3 ways to upgrade your ATV

An ATV is the ultimate outdoors toy. But riding on a machine without upgrades is like riding on a donkey instead of a Clydesdale. It’ll get you where you want to go, you just might miss out on a bit of fun along the way.

Don’t’ worry—these three major upgrades will have you galloping over the hills with speed and style.

• Tires. Get rid of those stock donuts that came with your ATV. It’s time for grown-up tires that’ll pull you up the K2 if you needed them to. Have you seen the gold-standard Super Swamper tires yet? They’ll let you glide through the thickest muck as well as the rockiest soil, all the while maintaining your control. What’s worse, tipping over in knee-deep muck or onto a rock garden? With the Super Swampers, you won’t do either.

• A winch. Once you upgrade your tires, you’ll be the one your friends call on to help get them out of a sticky situation. For pulling out submerged machines or saving a cliffside-teetering ATV from plunging into the river below, install a winch. Two keystone companies that produce high-quality winches are Ramsey and Warn. A Ramsey or Warn winch will give you that extra bit of oomph when you need it most—like when your buddy refuses to abandon his ATV in the middle of the mud pit and remains perched on his seat demanding help.

• A snorkel kit. The biggest and baddest ATV riders go big or go home, and that’s exactly what a snorkel kit allows you to do. You can go right through that big water or mud hazard—and then get home with all your parts intact. Essentially, a snorkel raises the air intake to a higher location, giving you a better chance of escaping a good submerging without sucking in water. A good snorkel kit will run a couple hundred bucks and requires a decent amount of ATV knowledge to install. An incorrect install can damage an ATV, so make sure you or your mechanic know what to do.

And there you have it. Three ATV accessories, three simple steps, three more reasons to get out and onto the mountain trails. Just be warned: you’ll have the machine that everyone wants to try. Maybe you can charge per ride and these upgrades will pay for themselves.

Just kidding. We’re not kids anymore, you don’t have to share your toys.