Ask The Editors: ATV Turned Snow Cat
If you’re on a real tight budget, you can try switching to dedicated ATV snow tires. We’ve witnessed 4x4s with a good set of snow tires and a winch traverse groomed snowmobile trails with relative ease.
If the snow you’re dealing with surpasses these measures, the next budget-friendly step to take would be to pick up and run a set of tire chains- especially on the drive wheels if the machine you ride isn’t all-wheel-drive. The added traction benefits will pay immediate dividends.
Should this still not offer the pow pow traction you seek, track tire wraps would be the next upgrade we’d look into. About the biggest downside to running paddle wraps though is that you’re going to want to ditch them if any dry terrain enters the riding equation as anything other than soupy mud, soft sand or deep snow will result in poor handling.
Finally, the ultimate method of turning an ATV or UTV into a genuine snow machine would be to run a full track kit (or track + front ski kit). Either one of these options is going to require some serious effort to install/ uninstall and they aren’t for the faint of budget as a good track kit typically goes for around $4500.
Whatever you decide, you may want to consider picking up a set of heated grips. They help!
