Winter is acumin on and once again topics such as traction raise their heads. This will be our first winter with the Dak and although our roads are still clear I want to be ready since my wife will be the principal driver of the truck. So i've been doing a little research on the subject of rear wheel traction.

According to the few discussions on this site on this subject it seems the vast majority prefer the sandbag solution with various methods to hold the sandbags in place. The ShurTrax product http://www.shurtrax.com/ has been referred to but nobody has posted a report of their experience with it.

It seems to me that if you need the bed, it will be a PITA to remove several hundred pounds of sandbags from the bed and then later replace them, whereas the ShurTrax bladder can remain in place all winter long and the bed remains fully accessible. Which makes me think the cost might be worth it if the benefits are as rewarding as the consumer reviews indicate. I can always toss a bag of salt in back thee as well as a precaution . . .

Does anyone out there in Dakotaland have experience with this method?

 

I haven't used that product, but from it's description, here's my take on it:

• The manufacturer obviously expects it to get holes in it since they offer field repair kits, so the durability may be in question. You wouldn't know if you had a hole with everything frozen and after a thaw, you'd have no weight.
• It's a big water bag that you allow to freeze - this makes it much like carrying a slab of cement. I wouldn't want to be sitting in front of that in case of an accident, there'd be absolutely no give to that 300 pound block of ice as it came crashing into the back of the cab.
• You wouldn't have any use of the bed once that whole block froze solid. I think you'd end up poking holes in it and there's no real way to remove it easily once it's spread out all over the bed floor.

The dakota bed has 3 slots on each side for 2x4's to go across so that you can fit wider stuff into the back, so I suppose you could make a bed over top of this water bag and protect it that way if you wanted to haul stuff. I like using dry sand in water proof bags - they don't have the same destructive power in an accident. I keep the bags of sand in a tray over the rear axle, in fact I made 3 independent trays that are attached to 2x4s that fit into the bed slots - the front tray I use for "stuff", the middle tray (over the axle) I use for the sand bags & I keep them strapped in place with some load straps (they don't slide anywhere because of the sides on the "tray"), and the rear tray I made to hold my 3' wide aluminum tool box. With these, I can easily remove any or all the trays & I can also have everything covered with my tonneau. I can fold it over to the first hinge and have access to the tool box or I can fold it all the way forward and have access to my "stuff" area. I found the sand bags easy to store & easy to dry. I made the trays "stackable" so that I can put everything into the back of a shed for the non-winter months.

 

We've had snow since late Oct here in Alaska and I just use 4wd when I need more traction. It gives me all the traction I need. I also have BFG all terrain TKO tires. The stock tires really suck on anything but dry pavement even then they are only ok. I was thinking about using sand bags but I haven't bought any yet.

 

I like using sand because it shifts and will spread on impact, but for it to do this, it has to be dry. If I remember, I dump the sand onto a tarp on a really hot summer day & then when it's all dry and hot, I repack it into new plastic bags & then I put these into canvas bags. The canvas bags I made years ago and they've kept the plastic bags "hole free" every winter, but you can use almost anything, even another really thick plastic bag.

For going forward, the 4x4 mode is normally adequate. Stopping is a different matter and I find with added weight on the rear axle, it keeps the truck in line better on a slick surface.

 

the other thing to think about is all that water on those days before it freezes solid .. it will be sloshing all over the place in that bag .. I would think 300lbs of water flopping around in the back around a corner or if some "traffic" happens .. would cause the truck to be totally unstable... talk about a traction issue...

 

and you could build a false bottom with a couple 2x4's and a sheet of plywood .. to cover the the sandbags and have a totally usuable bed just not as deep

 

I took 2 sand bags and poured them into 4 pieces of PVC pipe, and caped the end of them. Then i took and made a rack to mound these tubes to and strapped them down. That takes up a lot of bed space, but I try and avoid doing things that i need the bed for in cold weather, asides for hunting. I am also 4x4, and full-time at that. I just love a little bit more weight in the back of that thing.

 

That's the best idea yet. could use a number of 3-4 inch abs or pvc pipes, side by side to the width of the bed, cap them off to the length of one of the 2x4 separations. I'm 2wd so I use closer to 300lbs. i think 3-4ft lenghts, about 5-6 of them, would do. a lot pricier but easy.

 

nobody uses tire chains anymore?

 

Sounds like a few good ideas here. Some of them are difficult to envision without pics. One idea that I read in an earlier thread is to load three 50-lb sandbags into each of 2 plastic tubs (like those tupperware things that all the box stores sell) and secure the tubs over the axle, presumably with the 2x4s in those slots I see in the bed liner. I can't envision how one would secure the bags alone, unless they were too big to actually lift.