, or that it’ll get mired in the mud or snow. Of course, there are ways around this, and one great modification to these vehicles is a set of rubber ATV tracks to increase stability and traction on different types of ground.

New Treads

An ATV fitted with tracks looks like it’s got something close to tank treads attached, and they work on the same principle, by keeping more of the vehicle’s mode of locomotion in contact with the ground. It also has a tendency to widen the footprint, or the amount of ground area the ATV takes up, which also increases stability; think about how much easier it is to tip over a tall, narrow table than a wide one that’s close to the ground.

The suspension system of the ATV tracks as well as the rubber material ensures that it can run over plenty of irregular ground, making an ATV into an even more appropriate vehicle for all terrains, and ATV track systems tend to raise the ATV a few more inches off the ground, giving it further clearance underneath.

Light Weight

The other advantage to the increased footprint is that because the tracks have more contact with the ground than tires, which have contact with the ground only at four points, the ATV is putting less pressure on any one given spot on the ground than with tires, the same principle that’s behind the way snowshoes work. Between this and the design of the ATV track’s treads, this makes an ATV fitted with tracks ideal for snow and mud, where ordinary tires might simply sink in.

The other benefit to this is that ATV tracks are more environmentally friendly, since by putting less pressure on the ground, an ATV fitted with rubber tracks is less likely to leave deep tracks and tear up the ground, which is a common complaint about regular ATVs. With increased traction on different terrains and the lighter pressure placed on the ground, an ATV track system is just the thing for an ATV owner looking for improvements to his or her current machine.

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