If you are travelling through a snowy area, you should have your vehicle stocked with supplies in case you get stuck. The following items can easily fit into a box in your trunk or backseat, and they can help you get out of snowy drifts or ditches. Here are the six essential items you need.
1. Shovel
If you get stuck in the snow, you can try to drive out of the snow. However, in many cases, your wheels may just spin and dig you deeper into the snow. If this happens, you need to dig out the snow from around your tires. Ideally, you want to create a relatively gentle snow ramp in front of each tire. Ultimately, whether you end up towing your vehicle out or driving out, these ramps will help make the trek out of the snow easier for your vehicle.
You can buy portable shovels that work perfectly for a snow kit. For example, many military surplus shops sell trench shovels with foldable handles and heavy duty metal ends.
2. Gravel
Once you've dug out some of the snow from around your tires, don't try driving your car out right away. Instead, create a bit of traction. You can do this by sprinkling some gravel or small stones on the snow in front of your car.
You can buy bags of gravel at landscaping stores. Alternatively, you may also use kitty litter. You don't need anything fancy. Just buy the cheapest clay-based kitty litter you can find. This product is available at most big box grocery and pet stores.
3. Mats
You can use your car mats for this purpose, but if you don't want to ruin them, you may want to invest in a couple of mats just for your snow driving kit. After laying the traction, create even more traction by placing the mats directly in front of your tires.
If possible, wedge the mats so that they are slightly beneath the front edge of your tires. When you start to drive your car forward, keep the wheels as straight as possible. This position ensures that the wheels drive onto the mats and not deeper into the snow on the sides of the tires.
4. Winch
If your vehicle has a winch on the front of it, that can be one of the most effective ways to get your car out of snow, without towing it. However, even if you don't have a winch on the front of your vehicle, you can carry along a portable winch with you.
Portable winches can be hooked to trees or poles. You may need some basic tools such as a wrench to anchor the winch in place. Once the winch is ready, you connect a tow rope to it and your vehicle, and you use the winch as leverage to help pull your vehicle out of the snow.
Some cars have anchor points designed to hold the hook at the end of a tow rope, but if your vehicle doesn't have that, you need to make sure that you connect the hook to the chassis. If you connect it to the bumper, you won't pull the car anywhere. You'll just pull off the bumper.
5. Flat-Head Screwdriver
In some cases, fully inflated tires can make it challenging to drive through snow. To address this issue, deflate your tires a bit. Simply press the tip of a flat-head screwdriver on the valve stem of your car's tires. Remember to drive very slowly when your tires are deflated, and once you are out of the snow, always inflate your tires before driving on regular roads.
6. Tow Truck Number
Unfortunately, there may be situations when the above items don't work to get you out of the snow. In these cases, you may need to call a tow truck. So that you don't get stuck out in the cold and potentially dangerous elements, make sure that you always have the number of a tow truck on hand. Contact local services, like Naylor Towing, for more information.
Research two truck drivers in the areas where you plan to travel, and have their numbers written down and ready to use as needed.
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