How much weight to put at the back of truck to make it steady in snow

You don't say where you live - makes a big difference. I noticed a strong
like of the Mich AT or M/S tires in the replies. From my experience, if you
are living in real snow country, get yourself a for real set of dedicated
snow tires (and maybe a spare set of cheap rims from the junk yard - so all
you have to do is switch rims each season). I ran some Kleber (sp?) and
they would go anywhere - when I lived in snow. I personally have found that
dedicated snow tires - in particular if you can find some good European or
Scandinavian ones in your size) are much better than combination tires -
they are designed to stay soft in cold weather - which is why you don't want
to run them year round.

Don


"arfam4" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi! My son has a Ford 4x2 F150 Supercab truck. He lives in snowy
> region. One person has suggested to put some sand bags or cement bags
> in the empty truck bed to make the truck steady during driving in
> snow. He has all weather tires. How much weight needs to put in the
> back of this truck? Did any member of this NG did this? With thanks in
> advance.

> with my 2001 2500HD 4x4 I noticed improvement with a few hundred
> pounds of extra weight.

Like I mentioned, with the power of the Duramax and my heavy foot it
didn't seem to matter.... The truck performs better in 4 wheel drive with
the empty bed.

Mike

> with my 2001 2500HD 4x4 I noticed improvement with a few hundred
> pounds of extra weight.

Like I mentioned, with the power of the Duramax and my heavy foot it
didn't seem to matter.... The truck performs better in 4 wheel drive with
the empty bed.

Mike

Don wrote:
>
> You don't say where you live - makes a big difference. I noticed a strong
> like of the Mich AT or M/S tires in the replies. From my experience, if you
> are living in real snow country, get yourself a for real set of dedicated
> snow tires (and maybe a spare set of cheap rims from the junk yard - so all
> you have to do is switch rims each season). I ran some Kleber (sp?) and
> they would go anywhere - when I lived in snow. I personally have found that
> dedicated snow tires - in particular if you can find some good European or
> Scandinavian ones in your size) are much better than combination tires -
> they are designed to stay soft in cold weather - which is why you don't want
> to run them year round.

I used to run an old set of Klebers on my FWD VW and it was unstoppable. They used a special hydrophillic rubber compound that really gripped compact snow and ice. They finally dies after about 15 seasons, rubber dried out and cracked and the steel
belts broke. I think Michelin bought Kleber a number of years ago and I've not seen the tires available in the US any more.

--
Roger

Don wrote:
>
> You don't say where you live - makes a big difference. I noticed a strong
> like of the Mich AT or M/S tires in the replies. From my experience, if you
> are living in real snow country, get yourself a for real set of dedicated
> snow tires (and maybe a spare set of cheap rims from the junk yard - so all
> you have to do is switch rims each season). I ran some Kleber (sp?) and
> they would go anywhere - when I lived in snow. I personally have found that
> dedicated snow tires - in particular if you can find some good European or
> Scandinavian ones in your size) are much better than combination tires -
> they are designed to stay soft in cold weather - which is why you don't want
> to run them year round.

I used to run an old set of Klebers on my FWD VW and it was unstoppable. They used a special hydrophillic rubber compound that really gripped compact snow and ice. They finally dies after about 15 seasons, rubber dried out and cracked and the steel
belts broke. I think Michelin bought Kleber a number of years ago and I've not seen the tires available in the US any more.

--
Roger

Fletcher wrote:

> with my 2001 2500HD 4x4 I noticed improvement with a few hundred pounds of
> extra weight.
> "Mike Borkhuis" > wrote in message
> .. .
>
>>>Hi! My son has a Ford 4x2 F150 Supercab truck. He lives in
>>>snowy region. One person has suggested to put some sand
>>>bags or cement bags in the empty truck bed to make the truck
>>>steady during driving in snow. He has all weather tires. How
>>>much weight needs to put in the back of this truck?
>>
>> Idealy you would want a 50/50 split in weight front and rear.... That
>>would probably leave the back end riding low though with all that weight.
>>
>>
>>>Did any member of this NG did this?
>>
>> I drive a 2001 Silverado 2500HD 4x4.... Adding 500 pounds to the bed
>>made no difference. Of course, it's got a torque pumping diesel motor and
>
> I
>
>>have a heavy foot.... =)
>>
>>Mike
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
Adding weight to the rear of a 4x4 doesn't help much as you are simply
transfering some of the weight of the front drive wheels and adding it
to the rear wheels while increasing the mass that must be accelerated
and controlled. Adding weight to the rear of a 2WD transfers weight off
of the non-driving front wheels.

