I can tune to my local airport TWR from home about 10 miles (as the crow flies) but can't seem to tune into their ATIS. Would you expect I would be able to from 10 miles away?
Depends. Where is the antenna that broadcasts the ATIS? Although most airports have it co-located with the other antennas on the top of the tower, it is by no means universal.
In the old Dash 8-102 I used to fly when we were on the ground almost all our communication had to be conducted through COMM 1. This is because the antenna is on the top of the airplane and actually has line of sight. COMM 2's antenna is on the bottom of the airplane and, in some cases, was shaded by ground objects making communication impossible.
A similar thing could be happening to you.