How to Care for Electric ATVs
So, you’re considering buying an electric ATV or have already bought one and you are wondering what electric ATV care is like. Find out below!
Knowing How Much Charge You Have
There is a meter to help you maintain electric ATV charge just like the way gas-powered vehicles have a gas gauge. This meter will indicate how much charge your battery has so you can tell whether your battery is fully charged, moderately charged, or low. It will even tell you if the battery is charging. Just as if your gas-powered vehicle is running low, you’ll need to get back to a charging station before the battery’s charge gets too low or you’ll be stuck.
Knowing Your Battery is Charging
It can be surprisingly easy to plug the vehicle in and go to bed only to wake up the next morning and be ready to ride but your battery is still low because your battery hadn’t been getting any juice. You might not have plugged it in right, the outlet may not be operational, or the charger may have overheated. Whatever the reason, you can’t use your electric ATV.
There are several things you can do, depending on the problem.
First, always check the charging lights after you’ve plugged the vehicle in to be sure that it is actually getting power.
If it’s not getting power, reinsert the plug while making sure it is perfectly inserted. If that didn’t help, try plugging the cord into another outlet.
If the charger has overheated, it will shutdown to prevent damage. You can easily remedy this by opening your ATV hood to provide more air flow and then resetting your charger.
Understand Your Battery
How long your battery charge lasts depends on several factors:
- The amount of charge the battery can hold
- How fast you go
- The weight your vehicle is carrying
- The demands of the trail
- How aggressively you ride
- How inflated your tires are
If you’re planning to carry a lot of gear or spend the day mudding, climbing, or going top speeds, you’ll need to prepare for the fact that your battery will drain faster. The extra power needed for this work has to come from somewhere. Calculate this into your plans to keep electric ATVs working as you intend.
Some tips to make the most of your battery:
- Dress less aggressively. There’s brake pressure you need, and an amount that is unnecessarily hard or fast. Avoid the latter.
- Make sure your tires are fully inflated
- If you don’t really need all of your gear or you can pack lighter versions of the same things, go lighter
Electric ATV Battery Maintenance
Electric ATV maintenance is less complicated and less expensive than gas ATV maintenance. It mostly comes down to the battery and keeping your vehicle clean.
You charge electric ATVs in a regular outlet at home or at a charging station. It doesn’t require nearly as much electricity as you’d guess. It uses about the same amount of electricity as your air conditioner uses in 6 hours. Even if you ride the amount we’d all love to ride, that won’t raise your electric bill very much.
You do need to make sure you can charge your ATV in a well-ventilated area with no flammable materials present. Batteries put off hydrogen gas when charging.
Pre-ride, you need to check your battery for corrosion and look at the battery fluid level. Read your owner’s manual to see what fluid levels are ideal for your battery and adjust them before riding if they’re off. If your battery has any other specific requirements, the manual will tell you so.
You don’t have to worry about costs or headaches involved with replacing a battery. You should never have to replace it, because they are expected to last longer than the average life of any ATV. It is possible to purchase a backup battery if you want to ride in places where you’ll drain with your battery with nowhere to charge. Should you ever find yourself needing to replace your battery as part of your electric ATV care, you can recycle it and get money back to help pay for the replacement.
