Home made built-ins for weight over axle

[Stewie]

I am looking for ideas on some home made boxes for a 2002 ranger bed to keep items used for winter traction weight over the rear axles in place.
I want something that I can put weights, sand bags etc and keep them in place so they wont fly around in the bed.
Any designs that work for you guys would be a great help.
I have looked at commercial fixes but they do not seem to cover what I need.
thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Andy D]

using 2x 8s. A piece against the forward end of the bed. 3 2x8 on edge to a cross wise piece at the forward edge of the wheel well. In between the wells, there will be 4 cement blocks or sand bags. Use a piece of plywood to cover to use the bed. Use 3 1/2 " screws to assemble.

 

[Mcleary316]

 

[Andy D]

Nice neat job. Trouble is that the fasteners going forward from the wheel well are all that is holding the sand bags in place. In the event of a crash,you dont want that weight moving, The screws are just in compression going forward. That is what my forward bracing to the front of the bed provides.

 

[Stewie]

So far so good Keep them coming!

 

[doorgunner]

using 2x 8s. A piece against the forward end of the bed. 3 2x8 on edge to a cross wise piece at the forward edge of the wheel well. In between the wells, there will be 4 cement blocks or sand bags. Use a piece of plywood to cover to use the bed. Use 3 1/2 " screws to assemble.

why not adapt everybodys ideas together.....

make a false floor for the entire bed that can be lifted up & stored when not needed...

make the 2" x 8" frame fit the entire bed-floor with the usual partitian over the axle area for sandbags....

lay some Home Depot/lowes/etc. sandbags down as needed---they lay flatter and have tough bags that last for years.......

then make a pattern & cut a sheet of plywood to fit the entire bed & screw it down to the frame like they said....

that way, you have a false floor annnnnnd the whole bed would be easy to use....

 

[Mac]

What ever you decide on, make real sure the load is properly restrained. Andy D's doesn't really take any big screws, all the force is transfered to the forward piece and to the front of the box. Weight moving at 60 mph has a lot of energy. Had a guy at work who put a good load of firewood in his S-10. Slid thru a Tee intersection tnto a tree. Wood came right thru the back window and he spent three weeks in the hospital.
Dave

 

[Mark_88]

Snow~

When it snows, I let the bed fill up...it's pretty heavy...and gives great traction...if it stops snowing I shovel some out when the roads are cleared...if I need more...just back up to the nearest snowbank and make a withdrawl on your snow account...shovel some in...

Only time this gets out of whack is if there is no snow on the ground and you run into a blizzard...that's where my plan B comes into play...for plan B plans send $9.99...monkey back guarantee...

 

[kunar]

that's where my plan B comes into play...for plan B plans send $9.99...monkey back guarantee...

hahaha!

 

[FritzTKatt]

Last year I took a large drop of scrap and set it in with the crane, lift strap and all. It slid forward of course, but it stopped at the front of the bed and was heavy enough to stay put in turns.

Just putting the 2x4 across the wheel wells and having your blocks in at the tailgate will work well too.

 

[shane96ranger]

why not adapt everybodys ideas together.....

make a false floor for the entire bed that can be lifted up & stored when not needed...

make the 2" x 8" frame fit the entire bed-floor with the usual partitian over the axle area for sandbags....

lay some Home Depot/lowes/etc. sandbags down as needed---they lay flatter and have tough bags that last for years.......

then make a pattern & cut a sheet of plywood to fit the entire bed & screw it down to the frame like they said....

that way, you have a false floor annnnnnd the whole bed would be easy to use....

Now, that is some thinking DG. Great idea.

.for plan B plans send $9.99...monkey back guarantee...

Did someone say trunk monkey?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

When I haul something heavy I put it up againt the front of the bed, there is no where for it to go during a hard stop except through the forward bulkhead and through the back of the cab which is rather unlikely.

IMO it would be my placement of preferance if hauling ballast for snow, I would rather haul more weight up there than have less retained by boards fashioned in some homemade contraption that nobody really knows how will react in a crash.

A std cab longbox 4x4 A4LD/M5OD rear driveshaft fits perfectly infront of the wheel wells... which is handy if you have a std cab longbox A4LD/M5OD 4x4 truck so you have a spare. Works great to keep stuff from sliding around during hard accleration.

 

[racsan]

i have a sand-filled spare tire from a 3/4 ton truck laying in the middle of my truck bed during the winter, weighs 217 pounds...and tonight i just added more weight, its cold and supposed to get colder, more snow supposed to come in, truck is parked in such a way that the back end is higher than the front, i took water out in a 3 gallon stock pot and kept adding until it filled the front and started coming out the back, probly about 4" deep at the front of the bed. it should freeze solid tonight and im guessing ive got about 50 more pounds in the back now. will be intresting to see if its a noticeable differance. the sand-filled tire is held by many tarp straps to each of the four corner eye bolts in the bed stake pockets. plus once that water freezes that i just put in, its not going anywhere.....

 

[96Indyram]

I use railroad ties for my weight. Got tired of the sand bags (white tube) ripping apart come spring thaw when I go to remove them.
Railroad ties weigh about 250 pounds each at full length. What ever vehicle I need weight in I buy a couple, measure the length of the bed with tailgate up. Cut to fit (Chainsaw works great)..then slide them in one on each side and close the tailgate. Then I use 4x4's at the front and rear between them to keep them from being able to slide sideways.
They cant move forward or back...or side to side....and re-use them every year.

 

[RangerSVT]

Get a drop cloth/piece of plastic about 6 foot by 8 foot, put it in the bed. Put about 4" of water in the bed, let it freeze. Once frozen, it aint going no where, aint sliding, and no one will steal it. Best part is, you still have full use of your bed...

SVT