adding weight to truck bed to aid traction

[CHKNFKR]

the biggest benefit of having it as far forward as possible is that it has no where to go. if you have 200# up against your cab and get in a wreck, it remains mostly stationary. if you have it 6' behind the cab, when your truck stops going 40, the 200# object continues going 40 and has momentum when it meets the cab.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

As long as you keep the sand dry it won't freeze. in the event of a collision it will slam into the cap and the bag will bust open, sand will go everywhere. while there will still be a dent in the back of the cap, there will not be a hole. that's the difference.

What cap? A 60lb bag of whatever won't mind going thru a rear window.

 

[CHKNFKR]

Cab, i'm using a phone... If its at window level you are correct. This is why i previosly said as far forward as possible as well. The closer to the cab it is the less likely it is to go anywhere, particularly up and through the window, definately not through the cab.

 

[AaronC]

Lincoln Locker.. two full size spares in the very rear of the bed..

Good to go!

 

[TheTopher]

the biggest benefit of having it as far forward as possible is that it has no where to go. if you have 200# up against your cab and get in a wreck, it remains mostly stationary. if you have it 6' behind the cab, when your truck stops going 40, the 200# object continues going 40 and has momentum when it meets the cab.

That's true, but for about $10-20 worth of 2x4s you can just build a box that fits around the wheel wells to secure your 200#

 

[02RangerXLT]

Nice box, though I would get rid of that POS shovel if it has a plastic "shovel" part...

 

[TheTopher]

That was just the first pic I found on google, it's not my truck. I'm lazy and just use whatever snow happens to land in my truck's bed during the storm


But if I were to actually put forth the effort for sand, that's how I'd do it.

 

[02RangerXLT]

That was just the first pic I found on google, it's not my truck. I'm lazy and just use whatever snow happens to land in my truck's bed during the storm


But if I were to actually put forth the effort for sand, that's how I'd do it.

Ah gotcha, now that I look at it, it looks like a half ton.

I had two sand bags in my pickup, but they were frickin frozen and I have that POS Ford Stock bedliner so they just slid around... I was going to build something like that above, but we haven't gotten enough snow to justify it yet.

 

[mp3deviant721]

im not surebout you guys, but i can take my truck up a hill with a foot of snow and ice no problem, WITHOUT any weight added. 2wd LS rear end with bfg at ko tires.

You have good tires and limited slip, we don't. And I really didn't think about the stuff I have flying around in an accident. I guess I will have to come up with a different way then. Maybe fab up a basket from steel and put sand bags in it?

 

[strvger]

first, what size tires do you have? i'll have a couple of Firestone Destination AT's in about a week with less then 10k miles on them you can have and i'll meet up with you in Grand Rapids again. they are 235/75x15. just pm me if you want them.

ok as for weight in the back, i recommend 2 70# bags of sand, usually about $3-5 ea, AND one 40-50# bag of salt or floor dry or kitty litter, all under $5-10. they all work well to get you additional traction if you get stuck on ice. the floor dry and kitty litter (close to the same thing) you can use in the summer to help keep the garage floor clean. if you use the water softener granular salt, it can be used in the water softener when you're done with it in the truck. the pellets don't work as well melting ice on a road.
just my $.02.

 

[Grey_04]

what i did was to get me a tube from a skidder tire. cut it in half nailed 2 pieces of 2x4 to one end then filled it full of sand so i had a 4 foot long tube. took 2 2x4's and drywall screwed them together to close the other end. then slid that under my bed rail toolbox in the front of my bed. my bed liner has the pockets to slip 2x? in to keep things in place. i have a 2x6 there and the tube stays right under my box.

 

[mywhip]

I bought pea gravel at Menards. Bagged and all, 200 lbs for 8$

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

please tell me you guys have some means of securing these objects in your bed. the snow plow blades in particular.

Yea'...putting solid objects in the bed is a very bad idea. Rocks, drivetrain components, snowplow cutting edges...having them in the back of a truck in a car crash is a great way to get injured Final Destination-style. In my experience I just shovel my bed full of snow when we get it and my truck runs fine. I've got about 200-300lbs in my toolbox. But that's more towards the middle of the truck than over the axle. Go with sand or something similar if you want weight, but make sure it's not a big fawking solid object unless you get a big fawking headache rack to go with it.

Yep, you deff don't want anything solid back there that can come through the back of the cab in a wreck. Or to fly out and injure someone else.

With a cap or bed cover on my Ranger I used to put a couple bags of lead shot in front of and behind the wheel arch in the bed. Small enough it was out of the way, rather weighty (25# each), and because it was lead shot, it wouldn't move much of anywhere. Sand bags work well as long as they don't freeze. I used a couple tubesand bags from Home Depot last year in my F-150, but they were constantly in the way and after spending a winter in the bed of the truck, they managed to absorb enough moisture to freeze solid.

Snow works pretty good but I wouldn't use any ice.

Lol I never said to use snow blades, don't you know what a cutting edge is?

Yes I know what a cutting edge is and I suspect TheTopher knows too. It's a big hunk of thick steel. Which would make a great lance through the back of the cab before it skewers the engine in the event of a wreck.

 

[Mac]

The further back any weight is, sure does help in the traction. It also enhances any swing in the rear end and prolongs it, something like polar momentum. Weight is better place further forward and strapped in or like that nice boxed in sand thing. Even something weighing 5lb and moving 40-60 mph can do a lot of damage.
Have a Happy New Year and be safe out there!
Dave

 

[Base Model]

Jegs and summit sell big bags you can fill with water that lay flat in the bed.

http://www.shurtrax.com/