2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission How much weight in bed for good winter traction?

[David_VT]

PLS listen to willyslover

I saw willyslover's truck after it 'stopped abruptly'.



The load in his bed totally destroyed the back of the quad cab and anyone who might have been sitting there would have been crushed to death.



After that happened I came back home to Vermont and made a frame from 2x8's that crisscrossed the bed to hold sand bags and tools boxes. A hunk of plywood on top holds it all together...



The weight makes the truck drive better! When I have my cap on, that also helps the weight.



If you really need traction in snow I recommend both well controlled weight and a method to stop axle hop. Consider a solution like ladder bars to keep the rear axle from jumping forward and back in the deep snow. There are other solutions to do the same thing,

 

[Dieselnutz]

I am working on a 8" pipe bumper filled with quickcrete that slides in the receiever hitch. It should weigh 400lbs, be behind the rear axle, secure, and add some extra crash protection.



What do you think?

 

[Dieselnutz]

Oh yeah. Some sand in the bed can get you unstuck on ice and lower tire pressure gives you a bigger contact patch and does work.



Wade up on that big hill you better drive the 12 valve 4x4 in snow.

 

[WadePatton]

Hey, I got up it in the 4x2 last year when others were slidin off and holding me up.



Don't know about that 12v'er. It's not as easy to turn DOWN.



TractionSmacktion I like slipping around. Oo.















some.

 

[Josparkz]

Get you one of these Packrat units;



http://www.industrialladder.com/mai...rd_Van_Equipment/1/Steel_Pack_Rat_Drawers.htm



bolt it down to your bed and fill it with wrenches.



Then , get one of those aft axle fuel tanks, bolt that up underneath, and you have another 400 lbs hanging on your tail.

And you don't have to waste valuable bed space by filling it up with sand

 

[DSteinel]

Its not easy to strap down, but when I'm plowing snow I use the counter weight off an old tow motor, Not sure what it weight is but I weighed the truck last spring and it was 10700#'s with the plow on. Makes it real easy to push snow with that much weight

 

[nbr1trucker]

dieselnutz, sounds like a great idea----keep us posted!!!! Ian

 

[dremelts]

We have a water softener so I usually go to Sam's Club and buy about 16 40# bags of salt and put them inside a 2x6 frame in the bed of the truck. Then, in the spring, we just start using them in the softener.

 

[J Shocik]

IMO why add weight? Reading your truck description, you say you have 4 wheel drive. Do what I do- when you feel the wheels start to spin, let off the gas, put it in 4-Hi, and keep going! No messy and unslightly weights taking up space, eating up gas milage, possibly going through the back window, and no worries on what to do with them in the spring. The motor over the front axle gives you the weight you need when you need it.

 

[RKohn]

Behind a 2x10 held in place with a load lock...

1 - big bag of old tire chains



1 - heavy tow chain



1 - 70 lb. tube of sand



1 - 50lb. bag of oil dry



1- 50lb. bag of ice melt



5 - 40lb pails of cat litter (un-used) Phew!!!



Plus boots, carharts, shovels, extra oil, washer solvent and whatever else was cluttering up the garage.





Forget the traction... It rides so nice with an extra 400-500 lbs. back there!!!

 

[Phil Stuart]

weight in bed

I use 16 round concrete cores approx. 6" dia. X 12" long two rows across between the wheelwells. I'm gonna guess there about 20 lbs a piece?

Seems to do the trick so far. I have quite a few more cores if I happen to need them.



Phil

 

[EagleEye]

Just use water...

Way back when I had my 97, the rear axle hop was driving me crazy. I tried Ride Rite shackles which didn't work AT ALL, airbags, removing overload braces, etc.



When loading my camper, I would have to put the darned overload braces back on.



My final solution and current setup is to shave 1. 25" from the rear blocks (keeping proper axle angle) which makes the truck sit slightly more level. BUT the real easy mod that has worked well and is recommended is 600 lbs of water in the back of the truck!!!



I simply bought a 'Fat Sac' ballast bag that is used in the water ski industry. I place a 2x6 at the rear box point, and place the Fat Sac behind that (Sac is sitting behind board and next to tailgate). I fill 'er up with water, get it to the weight I like, and forget about it.



When I need the cargo area, I just open up the Sac and drain my ballast to the ground.



If I were involved in a wreck harsh enough to have the Fat Sac move, I'm kinda figuring it will rupture and send a plume of 'rain' all over the scene. Not too worried about it, the bag ain't 'bullet proof' Works for me!

