Just curious to know how much weight others put in their beds during the winter months. I'm using 420 lbs of sand. What is your personal preference for keeping traction without sacrificing too much mpg?

 

With my stock Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tires I ran 200-300lbs in the bed up against the tailgate, and with my Nitto Terra Grappler G2s I ran nothing until they were half worn out at which point I added 100-150lbs. I haven't had my Falken Wildpeak A/T3W tires in the snow yet, but based on their wet weather performance, sustainable increase in wet weather traction over my old Nittos, and marketing claims, I suspect I won't be running any weight with them in the snow.

I don't change my driving much in the winter and have no problem doing 70mph on highway when it's covered in 6" of snow so long as the road is empty enough for me to not worry about other drivers; icy roads with slush or an inch or less of snow I'm obviously more cautious on. My truck has always done well in the snow and I had no problem driving around in 18" of snow, in 4HI, with no weight in the bed when my Nittos were new; I was actually very surprised by how well it did.

 

I already have a hundred pounds plus in there all the time. In the winter I usually add either my topper or some sand. About 180-200 for either of those. I change my driving in the winter.....I keep turning off traction control.

 

None, that is why I bought a 4x4.

Also adding weight just for more traction can be counter productive by shifting the balance and thus handling of the vehicle. 400lbs is a lot of weight to add to the back and I imagine it can make you more liable to spin out. Also if you do have an accident I would hate to have that fly through the back window.

 

You are good at 420.. Anything less isn't going to make much difference.

 

420 is excessive.

 

When I had a regular cab truck I found that it helped to add a little weight in snow. Just a few firewood logs or concrete blocks. But with an extended cab, and especially a crew cab truck there is enough weight on the rear axle that I don't feel the need to add anything else.

 

1 or 2 bags of sand (50lbs) right at the tailgate. The added weight helps a bit plus I have sand if I get stuck on ice.

 

I echo marshallr’s thoughts. When I drove extended cab Rangers I always added 200lbs, and it made a significant difference in those trucks with light rear ends. When I upgraded to a crew cab Frontier there was already enough weight over the rear axle that adding more weight didn’t matter much. The exception was when my 4x4 went out, for that winter I added 300 lbs in the bed and honestly could go just about anywhere in 2wd that I could go in 4wd without weight. And on a side note, during a rainstorm I took that Frontier on a rutted and hilly off-road trail for about 1.5 miles to get to a hunting cabin while my 4x4 was out. I was hauling a 600lb garden tractor and another 300 lbs of gear and never spun my tires once (I had installed a Truetrac by then). It changed my mind on needing 4x4 and I even tried to find an F150 in 2WD but I would have had to drive 8 hours to get what I wanted.

So I don’t add any weight to my crew cab 4x4 F150 for the winter. I leave traction control on too, I’ve driven around in ½”-1” of slick wet snow in 2WD just to get a feel for the truck and I was impressed whenever the rear end tried to break loose and start spinning the truck; traction control did an excellent job straightening the truck back out. That’s probably the ONLY time I’ve ever cared for the traction control in this truck.

 

I typically carry 4 X 50lb bags of sand in a custom box built out of 2x12's. Roughly 240(ish) lbs in the winter months.
Make sure to fasten your bags in there somehow, when they freeze they turn into mini missiles when you stop & go.

Will be putting sand in mine soon.