has anyone added weight to the back of truck to help in the performance ? and if so what and how ? im going to start experimenting with this as my truck, a 4 door long bed & lifted seems to drive a lot better with anything in the bed ! it seems like its just tooooo light back there - anyone play around with this and have some good info ?

It is not light back there. Just a lot more low end power. Later! Frank

I haven't been having too much trouble in the snow and ice with my truck. Just gotta keep it in 4wd to keep the power in check a little. As much as you can with 605+lbs of torque :ro)

Edit: sorry after re-reading your post it seems as though you made no mention of snow or ice. Must have a one track mind hence my name ;)

i added 6 bags of 90lb cement. worked great for softening out the ride. here in cali, the freeways have dividers every 100' or so that cause the truck to stacatto in a bone-jarring experience. the cement really helped. i call it the "poor mans bilstein". ;)

Cal Dirt - dam, 6 bags ? how much does it help ? it sounds like it might make the difference that im looking for, ill check into that. im running the rancho 9000's, and am in cali as well, every time i have weight back there it seems to ride much smoother. thanks for that info

In the winter, I put about six 80# bags of water softner salt back there. Gotta bring it home anyway. Seems to squat the rear springs just enough to help with the traction and ride.

I'd use 5-6 bags of sand just in front of the rear axle. Cement hardens and is a waste, use bags of salt and maybe someone will help thereselves to it.Around here I put a half a paper bag of dog s--t in the back to treat the thieves.

(note to self.... don't follow behind Bill Gisse's truck)

8 tubs of sand @ 60# each for 480 # total. Works pretty good for me and it 2 wheel drive on top of that.

LOL - thats good stuff. Thanks for all the advice, i went to local home depot and picked up some bags of sand, but only got 3 - 50lb bags. still need 2-3 more im thinking so im going back. So youre saying to put them in front of the rear axle ? not sure if being long bed and lifted matters, but i was going to put them in very back or right over the axle - ill move em around a little and see what happens - thanks again

Behind the axle if your looking to get more traction on the rear, in front if your looking to put more weight on both axle's.
Also don't forget people, to make sure the bag's of whatever your putting in the back are held in place very well, a 50lb bag of sand make's a big projectile in a accident and could easily come through the back window and do some damage to the people inside, or outside the vehicle.

My .02
DD

I specifically chose concrete because bags of sand can rip and you end up with sand all over the place.

THe concrete will obviously do the same if you don't mix it enough to fully harden. I made that mistake the first time by just throwing the bags back there and then letting mother nature and the car wash do the rest. Eventually the bags wore out and because I didn't give it a good mix, it began to crumble everywhere. Was a real mess.

This time, I mixed the bags with water good so that they're nice firm little blocks. I chose this so that I can easily remove them, as opposed to a pile of sand or concrete in my bed. When I need to load up my bikes, I need to make room back there quickly.

BTW: 6 bags (450lb) was overkill. 250-350 lbs seems to do the trick of softening out the ride, but the best solution is to simply install some loose shocks or RS9000 and dial them down. Haven't gotten around to that yet. :)

I'm heading up to the Yukon in a few minutes so I figured throw a 450L fuel tank back there and I'm good to go for extra fuel, extra weight, and so on so forth. She's tied down very well, so in the very hopefully non-existent event of an accident she won't go anywhere.

i dont need to worry about bags ripping or anything like that, i use a 800lb wheel and tire off a yarder :D

i dont need to worry about bags ripping or anything like that, i use a 800lb wheel and tire off a yarder :D
nosliw, how the heck do you mount one of those????? payloader? :eek:

tbone, I run 4 80# bags of softener salt...in the spring, I just dump them (not all at once) in the softener..no waste that way. :D

Tom :eek:

no clue, dad did it while i was inside the shop, came out and had a big ass weight in the back of my pickup :confused: i'll ask him tomorrow.

tbone, I use 5 - 6 80# "tube sand" bags in the back of truck for winter weight. They are double layered with a poly fabric outer skin and are pretty tough. Get stuck, break one open. Some years back, I scrounged 3 - 2' x 3' concrete patio pavers which worked real well, in a '66 chevy 1/2 ton.

Ten 60 lb sand tubes in the very back. What a difference. Now the back end is doing it's share of the work in snow. The trucks are not light, but it's all up front. A tractor (as in tractor trailer) is not light either, but helpless bobtailing in snow. Not all that good at dragging trailer wheels through it either. It's not how much is on the rear, it's how much is on the rear as compared to the front. I only put them in for a storm, the rest of the time they are out. Frankly, my old '87 S10 2wd 4cyl short bed pickup did better in the snow if comparing both trucks using 2wd only. The difference in weight between the front and rear wasn't so great. I wasn't trying to push a heavy front end through the snow.

Steve

nosliw, how the heck do you mount one of those????? payloader? :eek:

tbone, I run 4 80# bags of softener salt...in the spring, I just dump them (not all at once) in the softener..no waste that way. :D

Tom :eek:
alright got the answer today from him. he just hooked chains around the wheel and put it in with a plain 'ol forklift:cool:

100 feet of tank chains(5/8" link) is the main weight, plus various recovery kit. The chains are 20' each, and weigh about 70-75 pounds each. Not sure on the exact weight, hubby knows though.

All that weight in back and it still sucks in the winter. The only people who have problems are those with diesels for the most part now. Too much torque if you don't watch it.:(

big thanks to all who have posted, i was hoping that i wasnt the only one with this dilemna - ive gone to 7 bags of sand, each at 50lbs and am going to 2 more for a total weight of 450lbs, i started at 5 then 7 and i think a couple more will be great. it really does help the ride, helps the suspension more, i dont get the spring slap as much either and it seems to have helped the braking as well. thanks again

I carry 10 70# bags of sand over the axle. I rarely use 4 wheel drive. The traction is more improved after adding 700# extra weight. Did help out with the ride as well.

Ben

I originally had six 40# bags of sand and set the ranchos on two in the back. My first thought was that the smaller bags would be easier to move. Well this is true except they move all over by themselves. Every time I go to put something in the back I have to redo the bags. I went and bought 4 long 80 # tubes and ran them from front to back between the wheel wells. This has worked much better. The wheel hop is gone and much better in the snow.

Mark

In the winter months, I put a wheel and tire off my grandpas 68' Kenworth dump truck. It weighs around 200 or 300 pounds. I secure it with tie down straps with the little hooks in the bed. I have it secured so that the tire is touching the tail gate. It has really helped in the snow, since I have a reg cab and there isn't much weight in the rear.

Dan