6 Tips to Help If Your Vehicle Gets Stuck in Snow Posted on 22 May 2017 If you're headed up to the High Country to do a bit of skiing or anywhere else with snow on the ground, you should be prepared just in case your car gets stuck. Towing a car out of snow is slightly different than pulling your car out of sand or mud so it's important to know what to do before you're in the situation. Here's some essential tips to help you. 1. Don't Spin As soon as you realise your vehicle is stuck, stop trying to drive it out. If the tyres are just spinning, they will dig further and deeper into the snow, and that will make it even harder to get out. Instead, get out of your vehicle and look at the situation. 2. Remember Traction If your vehicle isn't stuck too much, you might be able to drive it out by adding a bit of traction. To be prepared, bring a bag of play sand or clay kitty litter on your holiday with you. Sprinkle that on the snow in front of your wheels, and see if you can drive out. 3. Try a Jack When increasing traction doesn't work, try to jack up one of your tyres. Find the tyre that is furthest into the snow, and put the jack under that corner of your car. Carefully elevate the car. When the tyre is in the air, mound snow underneath it, and put one of your floor mats over the snow to dissipate the weight of the tyre. Finally, remove the jack and try to drive out. 4. Use a Winch If your car is still stuck, you may want to try using a winch to pull it out. A winch is basically a tow rope connected to a pulley system. You can hold the winch, or some wenches connect to trees. This ensures that no towing vehicles get stuck in the snow whilst trying to rescue you. 5. Use Snow Chains Winches aren't always strong enough to pull vehicles out of the snow. If the winch isn't working, try getting another vehicle close to yours and towing it out. If you do this, put snow chains on the other vehicle. That gives it extra traction and prevents it from getting stuck. 6. Call a Professional Finally, if you're really stuck, you may want to contact a towing professional. It's particularly important to call a pro if you're in a dangerous situation close to traffic or if there are multiple vehicles stuck. Share About Me Hi, my name is Catherine, and I travel all the time for both work and play. For the latter, I typically have my kids along with me. Whether I am travelling for work or play, I certainly don't ever plan to get my hands dirty changing a tire or looking under the bonnet of broken down car. So that I never have to deal with a situation like that, I always carry roadside coverage on my insurance policy. That way, I can always contact a tow truck when I need one. I have had to use tow trucks a few times, and I have found that when you have kids with you, the experience is different than when you are alone. Wondering how to handle a tow when you have kids in your car? Then, explore my blog. It will have the ideas and tips you need. Search Archive 2015 2016 2017 2020 2021 Tags Copyright © 2021 · Towing with Children on the Journey