Adding Bed Weight for Winter Driving

[SniperDroid]

I made a correction in my last post, back then i only had cars.
I bought my first truck in 1970 or '71, i kept that 1956 Chevy 3200, ( longbed, 1/2 ton ) until 2016.
When i sold it, the only original factory equipment on it was the Sheet Metal & even with that, the 4 Cab Corners had been replaced.
I still have dreams about that truck

Dreams, or Nightmares?

 

[kmwisinski]

just noticed that @kmwisinski doesn't live all that far away. If your tires are three peak rated, that will handle just about any weather Michigan in that general area will throw at you, if it doesn't you probably don't need to be on the road.

I have BFG KO2 tires and my truck did allright last year without adding additional weight. However, with etorque, it doesn't take much to break them loose on wet or snowy surfaces. I've since added 300 lbs of sand and can definately feel the added traction the weight provides.

 

[Dean2]

I have BFG KO2 tires and my truck did allright last year without adding additional weight. However, with etorque, it doesn't take much to break them loose on wet or snowy surfaces. I've since added 300 lbs of sand and can definately feel the added traction the weight provides.

So why don't you just throw it in 4 by and have endless traction?

 

[tron67j]

I always added between 800 to 1,000 pounds of sand bags directly over the rear axle, my bed liners always have slots where I can place 2x6s from side to side. It is night and day difference in traction and handling and certainly makes a difference whether just driving or plowing regardless of 2wd or in 4wd.

And just to add my badge, I lived until a few years ago where we measured snow in the hundreds of inches.

 

[HEMIMANN]

This is an interesting question, one I haven't thought about for years.

I've been driving crew cab 4x4's since they first came out, and find the weight distribution isn't as skewed toward the front axle when bed is unloaded, so I haven't put sand tubes in since at least the 90's. I also only drive with limited slip or locking rear axles, and 4x4, so I haven't had any slippage issues in winter - here in mid-Minnesota (which is bone dry at the moment!).

I don't usually haul much in winter except snowmobiles, but they're "light" @ only 460 lbs each. I usually have my firewood stacked by now also, so not hauling that in winter either.

Critical is tires - I can't afford two sets of dedicated season tires in load range E, so I compromise with an AT, General Grabber ATX. Very good tire.

 

[GTyankee]

My dreams about the 1956 Chevy 3200 long bed are still good thoughts.
The frame at the rear was set up with springs & perches for a Ford 330 rear end.
The Frame from the firewall forward was a clip from a 1971 Chevelle.
I had just finished having another frame built,
it was set up with a 3.07 Camaro rear differential & a 1968 Camaro front clip.

I had to sell the 1956, because in the garage is my 1979 Harley Shovelhead Trike, my 2009 Dodge Ram was in my parking spot, the 1956 Chevy was parked in the street & i had just bought the 2016 Ram, from January 2016 through June, it was in the auto body shop.

I sold the 1956 in June, the newly modified frame had to go with it.
Then in September, i also sold the 2009 Dodge Ram to a Gym teacher at school.

So i dream about finishing & installing that new frame on the 1956.

The other dream is the Minister that bought it, parked it in his back yard & his Son drove his Jeep into the side of that 1956.

I never asked what he did with the newly modified frame, but he sold the 1956 to a guy that was going to make a hot rod out of it. Which meant switching to a Short bed & shortening the frame.

It already had a 350/325 cu.in. street & strip engine
350 Chevy tranny
330 Ford rear differential
The body was straight & solid

The bed needed bed wood , i had all of the metal bed strips, used but straight.

sorry, i ramble on when it comes to that truck

 

[Kickboxer]

Just let the snow pile up in the bed!

You poor sod, you don't have a garage.....

 

[Kickboxer]

Around here, many stores sell sand bags, 60#, TSC, Walmart, Menards.

I put 2 bags behind the wheel wells. They do help.

