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

[af2018]

You often hear of people (probably many in here) putting weight in the back of their trucks for better traction in the snow.

1. Do you do this? Why or why not?

2. Would snowfall do this for you on its own? If i don't have a tonneau and allow the snow to fill the bed, would that replace having to add weight?

One inch of snow, on average, weighs one pound per square foot..Could it be too much? Not enough?

3. Negative side effects of letting snow build up in bed? if any

 

[SYKRAMMAN]

You often hear of people (probably many in here) putting weight in the back of their trucks for better traction in the snow.

1. Do you do this? Why or why not?

2. Would snowfall do this for you on its own? If i don't have a tonneau and allow the snow to fill the bed, would that replace having to add weight?

3. Negative side effects of letting snow build up in bed? if any

Rust would be my fear.

 

[17Delmonico]

I have a cap on my truck, so I have the equivalent of 200 or so pounds in the bed. The cap also means I don't have any snow in the bed.

 

[af2018]

Rust.

AHHHHHHHHH. The 'r' word.

 

[Jimmy07]

As opposed to, say...letting it rain on the bed of your truck. What about snow that sits on the rest of the truck...

Rust.

 

[Wild one]

You often hear of people (probably many in here) putting weight in the back of their trucks for better traction in the snow.

1. Do you do this? Why or why not?

2. Would snowfall do this for you on its own? If i don't have a tonneau and allow the snow to fill the bed, would that replace having to add weight?

One inch of snow, on average, weighs one pound per square foot..Could it be too much? Not enough?

3. Negative side effects of letting snow build up in bed? if any

Snow is one of the least dangerous weights to have in the box of your truck,it usually won't come through a back window if you're in an accident,lol.Downside is a box full of snow usually means not much room to throw the groceries in the box of the truck,lol. If you get a warm spell you also have to find a snowbank you replenish your weight,lol

 

[SYKRAMMAN]

As opposed to, say...letting it rain on the bed of your truck. What about snow that sits on the rest of the truck...

If it’s not sealed, then I wouldn’t let it sit too long, but if it is then you may be fine but if there are any areas that water can get in and freezes and expands would be my concern.

The rest of the truck will be fine, you just don’t want standing water.

 

[Jimmy07]

For winter, I have a 4’x6’-3”x1/2” sheet of plywood that is “picture framed” with 3/4” strips around the perimeter. Then I set a piece of 1/2” plate steel cut to size on the plywood. Weighs 480 lbs and the bed is still fully useable.
If I didn’t need the bed space, though, snow would be a good idea. Shovel it in there from your driveway!

 

[quietpeen]

No....if you have 4wheel drive just use that

 

[Truck Fun]

Some extra weight doesn't hurt; whether 2wd or 4wd. However, I think that snow would be too inconsistent depending on weather changes. On my last truck, I put two bags of sand from the local hardware store in the bed. Upside is that they were cheap. Downside is that bags eventually deteriorate and you end up with sand in the bed. I'm not going to do that with my new Ram until I have a chance to see if those are really needed.

 

[hotrod45]

One inch of snow, on average, weighs one pound per square foot..

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.

 

[17Delmonico]

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.

https://www.icedamremovalguys.com/how-much-does-roof-snow-weigh/

First, snow is just frozen water, so measuring the weight of one cubic foot of water is a good start, even though snow holds different amounts of water, depending on its shape. One cubic foot of water weighs approximately 62.4 pounds. That’s the size of a box measuring one foot, by one foot, by one foot

But one cubic foot of snow will weigh less than that, and the amount it weighs will depend on how much water is actually contained in the snow. The actual water content of snow commonly ranges from 5% to 32%. 20% is about average for a Midwestern snowfall. This means the snow weighs 20% of what pure water would weigh. That means the same volume of snow only weighs 12.48 pounds per cubic foot. If the saturation reaches 32%, by the way, you’re looking at 19.92 pounds per cubic foot.

