How much weight is enough?

[Lefty]

I got a sheet of 3/4" plywood in the F150. Not for traction, just as a "bedliner" and to reduce donkey kicking over bumps.

I put down an oak plank floor like those old school pickups.

 

[cbxer55]

I don't add "weight" as in steel or such. However, at times I have been seen with added snow packed into the box for weight. being that as it warms up, the snow melts out and there is no need to take said steel back out again.

Been there done that. But my Ranger has a tonneau cover on it now. And no, I don't add any weight. I've done it in the past, and really didn't notice any improvement. We get more ice in Oklahoma than snow. I think more weight in the back could be more troublesome than less. Once the weight gets moving, your hard pressed to stop it.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Been there done that. But my Ranger has a tonneau cover on it now. And no, I don't add any weight. I've done it in the past, and really didn't notice any improvement. We get more ice in Oklahoma than snow. I think more weight in the back could be more troublesome than less. Once the weight gets moving, your hard pressed to stop it.

Yup, the best thing for ice, is chains, not weight. Studs and highly siped tires help too. Weight, not so much.

 

[bilbo]

I never used any in my ranger, just the topper. The f250 was another matter. Even with the lsd It was so front heavy it needed snow tires and weight. I would usually use about 400 lbs. of sand. I got caught off guard last fall by the first snow and ended up stuck in 4-5 inches of snow in a parking lot. With the empty bed and summer tires it wouldn’t move at all. Had to shovel wheel tracks all the way back to the packed down area so I could get out. A lady in a little Honda suv offered to pull me out. Boy was that embarrassing. Put the snow tires on the next day.

 

[racsan]

You can have too much, years ago (before my green 93 ranger) I had a 2wd gm 3/4 ton longbed reg cab. 350/NV4500/3.73 I had it loaded up with bags of sand and it had a high roof fiberglass cap on it. When it would start to slide it was about impossible to bring it out of it. Hell of a truck otherwise. Really liked the gas though, 14 was the average, Id hate to feed it at todays fuel prices though.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Dad ran 2wd dump trucks for his business, he never plowed so didn’t see a need for 4x4. But he ran them year round for concrete work and as soon as I was driving a manual when I was 17, he put me in the second dump truck most of the time. He ran aggressive tires in the back and they all had a limited slip rear. They went like tanks, better than some 4x4s. The one time I had it stuck in some muddy ground after dumping, I decided to transfer some more weight to the back… by that I mean I ran the dump bed all the way back up, then played the clutch ever so nice and that was juuust enough to get rolling again. I had disengaged the PTO before I tried moving so I didn’t have to worry about revving it and could just hit the down “button” (cable driven, there was a bracket with two big buttons that you pushed or pulled) and drop the bed as I went.

 

[Lefty]

The Ford Ranger Flareside Regular Cab weighs in at about 3,000 pounds. That's 500 pounds less than a Mustang. I figure that 250-300 pounds of fine gravel does not make the back end too heavy, or too hard to handle if/when the back end breaks loose. The streets here have been covered with about 3 inches of snow today. I tested it out. Sure enough, I've got a better grip with the weight. I forced the back end to fish tail, but it's still easy to control.

That's all the weight I had. More might be better. I don't know.

Nothing works on ice, of course, except maybe chains.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Ice....studded tires.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Ice....studded tires.

Those are illegal in most states unless you are a US Mail carrier

AJ

 

[Shran]

I might put a couple 100lb bags of sand in the wife's truck, it is 4wd but every little bit helps. I usually do not put any in mine and don't feel that I need it.

My F250 is absolutely terrible in the snow though. That one needs weight, and a lot of it. I went out breaking trail last weekend in it and it was all over the place... even with a pair of full size Bronco axles, a 200lb log and two Christmas trees in the back. I'm guessing that was about 800lbs +/- and not enough. Mud tires don't help matters. I hate driving that truck in the winter... empty is too light and it slides all over, loaded down is too much and it just digs in and sinks. There is no happy medium. I hope I never get stuck in that fat pig.

Those are illegal in most states unless you are a US Mail carrier

They are a seasonal item here, legal from like October to May or something like that.

 

[Blmpkn]

Studded tires need to come off April 1 in Maine.

 

[Roert42]

they talked about us getting some slush/icy rain today. I tossed a couple of bags of sand I had left over from something in the bed.

I doubt I'll need them. I think it's mostly going to end up being rain.

 

[Lefty]

Ice....studded tires.

Yes, if you have them

 

[Lefty]

I might put a couple 100lb bags of sand in the wife's truck, it is 4wd but every little bit helps. I usually do not put any in mine and don't feel that I need it.

My F250 is absolutely terrible in the snow though. That one needs weight, and a lot of it. I went out breaking trail last weekend in it and it was all over the place... even with a pair of full size Bronco axles, a 200lb log and two Christmas trees in the back. I'm guessing that was about 800lbs +/- and not enough. Mud tires don't help matters. I hate driving that truck in the winter... empty is too light and it slides all over, loaded down is too much and it just digs in and sinks. There is no happy medium. I hope I never get stuck in that fat pig.



They are a seasonal item here, legal from like October to May or something like that.

Funny. We had an F25o at work too. Same damn problem, even on wet streets.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

How about a refrigerator? Will that do for winter weight?