How many of you here put some weight in the back of your trucks for better traction in the winter?

How much weight do I need in that case?

The first snow has started to come for us here in Sweden, and feels like the truck is really light in the rear end (+ crappy stock tires) wich got me thinking of putting some things in the back....


/Jocce

 

50 pound sand tubes at about 4 each so around 200lbs plus Line-X = They dont go sliding anywhere

 

I run 420 lbs in the bed of mine all winter. (6 - 70 lb sand tubes) Makes it handle a lot better in the snow and there is still plenty of room in the bed.

 

make sure you dont put that weight all the way back against the tailgate or its apt to make you fishtail in a turn. try to keep it centered over axle or forward to keep weight balanced.

 

When I was a yonker, growing up in upstate NY, I would always use two 50# bags inside each tire hump for a total of 200#. I just kept the sand in the bags, then wrapped in industrial grade plastic.
Big plus with sand is if you do get stuck, you can bust a bag and use the sand for traction...

 

I plan on throwing down about 500 in mine this year just for the fact that there isn't very much weight over the rear tires on these trucks. LOL

 

or you could just sit back there and have someone else drive...

Yeah, I know, at 280# myself, it's calling the kettle black, but I just couldn't resist...

 

300 lbs of sand tubes seems more than plenty in the bed of my truck and the weather has been severe this past week (snow, ice, temps in the minus teens). I'm guessing the short box and heavier cab on the 1500 crew body provides a little better weight distribution.

 

Might be a stupid question, but I'm not familiar with the term "sand tubes"? Is it like bags/sacks of sand or something special?

(I'm from Sweden so that is at least what I'm blaming )


/Jocce

 

In the US, or at least in the northern climates, sand is often sold for ballast in a tube shaped bag that's about 15 cm in diameter and about 75 to 90 cm long. Typically contains ~30 kg of sand each. I've seen bags made of heavy clear plastic, but the ones I just purchased are woven polyethylene. The long, skinny shapes makes it easier to lay them out across the bottom of the box without creating a large pile, and they tend to stay in place.