adding weight to my little truck.

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pafree

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Dayton, Texas
i want to add a little weight to my short bed 2wd chevy S 10 for the forecasted ice and maybe snow. i don't have any plans to go anywhere but just in case work calls me in early. i have a lot of years of mud play and i know weight over the back helps with traction and i know not slam on the brakes on the ice. i have three bolt buckets that will hold 50 lbs of corn that i filled with water and one i put all my pull'em out chains in. my question is would it be better to put the buckets in the very back of the truck by the tailgate or up my the cab which on my little short bed is right in front of the rear axle. should i drop the tire pressure like i do for the mud?

it has been 15 years since we had a MAJOR ice storm and i had a front wheel drive car then.
 
Put them right over the rear axle if you have 2 wheel drive. If 4x4 you can distribute some towards the cab too but not behind the rear axle.
Tim
 
DO NOT lower the air pressure in your tires especially if you're adding weight in the rear, you may even want to inflate 2-5 lbs. above recommended air pressure because of the weight and cold air temps. On a truck like a S-10 or Toyota 200 lbs. is plenty for traction. As far as traction on pure ice goes studded tires or chains or just stay home. If it's ice and snow mix good tires and slow you're butt down. Basically drive like you don't have any brakes at all. I've learned a few things after drivin tractor-trailers for 32 years. :wink:
 
Yep, what He ^ said.

And, maybe don't put your chains in the truck bed. Things disappear, no matter how crappy the weather. Wet sand or (out here in the country, barnyard lime bags work just a well. Put the weight over the wheels.

And drive as if each and everyone else on the road is just about to go insane and try and slam, skid, or careen into you.

Best wishes.
 
the drums look like this one but have a fold over latch to lock the lid instead of the bolt and i have the chains in one of them. i used a ratchet strap to keep them in place in the truck bed. the wife is from New Jersey and i am from Houston and she says the same thing about other drivers going crazy when the weather changes.

thanks for the information.
 

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I keep a cooler ratchet strapped in the bed of my Colorado. If they call for ice i just fill it with water. Snow I load the bed with shovelings from the driveway. For all other times i use it for storage since i don't have the extended cab. Cheap and easy to remove if I need the bed space.

uploadfromtaptalk1390522122510.jpg
 
I always just bought some 50# bags of pea gravel at HD and kept in the bed, and then in the spring just put around the landscaping come spring time. Cheap weight and easy to get rid of as well. Nobody stole 'em either.
 
When I bought my Tacoma, the guy had an inner tube cut in half, with the cut ends wired shut and filled with sand. He had one alongside each of the wheel wells.
 
Years back running an S-10 I would put a 2 by 4 across bed, tailgate side of wheel wells and add around 300 lbs between tailgate and 2x4 .Much more weight unless newer payload and suspension increased won,t change alot and can unbalance steering. Another hundred pounds maybe ,after a test drive. Front tires need to be healthy so much for steering I would be willing to put the best ones on front. Easy does it, keep er rolling. Ita a ballet ,not a slam dance. Ran that ol truck till selling it with about 250,000 on it. Thats a lot of Michigan winters and plenty of ice.
 
after a night of freezing rain, everybody in southeast texas has just gone crazy. most of the over passes and elevated road froze cause lots of accidents and road to be closed. no reason to go out, so i couldn't test my new setup on the road. i did drive around the property picking up scrap steel to feed my fishing habit and i went through places that were wet and icy. the truck went through with a bit of slippage but never got stuck.

when i pull my little 4x8 scrapping trailer when it is a little over loaded on the tongue, the front wheels on the truck lift a little causing the steering to be a bit freaky. this is why i was not sure about adding the weight for the ice would be better closer to the axle or a bit in front of it.

the three on the right are the water barrels and the one the left is the chain bucket.
 

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If you ever decide to move those back from the cab, make sure you figure out a way to secure them well. Years ago a buddy and I lifted a heavy barrel of garbage onto the back (by the tailgate) of his new leased pickup for a short drive to the dump. He forgot it was there, stopped too fast... and put a two foot v in the box behind the cab#@!$%#!.

Nothing like a good winter storm to identify the types of drivers on the road... The one in front slowing you up is an idiot, and anybody that drives faster than you is crazy! :LOL2:
 
Back in December we got some ice/snow & it was the first time I've ever had to add weight to my truck. I was living in the country then & couldn't get yup the hills. I stacked 14 cinder blocks against my tailgate. Never had another problem.
 

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