Safe Winter Weight?
 

Any one know an easy way to put about 500 pounds in the rear of the bed? The challenge is keeping it there in case of a head-on collision, not that I'm planning on having one! I used a dozen cement blocks in the old truck but didn't drive it far. I was thinking a 4x8x1/2" sheet of steel, have a small loader to handle it. But the weight should be at the rear. If I use 2'x4' pieces, then I have to find a way to hold themin place. Cement blocks or steel plates flying through the rear window isn't too appealing!

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

I went to a foundry that was in the ground level of where I used to work and got (8) 50LB metal castings. They are rectangular, say, 8"x8"x2" of solid metal goodness. I built a double H out of 2x4's and some nylon straps to cradle the weights. The metal castings are between the wheel wells and the tailgate, stacked 2 on 2 each side. It rocks and definitely makes driving in the winter snow of Michigan a little easier. The metal is bare and surface rusts, but the bed has a drop in liner so it's not causing a problem. The setup was originally in my '94, but when I got my '04 this summer, I had to shave off about 2" of the end of the frame for it to fit into the truck.

If you can get some castings made cheap (the stamp mold should take like 3 minutes to set up for a shop) then anyone should be able to use it. But, if you have cinder blocks or something else, you could still use a frame set like I have out of 2x4's that would keep the weight in check in case of hard maneuvers or a crash.

Pics on request :)

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

They sell bladders that you can fill with water that contour to the bed shape and strap down.


http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...000996/c-10101

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

Dude Sand bags, I used to keep about 5 50lb bags in the back of my ranger it was more than plenty for that little truck. U should be fine with them. Plus they are cheep as all get out.

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

Thanks for the replies. Love the bladders! Leave it to J.C. Whitney. I might go that way just for the convenience, even though I'd rather notdrop $140.00. I'll check out the provisions for a cradle for my cement blocks first. In the old truck I put a 2x4 across behind the wheel wells. It kept them back there, except on a hard stop with the plow the top layer sometimes slid off. With the bladder, having a 400# block of ice back there could be a problem for some uses of the truck. SinceI'm considering a distributed load like that, I'll also check with a local steel supplier. Maybe go with the 4x8 steel sheet after all. I always hadthe cement blocks two layers high just inside the tailgate. Figured it gave me maximum effect.

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

I gotta get some weight in the back of mine as well, with all the snow and ice we are having. It only got to 75 degrees today, man this is a long winter. I really hate winter here.

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

i have 3 pieces of steel that weigh 400 pds apiece and are only about 1/2thick...i usually only put one in the bed before a good storm though because they are a pain in the ass to put in by urself, but i use pieces of pipe, and roll the steel into the bed over the pipe, then take out one of the two pieces of pipe and the steel doesnt ever move, but i do have a rubber mat that covers my bed, which helps so the steel dont move

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

If you dont wanna go with the bladder, I have seen people use train wheels in thier boats to make the wake bigger for wakeboarding, a few of those could do it too.

RE: Safe Winter Weight?
 

smoke quit bragging!! lol yea man iwould just use snad bags thats why they sell a ton of them during the winter. i usually carry around 800 to 950 pounds in my truck course mine is two wheel and i didnt have the powertrax in it yet