How many pounds of sand bags needed for winter traction

[Pit Bull]

I have a (new to me) 3500 QC 4x4, how many pounds of sand bags do you need for traction in the snow? I have 5 - 70# tubes from my old 2wd 1/2 ton, will my new ride need more?

 

[klenger]

Skip the sand bags and put the transfer case in 4H and go. With all the weight of the CTD on the front axle, it goes through the snow like a tank (IMHO from one snowstorm).



Ken

 

[JR2]

I would skip the sand, I have a buddy with the same truck you are driving and he put 500 lbs of sand in it and it made no difference. Just put it in 4 by and go... ... I have no problems driving in the snow with mine in 4by.



By the way we already have 20 inches of snow... ...

 

[willyslover]

if ya do use sand. . tie it down, it hurts like helllll when it smaks ya in the back of the head. . personal expierence talking here

 

[D White]

Forget the sand, we had a ton of snow here last year. I got thru it with no problemo, these things are like tanks in 4 wheel drive. You will get a smoother ride with the sand, thats about all from what I can see.



Enjoy the truck,

 

[Shovelhead]

#s of sand

What's your recomendation for us non-FWD guys? ie. 4X2, 6X4

 

[Batman]

4hi and go. Although, I only needed 4 hhi in the worst snow last year.

 

[BK]

While I cant disagree with the 4hi comments...

thats why I would buy the truck without a 'solid' front axle... no comprimise...



I have a 2500 4x4, and added a ARE cap.

The cap made a noticable difference when not in 4x4 hi and even in 4x4 hi, the more weight the better IF your not trying to float on the snow. The Cummins not being on a diet really helps how it handles, stock, in the snow.



I had a van with about 25 sheets of sheet rock in it, pulled into my mom-inlaw's un-plowed driveway without a problem, moved around so we could unload - no problem -... Untill after we unloaded the my van, I couldnt get the van out of the snow... . either need 4x4 or put the sheet rock back in. . so instead we got everyone to pile onto the back of the van, even her mom... . (her mom is a very dear woman, but a very large woman) and got it out.



With out the cap on my 2500 it was soo easy to light them em on dry pavement and had to really watch it in the rain... . the cap added to drivability while using the power when not towing or loaded. I have the stock Michilens(sp?) 245.



The cap weighs in at about 300 lbs.



After putting some weight in the back, remember to air up the rear tires. When trying to get down to the pavement in snow (not float on the snow), you want then aired up correctly. To much air reduces your contact patch, to low does too and also closes up the treads.



Bob

 

[illflem]

Although my truck makes it through the snow in 4wd just fine I carry 800 lbs in the back, then I don't need 4wd at all. Never cared for the way it steers when I got on clear pavement in 4wd. The ride is so much better with the extra weight that I leave it there late into the spring till I need the full bed for hauling, have even gone into the summer. 10 psi extra in the rears seems about right for me. I just happened upon a piece of concrete that fits perfectly between the wheel wells added some tie down and lift hooks. Also added angle iron to the four corners that extends to the bedsides locking it into the bed. I also happen to have a forklift though. Take heed to what Willyslover said, any unsecured objects in the bed are a potential missile though the rear window in a panic stop or side off the road on ice. A friend of mine was badly injured when a big piece of firewood he was using for weight came though the window, a frozen sandbag can be just as deadly.

 

[Ramafid]

I put 5 80lb bags of concrete in the back. Made a frame out of wood to keep them from moving around. I let the concrete harden so its like having square rocks in the back. Makes a huge difference in traction and ride quality.

 

[KB0OU]

FUEL

i put about 700 lbs of diesel fuel in the back and about 200 lbs of hitches, and about another 200 lbs. of tools.



and then most of the time about 1000 lbs of trailer tongue wieght just to hold things down good!!!!!!

 

[RustyJC]

Re: #s of sand

Originally posted by Shovelhead

What's your recomendation for us non-FWD guys? ie. 4X2, 6X4

Back in my former life when I lived in Ohio, I carried 800 lbs of sand in the back of my 1996 V-10 3500 6x4. That sucker had the 3. 54's and didn't even have a limited slip rear axle (edit: I guess that made it a 6x2!). It never got stuck, but it was interesting in the winter to say the least!



With any luck, the new 6x4 will never see snow or ice down here on the Texas Gulf Coast!



Rusty

 

[EricBu12]

how heavy?

I weighed my truck at a truckstop scale and the front axle was 4400 lbs and the rear was 3240 lbs. this is with a full fuel tank and me in it and that is it. I have a leer shell in back and a highlift jack mounted back there so overall I have 400 - 500 lbs in the back, no need for sand. rear is almost as heavy as the front.

Eric

 

[CJ Johansson]

Single Rear Wheels for Snow?

With my flatbed, I've never worried about extra weight in the back (empty weight is 8380 lbs, I don't know individual axle weight).



What I've been wondering is, with the dually, you have so much surface area back there that you tend to float on top of the snow, so, what would be the effect of running with one set of wheels removed in the rear? I've never done this, but have heard of people doing it. Of course, they all claim it makes a drastic improvement, but, never having much of a problem with snow on the roads, I'm not sure what a "drastic" improvement would be.



So, any opinions on running singles in the rear on a 3500 for winter?



-cj

 

[JWhitcomb]

Tie It Down

Long ago I was the first person to come upon a car that ran off the road and hit a rock. I found a teenager dead, he had been hit by a tool box that was loose in the bed. That image has never left my memory.

 

[Pit Bull]

Thanks guys I'm running with the bed empty, and if the snow gets to bad I can alway drive the Landcruiser with the lockers and the BFG AT/KO's (if my wife will let me use her LC)

Denny

 

[forr]

I use 15 (that's fifteen) 80-100 pound assorted tractor weights. I have a rubber bed mat and place the weights flat on the bed & evenly distributed - I do not stack them (metal to metal will slide) & they do not move on the bed mat. I had no traction problems in up to 10" of snow. Just remember the outer rear wheel likes to catch snow drifts along the roadside.

 

[klenger]

Here's an idea. Shovel the snow from the driveway into the bed of the truck. Get's rid of the snow and adds weight to the truck. When the weather warms up, the snow melts away when you don't need it anymore.



Oh, you had ideas of hauling something else in your truck too?

 

[JB @ C and L Machine]

I guess am lucky to have access to a 1000 pound ingot and the crane to load it in with. I just plop it in as close as I can get it to the cab and block it up so it doesnt slide... that way I can drive in 2wd as much as possible...

 

[BK]

John;



Are you real lucky... is that ingot by any chance GOLD?

If so can I shave a bit off of it?

just a little... pleeaaazzzzzeee

you wont miss it. .



tnx

Bob