Who adds weight to their truck for winter driving?

I've had my truck a little over a year. In WA, between late fall and early spring, odds are the road is wet. I got really sick of the insane wheelspin last winter on wet roads. I mean just trying to drive at a completely normal sane speed, not driving like a madman, there is so much wheelspin that you cannot properly accelerate at all. A week or 2 ago I put 100lbs of sand in the back and it made a surprisingly large difference. Significantly less wheelspin and better handling. I plan on stepping up to probably carrying 200lbs for the whole rainy season, and then maybe going as high as 400 when it snows.

 

Sometimes I strap a keg in the back just for kicks. But I've honestly only lost traction less than a handful of times in 2wd. At stock height I was even able to romp through a 4ft snowed in parking lot. Only got "stuck" for a minute or two turning the wheels back and forth. These trucks are honestly ridiculous with the snow. The wheelbase is really engineered well. I only turn on 4wd after a foot of powder on unplowed roads.

Also like some guy said... I don't have a cover. So after 2-3 snow storms I can seriously get 400+lbs of snow in the bed. Freeze/melt/freeze. A bed full of snow can really bog down my 4cyl.

You did just remind me to take out ABS this year. Didn't get to it last year. My god it cuts in so early. It's really scared me on gravel roads before - no braking over 40mph. But then again I've had a lot of race car & go kart lessons and I've got 5-6 years of motorcycling under my belt. I'm kind of used to reacting to locked up wheels.

 

How much does your shell weigh? The ones putting 200 to 300 lbs in the bed don't have a 150 to 200 lbs shell.

 

I tied down a large plastic tool box and filled it with sand in the back, id say it was about 200lb makes the ride smoother and also makes it a lot harder to kick the back end out something I want in the winter.

 

Depends usually a couple buckets of sand at least. or a couple used grader blades bolted down behind the fender wells

 

Went up to check snow levels and was losing traction all over Threw in some powder did great. And had snow ball fight down where we wont be getting any snow

 

i drive with 5 cinder block strapped in my bed and freaking love the ride quality with my lift

 

I just have the shell on mine. I like to still have the ability to easily pull a 180 if I have to...

 

x2. I used to put 270 lbs in the bed before I got the shell, now with the shell, plywood platform and tools in the bed, I only put a tube of sand and thats more to have the sand if I need it rather than needing the extra weight.

 

I just got a tacoma a month ago. I was driving over a bridge and i must have hit some black ice and my vehicles rear end fishtailed violently to the left..i was able to stablize the vehicle.. after that incident i put approximately 300pounds in back.. so far so good..

 

That same amount ,i us

 

I put 4 20 kg bags of sand in the back of my truck if I know I am going to be driving on snow covered roads on the weekend.

I also make a point, every year, of going out and finding an empty parking lot when we've had our first snowfall and forcing the truck to lose traction. Brake too hard, goose the gas pedal in a turn, whatever it takes to safely lose traction and learn how the truck feels and reacts. Then learn to ease off the brakes or gas and steer out of a skid so when it happens on the road in real conditions you will react quickly and safely because you already know what to do.

 

Yeah i will have to try that balljoint..i wont lie but after that incident it made me rethink my purchase lol. I was wondering if i purchased 4 Bridgestone’s Blizzak DM-V2 winter tires if that would prevent fishtailing in the winter months here. Thanks all

 

If my truck gets driven in the snow most times it has anywhere from a few hundred pounds to around 1000 unless it is hauling something it seldom gets driven.

Most Daily driving is in my 4Runner

 

I usually throw ~200 lbs of sand in the bed to tame it down for rainy season (fall, some winter)

 

I keep 150 pounds of cinder blocks in the bed from November to April. Typically it's wet and icy all Winter in WA state and I lose traction fast with an empty bed, especially when making quick right hand turns. This will be my 15th Winter in the Tacoma and I'm sure it wouldn't have survived this long without the added weight in the bed.

 

No worries, mine are tied down with mountain climbing rope that can take 3000+ pounds of force before severing.

 

I have 4 50lb bags of salt I'm carrying for extra weight.

 

After several spin outs in my 01 Tacoma regular cab I started filling the bed with snow. Rear end is really light and easy to spin around. That truck was a blast and I miss it but man did it cause a pucker on more than one occasion in the snow.

 

~200 lbs of something right over the axle. I find if it's behind the axle, lateral forces create a pendulum effect making oversteer more likely.

I use something consumable so I don't have to store it during summer. Birdseed, water softener salt, cat litter, etc.