weight in the back of the truck?

1993 silverado stepside /w cap & 350 V8

How much weight would one put in the back of a truck for winter driving? This is my first winter ever dirving a truck and a rear wheel drive vehicle at the same time. I managed pretty good with the storm we just had and didn't slide anywhere.

TIRES - Motomaster Roughrider LT235/75/15 at all 4 corners WEIGHT - 3 bags of 30 kg concrete mix - 4 bags of 20 kg road salt

170 kg ( 374 lb ) total plus weight of the cap
Reply to
Michael McNeil
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8-10 concrete blocks does it for me...

Reply to
Bud Lite

I wouldn't want to be in the front of your truck with that behind me...

Sand is your best and safest bet.

V.B.

Reply to
vb

We live in North Western Ontario and we have lots of snow and ice on our roads.

I have a 4 x 8 x 3/16" sheet of checker plate welded down in the bed of my '84 Dodge slant 6 truck with an open diff.

My wife has a 4 x 8 x 1/8" sheet of checker plate welded down in her '86 GMC with factory limited slip.

We have no problems with either setup and know that something isn't going to go through the backs of our heads if we have a collision.

I would stop the love affair with the salt and the toper plus the sand should be sufficient. Remember, not getting going seldom kills people but not turning or stopping kills many. You have to stop all that weight once you get it moving.

-- Best Regards Gordie

Reply to
The Nolalu Barn Owl

I owned a 1977 3/4 ton 4x4 for 20+ years and every fall, I would put 800 pounds of bagged garden products in the bed (top soil, peat moss, dried manure, etc.). All of it would be stacked between the wheel wells and the cab. In the spring, you can use it to improve your garden. BTW, it gave the truck excellent stability.

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Reply to
Rich B

Nova Scotia here so my driving conditions are pretty much the same as yours.

Never thought of the stopping factor, only the sticking to the road one. I'll dump the salt and the concrete and exchange it for 100-150 pounds of sand and see how that goes. I also have to build a frame or something at the base of the bed to keep everything over the axles.

Of all the people that answered this post ( 7 I would guestimate ) you are the only one to mention anything about stopping a vehicle with that extra weight in it.

Thanx

Mike

Reply to
Michael McNeil

I replied in the other group as well. Tires play a BIG role in how your vehicle handles in the snow. Basically, if a tire is an all-terrain style, it has a good shot at handling the snow well. Deep tread, aggressive lug design, sipes in the tread blocks. I've now had this truck for a year and could probably count on one hand the number of times the ABS has come on in the snow, even going down hills where the back would unweight even more.

Reply to
Mike Levy

I put 4 bags of tube sand (70 lbs per tube) between the wheel wells of my "94" S-10. I have a wooden framework built around the wheel wells to keep the bags from moving. After about 3 years the bags begin to disintegrate, so I dump them in the garden and buy new ones the next winter.

I've never had a stopping problem.

R> 8-10 concrete blocks does it for me...

Reply to
ronlin

Reply to
Michael McNeil

You'll also get a nicer ride with a few hundred lbs in the back

Reply to
TaskMule

I have a Leer cap on my that weighs about 400 - 500 lbs plus 4 sand tubes and i don't have any trouble stopping. Antilocks are great aren't they?

Reply to
Randd01

You are quite welcome Mike,

We live on some twisty roads with lots of hills ourselves. Sand can always be handy for under the tires in a pinch (don't believe the lie about kitty litter - it don't work at all). Salt absorbs moisture and attacks anything it comes in contact with causing rust and holes in short order. I find that if I take it easy and drive with the proverbial egg between my foot and the gas pedal there are few problems. To put things into perspective, we just had freezing rain today and the hard packed snow roads are slick. My old '84 Dodge standard, slant 6 can spin the wheels if I tromp on the gas while moving at 60km in third gear and unless I try to make it happen there is no slipping and sliding for me under normal circumstances. LOL, that old oil burner has so little compression I have to put a stick of firewood behind a wheel for parking or the truck tries to get away on me and it still had the power to spin the wheels. Now that's slippery!

The box you describe can be made for cheap and will keep the weight where you will get the most effect from it.

Good fortune to you in the New Year. Gordie

-- Best Regards Gordie

Reply to
The Nolalu Barn Owl

Kitty litter works great, you just have to know what to purchase. Expensive scoopable kitty litter is NOT what you want, its fine clay with a soap-like binder. Slick when wet.

The stuff that works is the cheap big grain clay-only stuff. Absorbs urine rather than clumps. A 25# bag used to be under $2. I'm amazed it could be shipped to the store for that little, much less be processed and bagged for that price.

Reply to
David Kelly

I haven't been able to find a kitty litter that doesn't become slippery mud when wet. It is made from clay but it was not fired in a kiln so it always goes to mud when wet. Anyway, sand is best.

-- Best Regards Gordie

Reply to
The Nolalu Barn Owl

Sand and litter and stuff like that breaks out and spills all over the back of your truck sooner or later - concrete blocks are cheap and easier to use for weight.

Reply to
Rufus McPiddlegump

Of course you are right about that if the sand is in ole feed bags or something similar. They do last me one winter though. Cement blocks always make me worry about the back of my head should I come to a sudden and unplanned stop. Cement blocks under the tires do not aid traction but sand will and can be used for this also should the need arise. Life is a compromise. This is just one example of many.

-- Best Regards Gordie

Reply to
The Nolalu Barn Owl

Why Do people Confuse Kitty Litter With OIL-DRI

Reply to
Santa

Because they are both an absorbant.

Reply to
KB

The sand I bought came in 40 kg plastic bags: They won't break. (Cost only $4 each) Keep the cement blocks if you want one in the back of the head during an accident.

V.B.

Reply to
vb

I also have to build a frame or something at the base of the bed to keep everything over the axles.

That's what we have always done as well and we built it so you can put concrete blocks in the wooden support frame. it works great and when you stop or go the blocks do not slide they are a permanant fixture unless you get upside down. Keeping the weight on top of the axles seems to work for us...

Have a Great One ! Bob :)

Reply to
Bob Perkins JustaBenz

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