When you’re stuck in a ditchful of snow, remember these tips
If you drive in Canada in winter, no matter how awesome your vehicle’s AWD or 4WD system is, no matter how great your winter tires are, sooner or later you will end up stuck in a ditch, or on someone’s lawn, or stranded at the back of a mall parking lot.
Is there an alternative to calling roadside assistance and waiting for hours in the freezing cold? While no two stuck- in- the- snow situations are the same, there are a few general rules you can use to help decide the best way to extricate your ride from winter’s frosty grip.
Assess the situation. If you’ve gone off the road and down an incline and the depth of the snow and steepness of the slope make it difficult to walk back up to the side of the road, it’s unlikely human power is going to get your vehicle out. In cases like these, save yourself a pile of aggravation and potential damage to your chariot and call a professional towing service.
The easiest way out is almost always the way you got in. Check the surface your tires are resting on. If it’s ice, you’re going to need some type of traction aid ( see below). If it’s deep snow, you’re going to have to clear a path for the tires and the vehicle. If the road you’ve left has traffic on it, be safe by getting a spotter (with a flashlight if it’s dark) to help keep your vehicle out of the path of other cars.
Improve your traction. If you’ve got a shovel, get busy clearing a path down to a hard surface for the tires and the undercarriage. Without a shovel, you can keep warm and clear the snow by stamping it down with your feet. Carpeted floor mats can help to improve traction, but they can also get damaged in the process. Throwing out a $ 150 set of floor mats to avoid a $100 tow might not make a lot of financial sense. Kitty Litter is a great inexpensive alternative and if you buy a container for the winter and don’t use it, you can always donate to an animal shelter in the spring.
Volunteers can be expensive. Before you enlist the local high school football team or your friendly neighbourhood 4x4 enthusiast, think again. Today’s vehicles, with lightweight body panels and plastic bumper covers and trim, can be easily damaged. Consider that your vehicle was never really designed to be pushed, or pulled with a tow strap hooked at the wrong location. When pushing from the front of a vehicle, make sure your helpers place their hands on the large vertical surface of the bumper cover below the grille. Behind this there will be a steel reinforcement beam designed to take a lot of force. Don’t let anyone push on a headlamp or on the hood, which can result in an expensive repair bill. The same goes for exterior mirrors. When pushing from the rear, the main face of the bumper is the best place. If the vehicle is situated so that neither of these options is possible, you should probably call a tow truck.
The biggest risk of damage is when using a tow strap hooked to the undercarriage. If the attachment point of this strap at the rescuing vehicle is higher than where it’s hooked on your auto, it can easily damage your bumper cover. Many vehicles come with their own tow hook ( did you ever wonder what that oversized eyelet bolt in the trunk was for?). If you look carefully at either the front or rear bumper cover, you may find a small square removable section of plastic; pop this off and it will reveal a threaded hole for the tow hook or bolt. Thread it in a few turns and you’re ready to go. Avoid using a chain at all costs; unless your rescuer is very experienced, the jolt of a metal chain will almost always cause some type of damage. A better alternative is a flexible tow strap that will deliver a gentler tug.
Go easy on the throttle. If you have people pushing on your vehicle, be very aware of the possibility that a spinning tire can throw gravel and stones with enough force to injure. Never apply anything more than a small amount of gas pedal when trying to move a stuck vehicle, and always know which way your front wheels are pointed.
Rock and roll is for musicians only. Few drivers are experienced enough to rock from forward to reverse and back again on the shifter to dislodge their vehicles without causing damage. If you’re driving a vehicle with a manual transmission this becomes even more problematic. If you’ve got more than one or two volunteer pushers, you can let them rock the vehicle for you by having them located at both ends of the vehicle. Just keep in mind, when you do get moving, one set of these kind helpers will be in your path.
The job’s not done until the cleanup is complete. If you’ve been stuck in snow, your vehicle’s wheels and undercarriage will likely have a lot of ice and slush packed into them. At highway speeds this can cause vibrations and if the temperature drops, this material will turn to hard ice and may damage various components. The best idea is to head to the car wash and get these areas flushed out.