How much weight does everyone else put in the back of thier trucks during the winter?

I have 4 tube sand bags (one lost some sand) weighing about 230lbs total

 

250 to 300 in mine

 

A 70 pound sand bag.

 

including my 4 70lb bags of sand, bumper, spare tire and tool box im probably haulin around ~600lbs

 

I never had a problem in my truck in the snow-never put any extra weight in the bed and the bed was empty
was also 4x4 but rarely ever used it

 

just two 60lb bags

 

Just my toolbox, nothing else. Mines 4x4 had to use it a few times so far this winter, can't wait for spring.

 

about 200 pounds... my factory tonneau

 

i cant keep my 4wd components in one piece long enough to use it haha

 

I don't add any weight, I have a fiberglass cap and a toolbox full of tools, I figure that's enough.

 

i'll take all the help i can get, 1st gear i REALLY have to baby it to keep the rear from sliding around, 2nd gear its still pretty easy to get it sideways, then once i hit 3rd im good... but that and it being the first time i've been in the snow i'll spend $12 on sand bags lol

 

Ya this is my second year driving in snow. Even with having 4, 60 lb sand bags I slide occasionally. I drive a 99 2wd so sometimes I suffer haha. Two sundays ago we had a big storm and got bout 9"-10" of snow and thank god I just got four new tires the day before. Had work at 10 am in the brunt of the storm and I was doing 25 mph the whole way there ahaha. Even with weight I feel better taking it slow.

 

i know how you feel, back earlier in the year we got a big storm that dropped 6" of fresh powder on the ground... bad part is it rained a day earlier, so that left some ice on the ground... needless to say my 01 with my 31's and the tonneau really didn't help out too well. but i have put studded tires on it this year... see how well that works

 

whatever a spare tire carrier and a 32" tire with a 16" steel wheel weighs.

 

i run normally with about 120 in the bed, but if i know i am going to get snow i toss 200 more in there. I can get around with no problem at all, but good tires help

 

2wd sucks in the snow

I had 240lbs, and a bed full of snow. But when we got hit w' ~8", and I still had trouble:

-getting out of my parking spot
-maintaining speed when going up long hills
-keeping up w' FWD cars (man do they get pissed when you stop, try to start again, and just stand still, while spinning)
-pulling out from a side street onto a main road (which usually had a mound of snow you had to drive through, which was pushed off of the main road)
-keeping the rear end from swinging when driving up long hills (~1/2 mile)
-getting up my driveway
-getting down my driveway
-getting out of my driveway



and not to mention the extra weight made my gas mileage drop as low as 9mpg during the snow storm

 

Im runnign wtih 4 bags of sand, 280 lbs.. tube bags, along with a couple shovels and of course my winter gear in the extended cab.. running my 32's Toyo Winter Traction tires.. and its unbelievable the traction i get.. Pulled 3 vehicles out yesterday.. well, pulled 2 of them, the otehr I had to dig out and push/pull after I drove into the mess to give him a jumpstart with my 20ft jump cables I bought a month ago.

The first recovery was a big SUV that got itself swung into a steep ditch.. pulled him downhill until he hit a turn off embankment where I yanked until he go tosme traciton and crawled up it slowly. Second one was a guy stuck right in front of my driveway.. half on the driveway, half into the front yard. Good times, and got some comments on the new 3" tow strap i bought.. they are handy as all hell!

 

if you have 4wd, then what do you need weight for?

 

0lbs for me and not problems.

If I had a 2wd I may think about it

 

^^^^Bhavesh the set up with your bags is just like mine with the wood. Especially with our identical sand bags ahah.

 

Nah. I've got 2wd, and run the same 0-lbs in the bed, year 'round. No traction problems at all...

 

Well I used to have a box between the fender wells with 4 bags of 60lbs. of sand plus my tool box so around 350lbs of crap ...
Now with my Knnac site safe back there (150lbs empty) another 250-300lbs of crap in it its so much weight that it is a leveling kit , actuly it has the prerunner look so I have 0 traction problems unless im going up this one hill that gets really slick by my house other than that im good ....

 

You ever drive in 3 inches of slush/ice with 4 inches of powder on a steep hill? As the old saying goes.. 4wd will only get you stuck more.. and in this case, you gotta have enough weight to keep the back end down along with the front... Ive tried it without for many years, and having the extra weight in back help san awful lot in most circumstances. Plus, you dont hydroplane when your hitting any deep grooves filled with water on the highway at 70mph with the extra bit of weight in the back.. we get a crapload of rain at the lower elevations, then 30 minutes later have to deal with nasty snow up the road a bit.

 

because my locker is setup wrong so its interesting to drive on the road with the hubs locked in.. AND i cant keep a CV shaft to live long enough to use it on the roads

 

I actually dont usually run any weight in the bed.... The first year I had it, I rolled two 80lb steel bars into a carpet and stuck it right on the tail end, right near the tailgate. but the problem was it picked the front of the truck up so my headlights needed to be adjusted. So I took it to the dealer, whom took the weight off. and the problem was is the roll went in while it was warm out and them molded it self to the bed when it froze and it locked into that position and never moved. but when the dealer took the weight off, they said 'ur lights are fine' and put the roll back on without thawing it out first... and when i came to a sudden stop a couple days later, that roll went flying forward and slammed into the front of the bed - another bad dealer experience.

but i actually dont run any weight in my truck anymore. a couple weeks ago, i did have 800lbs of rock salt in there for about a week... truck rode like a cadilac!