Most of us don’t measure snow in terms of feet, so let’s break this down into inches. If you divide 12.48 (what one cubic foot of average snow weighs) by 12, that equals 1.04. That means 1’’ of average snow accumulation weighs 1.04 pounds per square foot.

Weight of snow varies a lot, but it does look like it does weigh almost exactly 1lb per sf

 

[gofishn]

You often hear of people (probably many in here) putting weight in the back of their trucks for better traction in the snow.

1. Do you do this? Why or why not?

2. Would snowfall do this for you on its own? If i don't have a tonneau and allow the snow to fill the bed, would that replace having to add weight?

One inch of snow, on average, weighs one pound per square foot..Could it be too much? Not enough?

3. Negative side effects of letting snow build up in bed? if any

1. NO. Snow will melt, then re freeze, then melt, do not want that going on, inside my truck bed

2. Not really. without any covering over the bed, wind will usually blow most loose snow right out for thr truck and create a blizzard for those following.
Have even seen cops pull over guys who do that kind of stuff. Some guys try it, around here, with Fall leaves.Too cheap to pay for the bags, I GUess.

3. Blowing snow.

I don't do this anymore but for years, I would keep 400lbs or so of tubed sand in my bed. If I ever got stuck, would use the shovel to clear out a path in front of my tires and lay down some sand for traction. Worked like a charm.

 

[averageguy]

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.

This! Thawing a little and then refreezing will turn it into a giant ice block that may, depending on conditions bang around front to back. I have seen it happen.

 

[ExpressRules]

Having a 2wd RAM I had great experience in snow with 200 to 300 pounds of sand bags in bed during winter months. Had same experience with last 2wd truck. Last winter was very pleased driving through a major blizzard and passing many cars stuck or having major problems.

 

[Jimmy07]

This! Thawing a little and then refreezing will turn it into a giant ice block that may, depending on conditions bang around front to back. I have seen it happen.

Hmmm. I don’t know about your guys’ rams, but the bed of mine won’t hold water because it has drain slots up front on the driver and passenger sides, and it just drains out at the tailgate, too. I’ve yet to be in a situation where a pile of snow in the bed of my truck melted so fast that it turned into a swimming pool, then the temperature drop low enough so quick that it froze into a block of ice, all while any of it had a chance to drain out of the bed. I think you guys are WAY overthinking the melting and refreshing snow situation.

 

[hotrod45]

Snow is not "just frozen water." "Just frozen water" is ice. Ice weighs less than water by volume. How do I know? When you freeze water, it expands, so if you froze a cubic foot of water, you'd have to shave off a considerable amount to get back to a cubic foot of ice. Snow consists of ice crystals. They are quite delicate and far from solid. We have snow in New England sometimes that 12"x12"x1" probably does not weight 1/4 pound.

 

[McBroom]

Rust would be my fear.

I don’t think rust would be much of of an issue it’ll melt by spring. Now if ya in Alaska maybe the it wouldn’t melt come spring. Lol. I love Texas we don’t know what snow is unless your talking about the stuff on tv when the antenna gets moved wrong


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

 

[cuminslvr]

Just make sure your tires are rated well for snow. The stock stranglers are not. Get some AT's with a good to excellent wet road/snow rating and all will be well

 

[firebuff17]

I live up in the northeast and I have the 5’7” bed with tonnue cover driving with AT tires. I cut a 2X8 to fit in the slots that are near the tailgate, the ones designed for a 2 by. I have (5) 5 gallon pails with lids that are filled with sand. When I know I will be driving in the snow I put them in the back. The pails fit perfectly between the tailgate and the divider board. And 5 of them fit perfectly across the back so there is no sliding around. I also have a steel flat head shovel that I throw in the back just in case. And also have a 20 foot recovery strap and hitch with D ring, and 2 D ring shackles. The weakest part of that set up is rated at 8K pounds. I can use that if I end up stuck... but more so if I come across someone else that is stuck.
In my 3rd gen I did the same thing but I did not have a tonnue cover on that truck. With the lids on the pails it keeps the water out and keeps it from freezing.
Worked beautifully.