Extra weight for winter. How much? Placement?

Just so you know, when the surface of the road gets slick, your truck, as is, has just as much traction as an 18 wheeler. They all lose control at about 18 MPH from a sudden maneuver. Tom J who has been on the test track at Eaton and tried it!!

Tom J on ice yes nobody is going anywhere unless they have studded tires or chains....

2 wheel 4 wheel i dont care what ya got.. on ice it better dig into the ice or youll slide all around...

For 2 wheel rear wheel drive autos however.. i personally suggest sandbags and / or large pieces of a heavy metal... I used to use lead in the trunk of my mercury.

In the mercury I used to always have the better tires on the rear for the winter and i used to put about 250 - 300 LBS of weight in the trunk...

Beleive it or not on most days i would get a head of some people who had no clue with 4x4....

I say 4x4 is only good if you know how and when to use it...

If you havent done much slippery type driving I would force yourself to... get to a parking lot that is icey.. go drive around on it for a while... see what iut takes to get back into control... the best thing is practice.. I see so many people lock up and freeze with their foot pushing the brake through the floor just loking up the tires and sliding to the nearest T-phone-pole

When I first got my licence I went to a snowy / icey parking lot and went about 15 then cut the wheel really fast and saw what happened... i then taught myself how to remain calm if im sliding...

anyway... I dont think you wanted a driving lesson... but for your pickup.. just throw some weight as far back as ya can... remember too much weight in the back and the front tires are going to lift up off the ground making it harder to steer...

Kenny

"i then taught myself how to remain calm if im sliding..."

You don't need Ice for that... You can accomplish that with enough horsepower and a locking rearend... :-) We used to do "parking competitions" who could park (slide sideways) the most centered in a painted parking spot from at least a 180 spin...

hehe some people figure its more cost effective to wait for some ice :)

I do anyway

:) yeah i used to do that the cheap way... front wheel drive plymoth horizon and the hand e-brake... hehe

I place 4 - 60lb tubes of sand in the bed of my F-150 4x4 with the tubes positioned length wise in the bed and about 2/3 of the tube in front of the rear axle. I don't want the weight far enough back that it might make the back end slide easier than normal.

The farther back the weight is, the less you'll need to get the same effect. Pick up 1' x 3' x 1 inch thick steel plate and bolt it to the floor of the bed by the tailgate.

The weight will do the most good the farther back it is placed. Keep adding weight until the front wheels come off the ground :> that is when you have enough.

Why would I damage the bed of my truck by drilling holes in it and attaching something that is only needed for half the year? This sounds like a really bad idea.

And if he runs with the tailgate down for better fuel mileage, it will take even less weight the farther back it is.

One thing for sure, do NOT use bags of salt for weight. I see you have a pickup, but I have seen people put this in their trunks. You just add a little moisture and the whole ass end of the car rusts from the inside out.

I put two curb stones over the rear axle along with a couple of 25 lb gravel bags in between them. If you get stuck you can use the gravel.

If you put a weight in the bed like curb stones or metal, anything really solid. Then you should make sure they are secure. If someone was to drive out in front of you and you hit them, you really don't want all that weight coming through the cab window, or maybe the cab metal. I once saw a truck carrying steel hit a tree. The driver was cut in two. Geoff.

I have a Ranger with 2 70lb bags of sand, directly over the rear axle. They were further back, but I slid around a corner so I pushed them forward. Only cost $6.51.

Tom Seattle

I put about 290lbs of pure lard in the drivers seat every time I drive my '99 F350 Dually.

.....but it's still a sled in the ice.

Spdloader

What is it about a Dually that makes it so slippery on ice?

I don't know, maybe the weight in the rear spread out too much with the extra tires and wheels, plus that heavy engine in the front, (but I love it).

Later,

Spdloader