Hello, its been awhile since my last post but I am out of boot camp and going through "A" school! I have a 04 2wd and I am stationed up here in Great Lakes IL and we got our first snow fall last week, traction sucks for me right now! What can I do other than some better tires to improve my winter traction? Thanks...

 

Weight in the bed. About 100 lbs. of sand inside each wheel hump, right over the rear axle would be enough to give you better traction. The added benefit of using sand is you can use some for traction if you get stuck...

 

Get four sand bags (preferably washed gravel) and get some weight over your back tires. Thats about all i can thing of. Plus if you ever get stuck u can break open a bag and get some extra traction

 

Alright that would work...that's exactly what happened to me yesterday, I could not get out of a parking spot, I had to push the truck out because the rear tires where just spinning on ice. How do you keep the sandbags from sliding around in the bed?

 

Build a frame in which you'll put sand bags. I did the same and put 200# of sand over my rear axle. And buy winter tires

 

I've got more than a ton of tools and such in the back of mine and behind the seat. I have not had any problems in winter. I pulled out my brothers 4x4 last year. It's extra weight that you need, but not right on the tail end of the bed , either. Too far back, and it messes with your steering. My father used to run about 800 lbs of iron slag in 5gallon pails in the front of his 86 150 royal se 2wd. He made some brackets and used a 2x6 board to keep everything nice and tight to the front wall of the box. My brother uses about 8 bundles of shingles spread out evenly on the floor of the bed.

 

I'm running 400 lbs in the bed of sand tubes (Lowes--they're cheap, and easy to remove later for next year) set them right over the rear axle, they'll set themselves in place--no frame.

 

How much are those sand bags? or sand tubes?

 

Ive never seen them myself but a friend of mine was telling me about a liner that sits on the floor of the bed. The liner is mad of strong plastic and you fill it with water. In the winter it freezes and still leaves you full use of your bed. Not sure where to find it. I tried googling a variation of words but couldnt find it.

 

We usually keep our gas tank full for weight and helps keep truck warm if stuck. Built a wood frame between the wheels and forward to place center blocks there. Anything with weight is good.

A good rule to follow is to not put the weight behind the wheels (back of truck). If you do and start to spin you will soon find that the weight you added will cause you to spin out easier because of centrifugal force you added.

Good luck!