 

[LouM]

When the forecast is calling for a storm I'll often throw a few hundred pounds in the bed of the pickup.
It most certainly helps even with the studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires.

 

[Tulecreeper]

You poor sod, you don't have a garage.....

I've had a garage or a barn everywhere I've lived all my life and I have never parked my truck inside except on the occasions I've had to work on it. It's a truck, not a fi-fi-mobile.

 

[Dean2]

I've had a garage or a barn everywhere I've lived all my life and I have never parked my truck inside except on the occasions I've had to work on it. It's a truck, not a fi-fi-mobile.

And i have never not parked the truck inside if i could. It gets down to minus 55 here. Snow, ice, frozen seats are a fact of life.There is ZERO downside to the truck being dry, clean and warm rather than covered in 2 feet of snow. Call me fifi if you like but you may want to come hangout ice fishing and wolf hunting at minus 35 before you do that.

 

[Tulecreeper]

And i have never not parked the truck inside if i could. It gets down to minus 55 here. Snow, ice, frozen seats are a fact of life.There is ZERO downside to the truck being dry, clean and warm rather than covered in 2 feet of snow. Call me fifi if you like but you may want to come hangout ice fishing and wolf hunting at minus 35 before you do that.

And I have never lived anywhere where it snowed more than a couple inches at a time, two or three times a year. Like where I live now. We get the occasional snow dusting, but we also get 0 F. temps, too. I regularly have to bust the ice away from the launch ramp to get my boat in the water and head out duck hunting, and there have been times I had to just set my decoys on the ice because it was too thick to stomp a hole through. Still don't park the truck nor the wife's Jeep inside.

 

[CrispyBacon]

And i have never not parked the truck inside if i could. It gets down to minus 55 here. Snow, ice, frozen seats are a fact of life.There is ZERO downside to the truck being dry, clean and warm rather than covered in 2 feet of snow. Call me fifi if you like but you may want to come hangout ice fishing and wolf hunting at minus 35 before you do that.

Parking indoors is what causes that rust you see at the bottoms of doors, trunk lids, etc...

What happens when you take an ice cold beer out of the fridge and set it on the counter? Condensation. Same thing happens when you take your ice cold truck and park it indoors.

 

[Dean2]

Parking indoors is what causes that rust you see at the bottoms of doors, trunk lids, etc...

What happens when you take an ice cold beer out of the fridge and set it on the counter? Condensation. Same thing happens when you take your ice cold truck and park it indoors.

You are dead wrong. Take a look at my 1996 2500 V10 with factory paint. ZERO rust. Clean matters far more than anything else.

This picture was taken this summer. 25 years of being daily driven and parked in a heated garage.

 

[olyelr]

You are dead wrong. Take a look at my 1996 2500 V10 with factory paint. ZERO rust. Clean matters far more than anything else.

This picture was taken this summer. 25 years of being daily driven and parked in a heated garage.
View attachment 533063

Nice 2nd gen ! Got me droolin!

 

[Tulecreeper]

You are dead wrong. Take a look at my 1996 2500 V10 with factory paint. ZERO rust. Clean matters far more than anything else.

This picture was taken this summer. 25 years of being daily driven and parked in a heated garage.
View attachment 533063

I have never known anyone - that I can think of - that had a "heated" garage. Just a garage with a door that kept it 20 degrees warmer than outside temps. It's where I hang my deer for 8 or 10 days in December.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I have a heated garage.

 

[Wild one]

I have never known anyone - that I can think of - that had a "heated" garage. Just a garage with a door that kept it 20 degrees warmer than outside temps.

You have a very small circle of friends don't you,lol. You definitely need to venture past the end of your street

 

[DILLIGAF]

instead of bed weight put in a true trac, its way more fun

 

[NevadaNick]

200 lbs of sand bags makes my 2500 ride better, take the bounce out of it, and the bonus is a little better traction. much more than the 200 and people flash their lights at me.