Bed Weighting for Winter Traction

How much and what kind of weight does everyone use to get extra traction in the snow? I am considering pouring custom concrete sections to keep my bed usable in the winter. I saw this in a co-workers 1st gen. Taco at the ski resort I work at. I was thinking of making 6 75# concrete sections. I would add rope handles and coat them in bedliner to make them easily removable, grippy, and stealthy. Thoughts?

 

My experience from a lifetime living in Colorado is that weight in the bed isn't as important as balance between front and rear. Adding weight to the bed, if it creates a truck that is rear heavy will give you good start-up traction but make the truck prone to spinning out on curves or when evasive maneuvers are needed. What ever you use, pay attention to front/rear equalization.

 

200#? 400#? 600#? I know the composite bed makes the 2nd Gen pretty light in the ass end... I love driving in the snow but this will be my first winter doing it in a truck Gotta get first chair on those pow days quickly and safely!

 

Very good point, is 50/50 optimal? Or do I need to go to the guy with the corner-weighting scales we use for our Solo 2 Miata?

 

This is a rough sketch of my idea. I want something that keeps my bed tidy and does not shift around. I saw it done without the bedliner but I think the latter step will give it a nice finishing touch.

 

more weight = less mpg

I just recommend to Drive more cautious

 

Agree w/ jpspowell, shoot for 50/50. Dcabs are 55/45 on weight distribution, my bed mat is about 100 lb, so I only add 1 or 2 sandbags, depending on how many peeps, skiis, & boards coming along.

Seeing your a reg cab w/ 4wd , would think 200 lbs an addition to the gear in the back is fine. Sand bags are easy, but hey custom concrete forms would work too. If your running got stock Dunlops take it easy, you'll probably realize you'll want better A/T tire after one storm...

 

My concept:

1. Cover the bottom and sides of the bed with a thick plastic drop cloth.
2. Partition the bed into 6 rectangles with luan or thin plywood.
3. Distribute 200-400lb of concrete equally in sections.
4. Suspend 6 rope lift handles with knotted and washered ends into drying concrete.
5. Coat tops of concrete sections with roll -on rubberized, textured bedliner.

I will also be replacing the AT20s with studded snows on my OE wheels.

 

Wow that's a pretty cool idea. I've done the tube sandbags & a couple of 2x6s with eyehooks to keep em from sliding. I find the sand is handy to have on hand on occasion. My tonneau keeps the snow/rain/ice out & the bags dry.

 

Good idea, I will do that!

 

I like that idea, too! Thanks for all the input. 200# makes for very thin pieces of concrete though. Maybe just make the U-shaped sections over the axle and between the wheel wells?

 

The slabs I bought to park my Ninja on were 24 X 24 X 2 and felt pretty sturdy. This was also roughly the thickness of the ones I saw in the 1st Gen Taco. I figure they will not be subjected to a lot of bending but rather pressure. Hopefully a rubberized coating will protect them from impacts.

 

Just a thought... but adding *any* weight in front of the rear wheels seems counter-productive to me. If the goal is 50/50 weight distribution then you'll add the least weight to obtain that goal by putting the weight as far back as possible. Weight added in front of the rear wheels also adds weight (although proportionally less) to the front too. Adding behind the rear wheels does the opposite. Without stressing my brain too much on any "real" math I would guess that you could add about 1/4 less weight if it was all behind the wheel arches. As was said before, less weight = better mpg.