Traction/weight in the bed for winter driving

I bought an '08 regular-cab Taco last March and the snow was pretty much gone by that time, although I recall one morning where it had snowed an inch or so and I noticed a bit of squirelliness in the rear end. I had an '89 Toyota pickup which I sold in '97, and recall it being a bit tricky at times on slick roads.

Most people with pickups around here, where we'll often have snowpacked roads from Thanksgiving until Easter, put varying amounts of "tube sand" in the bed. I went and picked up four bags of it, 60# per bag, and am thinking I'll put those in the bed immediately over the rear axle when the roads get slick. Any thoughts? What amount of extra weight, assuming an otherwise empty bed, would you think might give best traction and handling in your Taco on snowpacked or icy roads?

 

The tube sand is probably the cheapest way to do it.
I have 3 tubes @ 70lbs each. I've had these for years and ran them in my 96 tacoma, my 04 Dodge, and now the 07 tacoma.

This year, I'm gonna try and go without the sand and see how I manage. Our winters here in PA can be nasty or nothing at all. All that extra weight in the bed sucks up the gas - so I thought I'd try to go without it this year.

I have a tonneau cover on my truck - so the tube sand stays nice & dry. If you don't have a cover, think about putting a tarp over the sandbags. Cuz wet & frozen sand bags aren't nice to handle.

Get a bed mat also. The sand bags will slide all over the place if you don't have a bed mat. THe first year I used them without a bed mat - I used ratchet straps to keep them in one place.

(if the sand bags are wet & frozen and they're sliding all over the place in the bed, could get ugly againest your bedside walls)



Definat

 

either what janster said, or you can buy one of those bladder deals that you fill with water, and its made for water to freeze and provide weight in the truck bed over the rear axle.

 

I drove a 4x4 Toyota in Colorado from 1986 - 2004 and never needed to put sand or any extra weight in the back since it was a 4x4. If you had a 4x2, that would be a different story.

 

This is some great information. I'm from Texas (no snow) and this will be my first winter in Minnesota. I traded in my PreRunner so I could get the 4x4 and traction control of the '09. But I have been told by MANY people that I needed weight in the back via sand bags.

This is good to know...

 

I went without any wieght in the bed for 2 winters, this year im adding something, truck likes to fish tail on the highway and im not risking spinning out. In 4x4 it handels better then the silverado, but i can drive the silverado in 2x4 on the highway in snow, My tacoma hates that.

 

if you put weight in they bed how are you gonna have fun sliding around and stuff!?!

 

When they freeze over, I'll go drive out on to a lake. I doubt weight in the bed will stop the fun there....

 

This is a result of having the tube sand sitting in your garage and not in the back of your truck. I was getting on the Ohio Turnpike and spun out, jumped the median and hit a UPS tractor trailer coming the other way. The UPS guy ran right by me after the accident asking if the guy driving that truck was dead or needed an ambulance. When I told him it was me he got tears in his eyes he was so happy.

Get the sand.



Also, Minnesota? You couldn't have stopped of for a few years in Missouri or Iowa to break yourself in a bit, you went straight for freakin Minnesota? Well, good fishing there.

 

i dont have lakes i have to use back roads and parking lots!! police dont go as good in snow as 4x4!!

 

HA! When I do something, I do it all the way. If I could have found a job, I would have gone to Alaska. And if I could stand the taxes and socialistic government, I would have considered Canada.

It's just for a while. I'm a Texan at heart, so I'll end up back in Austin one day. Just gotta get this cold shit out of my system...

 

O ill take it out for those parking lot drift nights. These trucks are natural drift kings! I can hold a skid for an hour!

 

If you're new to driving in snow just be careful. Accelerating on slick surfaces will want to kick the rear out and spin you. Can happen in any non-front wheel drive vehicle. So if it's slick and cars are coming wait to pull out. Same for accelerating when your on ice. Slow and easy or the back can come right around. When it's about 30-32 and it looks like water on the road but it's black ice is the most dangerious condition. This stuff is super slick and just accelerating while driving can spin you out. Brake a little before a intersection to see if it's ice or water. Having 4wd on will help keep you from spinning and starting. Won't help with stopping as many idiots seem to think.

 

Someone once told me that "four wheel drive" doesn't equal "four wheel stop"...

 

That is so true. Every year the first snowfall the ditches on the highway are filled with 4x4's on their roofs and tons of collisions. They get the mentality that they will stop faster since they are in four wheel drive or that they can handle the roads like they are dry. I picked up my 08 double cab last November, just in time for the second worst winter on record here. I did not run any additional weight and it did pretty well. Just be careful with the amount of throttle when taking off. However in me old Tacoma a 2000 regular cab i was not going anywhere without the addition of a few of the tubesand bags.

-Dan

 

Well I have never lived in Snow or Ice. But i have driven in it a few times.

I have lost control when going 10 MPH on black ICE and also went over a cliff.
i would say use the tubes, what is a few extra dollar in gas if it can help save your life.

Also if they make it, I would get Snow tires for the winter... for the trcuks.

 

How much are these bags of sand? And exactly how much weight should I be looking to add to the back?

 

I have two bags that I am going to try this year, I think they weigh 60 pounds each. Around here I can get them almost anywhere from at gas stations on pallets by the pumps to home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot. They don't cost very much, and just to be sure this is what i am talking about.

-Dan

 

Thanks!

 

When I was living in Alaska I kept 3x Sandtubes in the bed of my truck in the winter. When it was cold (-10 or lower) the roads were usually pretty dry, so I felt fine driving in 2 wheel drive. I'd recommend some wieght in the bed for anyone living in snow blessed areas.