Do you put weight in back of your truck?

i cant see putting wieght, since works good without, why put more, gas mileage will be piss poor, and handling cannot approve enough to justifty in my book

 

It really depends on your situation. Yes, for everyday driving in snow and such, why bother? But if you drive on roads where the situation creates safer handling, then yes it's a definite plus. I've had sandbags in the back in past vehicles, but never needed them in the my Taco until just last year (I've owned the truck for over 5 years now). Last year, I was living in a place where I had to make a left turn off of a BUSY 2 lane road at the bottom of a looong downhill. The street I had to turn onto also went downhill and also swept back around 180 degrees (so before I turned I was heading west but after the turn on my street I ended up going back east). Needless to say, you can't always slow down as far as you'd like to without getting rear ended by people not driving properly in the snow. So you hit this turn and what does the rear end do? Loses traction spinning you around 180 degrees (granted, I don't have VSC or any traction control). Solution? Added the sandbags. Never had a problem again because it was just the extra weight on those rear tires that was needed to pack the tread down on the snow a little bit more.

Safety, safety, safety...

 

I have about 150lbs and it makes a huge difference in the snow. I don't have 4x4, so traction is everything...

I'm actually surprised how well the stock 17s with Duelers is handling our extended winter.

 

I have the weight of a LEER truck cap........ This truck has been awesome in the snow...

 

I threw 4 40lb bags of wood pellets in the bed a week ago when we go 4+ inches of snow. The snow isn't so bad. It's when the salt trucks have been out and the snow turns into slushy crap that things get interesting. I leave the truck in 2wd as much as possible, and if I feel something slip or slide I use 4WD. Or if the roads are covered just because most of the roads around here leave little room to slide before hitting oncoming traffic becomes a problem. So as much as I can control the truck and pull out of a slide I'd rather not when there's only a couple feet of room on either side, and lots of tight turns. With only 160lbs I could see the rear squat a bit, and that's been enough for a little extra traction. Enough to leave it in 2WD since then.

 

when the tires were new, it wasn't an issue, but as they have worn, the traction has decreased....i now have 150lbs over the axle to help

 

Lots of dead hookers. That works for a bit till i need to reload.

 

I put 2- 57 lb bags of kitty litter in the bed. Weight and traction if I need it.

 

My access cab that I used to have handled like crap in the snow and ice without any weight back there but the double cab I have now seems to do great without it.

 

yeah , i think the dbl cab has enough wieght in it to make it fine in the snow

 

57?? what happened to 55 or 60?

 

I've got a base 2wd....and with the traction control and my Firestone Winter Forice snows on the back I've had no trouble at all. No weight in the back needed, IMO.

 

i took it out last week.. woot

 

great news!
I never put any weight in this year, we had no winter, it went south

 

2008 Tacoma 4x4 base. Stock tires are CRAP (Grand Treks). first light powder snow of the season and I couldnt start from a stop in 2wd on a VERY slight incline (1 or 2%). Would also lose traction on damp paved roads. Ever since, I've been running snow tires in the winter, and when it does snow I add about 350lbs of sand near the tailgate for added rear weight. Never had any problems since. I try to run 2wd as much as possible, unless the roads have several inches of snow or when going up hills. As a carpenter, we're expected to make it to work every day regardless of weather, so why risk losing traction? I'd rather protect myself and my truck by playing it safe. May be overkill, but like I said, never had any traction problems since.

 

Lots of guys in my neck of the woods , run around with firewood in the back of their trucks , which seems OK until you DO go off the road and your truck stops hard .

You end up picking the firewood out of the cab after it comes through the back window and hopefully doesn't brain you at the same time .

Sand bags are a lot safer .

 

Not to much snow in my neck of the woods

 

^^^^ maybe your nose

 

I've got my toolbox back there, weighs 175-200 lbs. That is year round though. I haven't needed the weight, the truck seems just fine with the locker. I use 4wd when the snow gets up to the bumper in the winter, which is a normal occurence on the backroads around here. This past winter, I was busting drifts that were coming over the hood of my truck.

 

I carry 4 60lb bags of sand all the time, not just in snow season. Has nothing to do with 4 wheel drive: on rain slick roads the back end wants to spin around and even on dry it helps balance the handling quite a bit. The V6 is torquey enough the extra 240 lbs isn't even noticeable for acceleration... or braking.

A cheap load bar keeps them from sliding around...about $14 at WalMart.