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

EagleEye wrote:

recommended is 600 lbs of water in the back of the truck!!!

As I was reading this I was thinking "I'll bet this guy is from California. " Sure nuff. The problem is round these parts this would be a 600 pound chunk of ice - on the move. We are talking mini-glacier. Near as I can figure, figuring not being one of my strong points, 600 lbs is about 222 gallons. At a 50/50 mix it would take 111 gallons of antifreeze to nueter this ice cube.



(had to edit this because my calculations were foul, see I warned you: 600lbs = 72 gal/2 = 36 gal antifreeze at 50/50 mix )



Unless I kept it in a heated garage and drove around for short periods of time. Or had a 12 volt water heater, say like one of those coffe cup heaters



It was an idea though.

 

[Chief USA]

Here is a good AND safe way to add weight to the back of your truck but the John Deere suit case weights are pricey as is most anything with green paint.



Flexpoint®Suitcase Weight Rack

 

[d.miner]

I just returned from a 3500 mile trip, WA. to So. Cal. to Tucson and back, used 10 - fifty pound sand bags in back and it worked great !

 

[Sled Puller]

Originally posted by Ol'TrailDog

EagleEye wrote:



We are talking mini-glacier. .

hehehehe! Almost as good as Willy being a test dummy!

Parts of Willys truck lives on across the country!



Used to use cement blocks in the old Chev, prolly kind of silly, thinking back.



Hauling tractor weights to the pulls, we always kept them near the back-easier to get in and out. Also, it let them pick up speed before they hit the cab.





I have found 300-500 pounds of sand in a wood frame works pretty well, helps keep things from spinning so much.



How much would that plate of steel weigh?

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

I Have Never weigted any of my trucks down. My ram now I KNOW will drive through 3 FEET in 4x4 with no issues... ... 2 feet with a trailer! Now I Mainly do say that is the tyres but you 2500 guys should have no problems at all (Non dually = less floatation)





If ya want to weigh it down ... find a guy with a snowblower and have the snow thrown into the bed. THAT I have done just for giggles and it is reeeaaal easy to get 1500 lbs of snow in the bed after its been through a snow blower it compacts.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

rfraziers John Deere idea gives me an idea, oh painful



How welding a horizontal round bar on a receiver sized stock and putting barbell weights on it. The weight are dog cheap at thrift stores and garage sales. I put them in the back of my wifes "busRus" but this post has me rethinking that. Actually, I had a conversation earlier in the summer about getting a cargo cage because of an email I received about somebody getting slammed, big time.



Thanks rfrazier

 

[mcoleman]

The weight in the bed is to prevent the back of the truck from swapping with the front of the truck. I find that it helps a bunch especially in our area where we always have layer of ice under the snow. I came around a corner yesterday and even going at a slow rate of speed on the snow hit glaze ice with about 1/2 inch of water on top. Even in 4X4 my back in slid around as soon as I let off the throttle with weight in the bed this is not a problem. Off canter corners will also send the backend swinging around on ice where a weighted bed prevents it. If you think it's not needed it's because you haven't tried it yet. I usually always have weight in there but I wasn't suspecting 7 inches of snow overnight. Plus we have 8 more inches on the way Friday night. Just what I always wanted. On that receiver stock idea. There use to be a guy that raced at my local track with a 90 454SS Chevy that had been rebuilt into a 468 roller motor with a about a 350hp fogger system on it. He built a setup just like you described and used it to obtain low 1. 6 60 foots and 7. 50 ETs in the 1/8 mile on MT ET Streets. It hung about 3 feet behind his truck. He would drive over from about 45 miles away get out and slide that thing in and rip off 7. 5s over and over again. It looked funny but worked really well in keeping him hooked all the way down the track when the fogger system was adding stages. .

 

[Dieselnutz]

I have been debating my receiver bumper idea with a fellow Cummins owner at work lately. He uses a 2x6 box securing 2 55 gal plastic barrels filled with water on his 4x4 dually centered over the axle and strapped down. His argument is the receiver bumper would lighten the front end. I agree but that 800 plus pound of ice coming through the back still scares me. Those that have gooseneck hitches could use plate steel with a hole torched out to fit over the ball and a coupler to secure it. 5th wheel hitches could use thick plate steel bolted to it. Either on still leaves the bed available for use. The bumper still adds the extra crash protection!!





Concrete filled receiver bumpers for sale $50 (SHIPPING AND HANDLING $500)