Fletcher wrote:

> with my 2001 2500HD 4x4 I noticed improvement with a few hundred pounds of
> extra weight.
> "Mike Borkhuis" > wrote in message
> .. .
>
>>>Hi! My son has a Ford 4x2 F150 Supercab truck. He lives in
>>>snowy region. One person has suggested to put some sand
>>>bags or cement bags in the empty truck bed to make the truck
>>>steady during driving in snow. He has all weather tires. How
>>>much weight needs to put in the back of this truck?
>>
>> Idealy you would want a 50/50 split in weight front and rear.... That
>>would probably leave the back end riding low though with all that weight.
>>
>>
>>>Did any member of this NG did this?
>>
>> I drive a 2001 Silverado 2500HD 4x4.... Adding 500 pounds to the bed
>>made no difference. Of course, it's got a torque pumping diesel motor and
>
> I
>
>>have a heavy foot.... =)
>>
>>Mike
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
Adding weight to the rear of a 4x4 doesn't help much as you are simply
transfering some of the weight of the front drive wheels and adding it
to the rear wheels while increasing the mass that must be accelerated
and controlled. Adding weight to the rear of a 2WD transfers weight off
of the non-driving front wheels.

With a 4x4 truck you are normally in 2wd aka rwd most of the time.
Adding weight to the back improves the traction of a normally front
heavy pickup considerably. This allows you to start up from a light in
snowy conditions without spinning the tires or fishtailling without
needing 4wd and the drivetrain windup and steering issues that brings
when there is patchy snow and dry spots on the road. With my Chev 3500
dually I use 1,000# of concrete blocks which helps tremendously and
still leaves plenty of capacity for cargo when needed. For a F150 srw
500# is probably plenty.

W.P.


Rob Munach wrote:
>
> Fletcher wrote:
>
> > with my 2001 2500HD 4x4 I noticed improvement with a few hundred pounds of
> > extra weight.
> > "Mike Borkhuis" > wrote in message
> > .. .
> >
> >>>Hi! My son has a Ford 4x2 F150 Supercab truck. He lives in
> >>>snowy region. One person has suggested to put some sand
> >>>bags or cement bags in the empty truck bed to make the truck
> >>>steady during driving in snow. He has all weather tires. How
> >>>much weight needs to put in the back of this truck?
> >>
> >> Idealy you would want a 50/50 split in weight front and rear.... That
> >>would probably leave the back end riding low though with all that weight.
> >>
> >>
> >>>Did any member of this NG did this?
> >>
> >> I drive a 2001 Silverado 2500HD 4x4.... Adding 500 pounds to the bed
> >>made no difference. Of course, it's got a torque pumping diesel motor and
> >
> > I
> >
> >>have a heavy foot.... =)
> >>
> >>Mike
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> Adding weight to the rear of a 4x4 doesn't help much as you are simply
> transfering some of the weight of the front drive wheels and adding it
> to the rear wheels while increasing the mass that must be accelerated
> and controlled. Adding weight to the rear of a 2WD transfers weight off
> of the non-driving front wheels.

With a 4x4 truck you are normally in 2wd aka rwd most of the time.
Adding weight to the back improves the traction of a normally front
heavy pickup considerably. This allows you to start up from a light in
snowy conditions without spinning the tires or fishtailling without
needing 4wd and the drivetrain windup and steering issues that brings
when there is patchy snow and dry spots on the road. With my Chev 3500
dually I use 1,000# of concrete blocks which helps tremendously and
still leaves plenty of capacity for cargo when needed. For a F150 srw
500# is probably plenty.

W.P.


Rob Munach wrote:
>
> Fletcher wrote:
>
> > with my 2001 2500HD 4x4 I noticed improvement with a few hundred pounds of
> > extra weight.
> > "Mike Borkhuis" > wrote in message
> > .. .
> >
> >>>Hi! My son has a Ford 4x2 F150 Supercab truck. He lives in
> >>>snowy region. One person has suggested to put some sand
> >>>bags or cement bags in the empty truck bed to make the truck
> >>>steady during driving in snow. He has all weather tires. How
> >>>much weight needs to put in the back of this truck?
> >>
> >> Idealy you would want a 50/50 split in weight front and rear.... That
> >>would probably leave the back end riding low though with all that weight.
> >>
> >>
> >>>Did any member of this NG did this?
> >>
> >> I drive a 2001 Silverado 2500HD 4x4.... Adding 500 pounds to the bed
> >>made no difference. Of course, it's got a torque pumping diesel motor and
> >
> > I
> >
> >>have a heavy foot.... =)
> >>
> >>Mike
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> Adding weight to the rear of a 4x4 doesn't help much as you are simply
> transfering some of the weight of the front drive wheels and adding it
> to the rear wheels while increasing the mass that must be accelerated
> and controlled. Adding weight to the rear of a 2WD transfers weight off
> of the non-driving front wheels.

"Pete C." schrieb:

> With a 4x4 truck you are normally in 2wd aka rwd most of the time.
> Adding weight to the back improves the traction of a normally front
> heavy pickup considerably. This allows you to start up from a light in
> snowy conditions without spinning the tires or fishtailling without
> needing 4wd and the drivetrain windup and steering issues that brings
> when there is patchy snow and dry spots on the road. With my Chev 3500
> dually I use 1,000# of concrete blocks which helps tremendously and
> still leaves plenty of capacity for cargo when needed. For a F150 srw
> 500# is probably plenty.
>
> W.P.

Right.
I always carry my heavy wooden toolbox (round 90kg) and some other nice handy
stuff with me in my BJ42. This green gherkin has a very light backend always
wanting to overtake in fast turns. Winter DOES make this issue more critical.

Axel