Hi there everyone!

This post is for The Mrs, and my Mum.

They both believe that I should put some dead weight in the back of the truck for winter driving. They both believe that this will give me better traction and less rear wheel slip in the snow and ice.

I would appreciate your comments on this.

Mitch

PS. I have my own views on this. Remember, I do own a 4x4.

 

I drive in 2wd until I cant anymore, and then 4wd.

If I ever have any dead weight in the back of my truck, Its my snowmobile.

and instead of spending 300 bucks on a big bag of water, Go get yourself some flat concrete blocks, they are about 2 inches thick, and weigh about 10 pounds a piece, and have the footprint of a cinder block. then go get a summit bed mat, it can be had for about 40 or 50 bucks I believe.

with this system, you basically make a patio in the back of your truck, and put the mat over it, and you only loose 2 inches of space and no functionality.

 

never worry about extra weight in the back. If there is that much snow on the ground, there is that much snow in the bed. But in SC it is not that we get that much snow. Nothing helps on ice. I travel into NC to go skiing on Thursdays and I never really had need for weight in the back.
But again, it is not that we get that deep snow.

As for the extra concrete blocks in the back, I always worry about those things becoming projectiles when and if another vehicle collides with my truck, or God forbid, I impact a ditch and all these blocks fly toward the cab. But Ty's idea of making a "patio" is better than what I have seen where people just place them over the rear axle.

But this reminds me of the age old question, best tires on rear or front?
What about that question?

 

if ice is your concern, just get your tires siped (sp?), I guess it is the bee's knees for driving on ice, and is only about 100 bucks to get done around here.

and the "patio" method is also good because if you interlock the pavers, much like a actuall patio, there is very little movement.

and I would say put the better tires in the front because there is more weight on them, and that is where most of your stopping power is.

 

http://www.autoanything.com/hitch-be...A2868A0A0.aspx

maybe this would help.

 

I think those are the worst things ever, try loading a studed snowmobile on top of one, or try to get the snow out of your bed.

 

Well, click and clack, the newspaper car guys say to put the best tires on the rear since you do not want them "breaking traction". Your front tires can be steered, so if they lose control, you can turn the steering wheel and have some resemblence of control. If the rear breaks control you are just out of luck, and the last thing you want is for the rear end to pass you as you are going down the hi-way.

 

if your tires are balled and you crank the wheels and they have no traction, the momentum of the truck will push you in the way you are traveling regardless of where the palm-sized contact patch of the tire is pointing you.

but that changes if you are in a fwd or 4x4 vechical and the front tires are powered.

 

I bet that is true, the old "turn into the direction of the spin" rule most likely does not apply to front wheel drive cars. I guess I don't know the new rule, but it would be different since this is not your dad's rear wheel drive cars anymore.

 

For a 2WD, I would recommend putting 300 - 500 lbs in the back, balanced across the rear axle. If you put the center of the weight load behind the axle, then you are leveraging weight off the front end.

For 4WD, doesn't hurt to add a little weight, but I don't know that it helps all that much. I would also suggest to put the best tires on the front. It's easier to pull something than to push, plus you have the improved steering considerations.

I would think the recommendation to put the best tires on back is for rear-wheel 2WD. Plus, if you're locked in on 4WD, all tires are turning the same speed ideally, so lesser risk of the rear end racing past the front end.

For RWD vehicles, turn in the direction of the spin/slide while coasting. For FWD, point the wheels where you want to go and apply a little throttle, within reason. For 4WD, I follow the FWD recommendation.

And for Pete's sake, if you're trying to steer during a slide, keep your foot off the brakes!