How to properly clean your ATV or UTV

Leaving your off-road vehicle muddy, or covered in dust or sand can have a negative impact on your vehicle by causing stains, rust and even serious engine contamination.

Cleaning your off road vehicle is not only about making it look brand new, but also about protecting your investment. 

Every time you come back from the trail, your side by side or ATV will end up muddy or dusty.

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How to properly clean your side by side or ATV

Preliminary Cleaning

First thing first, before washing your off road vehicle, use water to perform preliminary cleaning. A pressure washer is a great tool, but if you don’t have one, you can do it old school.  The idea is to get rid of chunks of stubborn mud. Don’t forget to wash under your vehicle. 

Deep Cleaning

Once you’re done with the preliminary cleaning, let’s do the deep cleaning. Scrub the grille, the wheel arches, the bumper, and all other areas of your vehicle with no exceptions. Remember, there’s a specific type of soap for wheels. Take a good look  under the hood, you may need to rinse down the engine bay. Pay special attention to your unit’s interior. Clean it very well with a dry towel.

Very important: do not blast the water into the engine area and do not saturate any one area too much – particularly around the air cleaner. 

Rinse 

Your vehicle without any dust or mud is a very pleasant sight to behold. Using a pressure washer or your hose,  rinse away the suds and along with them, the mud. Now you can take a look at your beautiful ATV or UTV looking brand new! 

Dry

It’s not a good idea leaving your vehicle drying by itself after all your work as it can leave water spots. Go around with a microfiber towel to dry your vehicle.

Protection

Once you’ve finished drying your UTV or ATV, you can prepare it for the next ride by adding some polish (read the instructions and buy the product designed for your unit). Slick’s protectant provides your vehicle with a protective barrier, preventing mud from sticking and caking as badly next time you’re on the trail. 

Now it’s time to give it some polish and prepare it for the next time you take it out into the mud.

Slick’s protectant gives your UTV a protective barrier, preventing mud from sticking and caking as badly next time you’re in the mud.

Final Recommendations

The sooner you wash your vehicle, the better. It’s easy to remove dirt, but dried mud is very difficult to get rid of. This is why it’s recommended to clean your UTV or ATV after each ride.  

Use the correct products for your side by side or UTV. It’s worth making a good investment on products and cleaning tools since they protect and maintain your vehicle in the best conditions. 

There are plenty of options at our store to protect and prepare your unit for the next ride, including the tires.

Off-road Rentals at Time to Ride AZ 

We take special care for your safety when riding on our side by side rentals, which is why we make sure to keep all of our units in top shape through intense safety checks and full service maintenance after every tour. Give us a call for more information!