Winter! Bed filled with snow.. Weight good for traction?

mohemipar said:

First thing you want when dealing with snow is good tires. The truck’s own weight and 4WD system will be plenty to do the rest.

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I'm really glad you said that!

I am waiting for my order to come in... A 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn 4 x 4. I ordered it with the off road group, so it will have all terrain tires .

I was getting a little scared reading this thread .This is the first truck that I will own. I always bought SUV's in the past. Winter time traction was never an issue .

I was hoping the extra weight was just for 2wd vehicles.

A 4 x 4 with good tires designed for snow should be okay, right?

hotrod45 said:

I am extremely doubtful of that figure. Snow varies radically in water content. Is that packed snow? I'd be concerned about winding up with a block of ice all form fitted to the bed of the truck.

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ya i have no clue. it was a quick google search haha

blue924.9 said:

1000 pound steel plate in the bed AND good tires here in Minnesota and I have pushed through snow up to the hood.

My friends mock me for all the weight but it transforms a vehicles abilities. I set the plate so some goes to the front and most to the rear axle.

Never got stuck in a 2wd ford all throughout high school unless I was being stupid and deserved it

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1. where do you get a 1000 lb plate

2. how do you load such a heavy thing in the truck?

3. how do you tie it down? rope would just snap.

4. how much does it affect your gas?

1000 lb plate seems like it would make braking more difficult and could be an exageration. That said 1000lb plate not Hard to find. Thicker plate steel adds up pretty fast. With access to a forklift, shop crane or any heavy lifting equipment you can load and unload and with a bit of lumber to protect your straps you can tie it down. Actually not a bad way to add weight and retain bed space

Not sure where it came from it was handed down with the truck from my grandpa. It's loaded with a skid loader or tractor. I use chain looped through the tailgate and around the reciever and ratchet straps on the front.

I'm sure it affects braking and fuel but the truck gets warmed up and shut off less anyway so I don't care about fuel mileage. More weight tends to add distance but I have more traction to brake harder before the wheels lock up ( old truck no abs). 1020 pounds is the official weight. It is 4ft by 6 ft and over 1 inch thick

300~400lb is fine, I use about 300 in the winter but my tires are in good shape. We get some snow here to, not this 1 foot dusting everyone talks about.

I have a spray-on bedliner and no tonneau cover on my 2016 rcsb Ram Sport 4X4. I let the snow build up in the bed. If it isn't cold out, I usually shovel most of it out whenever I can.
I HATE winter though. lol

I've owned a pick up for over 35 years and only had 5 of them in that period the most recent purchased in August of '17 so I'm talking long term ownership. In fact the third one was with me for 11 years and the fourth one for 16 years. The first one had a cap. The second one had no liner of any sort. The third had nothing in it either. The fourth I decided to put a liner in. The 5th has the factory sprayed on style. I've NEVER had an issue with rust on any of the trucks. The snow will melt when the sun comes out, eventually, depending on ambient temps. The only times I ever cleared the snow out was if I needed to cary something, otherwise I let nature run its course.

Traction is another story. Unless you have 4WD I can see slippery conditions being a PITA unless you have decent tires.

Ram1958 said:

A Kenworth with a loaded of 50.000 lbs on a 20.000 lb trailer does no better on a long grade than a Kenworth Bobtailing. MyExperience.

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Nonsense!!

A few years back: Local hardware store had 60lb sandbags on sale.
At that time I purchased 8.

I was told by a engineer to lay them as far back as possible, so as close to the tailgate as possible. He explained: This distributes the weight more efficiently then compared to directly over the axle. Which he basically told me this aids in better traction compared to all the weight being placed directly over the rear axle.
(If your tires are in good enough shape to transition that traction to the ground).

Proper winter tires & a limited slip/anti-slip/locking rearend & 4WD helps drastically as well. Every pickup I have owned has had these except the lockers. My pet peeve is not being prepared when I have plenty of time to prepare.

Knock on wood: I’ve never been stuck or stranded in winter snow or ice storms.
The JUDGE is always parked in the garage. So She will really never have any heavy snow accumulation within the bed.

Any added weight in the proper position is better then nothing at all.

Ram1958 said:

I was told by a engineer to lay them as far back as possible, so as close to the tailgate as possible. He explained: This distributes the weight more efficiently then compared to directly over the axle. Which he basically told me this aids in better traction compared to all the weight being placed directly over the rear axle.

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Problem the first: Once you move the added weight behind the axle you begin remove weight from your steering axle.
Problem the second: As you move weight away from the center more force is required to change direction, requiring more traction.

Go to home depot. Place a pair of bags of concrete on the middle of a cart. As you push forward it minimal effort should be needed to steer. Move one bag all the way forward, the other all the way back and try again. As you push it much more effort should be needed to steer the cart.

Ram1958 said:

The added weight is only good for start-up traction. (not required if 4x4). The downside of added weight is lower gas mileage, longer stopping distances and steering control

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Added weight can also help maintain traction while cornering, however once traction has been lost you have additional momentum to deal with.

Ram1958 said:

Even as little as 200 lbs in bed can raise front wheels.

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Added weight ahead of or on top of the axle will not reduce weight from the steering axle.

200Lbs at the back of the bed (or further back on the trailer hitch) may be enough to raise the headlights, but you would need much more than that to raise the wheels.

I suppose if you were trying for 50/50 weight distribution then setting the weight near the back and applying leverage on the rear axle may be effective to a point as less weight will achieve that goal, but bumps in the road will have a much greater effect on handling that way as the extra weight will work to lighten the front end. Better off applying weight directly over the rear axle for overall stability.

I've been driving various vehicles in various winter conditions for over 40 years. Even a 4 wheel drive truck will benefit from additional weight in the bed, regardless of tires, or even chains. I add about 400 lbs right over the rear axle of my 1500, thus leaving storage area near the tailgate.