-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Sandbag weight alternatives
- Thread starter Jamesh Bond
- Start date
Midget
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2002
- Messages
- 2,806
i bought a large rubbermaid-style container which houses my winter emergency kit, and ratchet strapped it down in the bed of my tacoma so it doesn't slide around. I keep a lot of stuff in that container, and it ends up being about 100-125 lbs.
Alternatively, you could get large-ish rubbermaid containers and fill it with rock salt. The salt you could periodically use to salt your driveway or parking spot throughout the snowy winter months. The downside is this is a recipe for disaster if the plastic container cracks -- salt water in the truck bed could be a disaster.
But ratchet strapping things down in the bed of my truck has proved very effective so far to keep things from sliding around. I also have a tonneau to secure my belongings. I have a 4WD tacoma but have driven 2WD this entire season including through the snowy parts of Maine.
Alternatively, you could get large-ish rubbermaid containers and fill it with rock salt. The salt you could periodically use to salt your driveway or parking spot throughout the snowy winter months. The downside is this is a recipe for disaster if the plastic container cracks -- salt water in the truck bed could be a disaster.
But ratchet strapping things down in the bed of my truck has proved very effective so far to keep things from sliding around. I also have a tonneau to secure my belongings. I have a 4WD tacoma but have driven 2WD this entire season including through the snowy parts of Maine.
In addition to a light rear axle, your tires may have the wrong rubber for ice and snow. I don't mean the tread--even some aggressive looking tires have the wrong rubber for ice and snow. There is a big difference in the grip of good rubber versus bad rubber, even with identical tread. And beware of some premium brands too, a few years ago the common Michelin all season truck tires were terrible on ice and snow.
For weight, be sure your bed is level, then pour 3 inches of concrete in it.
For weight, be sure your bed is level, then pour 3 inches of concrete in it.
- Joined
- May 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,734
before you buy chains, make sure they are legal where you live, also, can you live with driving everywhere in third gear? Check your tire pressure, and maybe look into having some soft winter (X-ice or similar) tires for the back at least during the winter. But you would probably want fronts too. Getting some weight in the back will help, a couple of concrete pavers might be easier to tie down, but I think sand bags are your best option, and just consider it an annual expense. a temporary solution is to just shovel your truck bed full of snow. Not ideal, and not for long term, but to get you out of a jam, it's been done before.
If you are having trouble driving your truck in slippery conditions, 4 wheel drive won't save you. I've driven many different trucks in some very nasty conditions, and almost all the times I needed to go into 4wd on ice was to get low range, so I could crawl it around. When I lived in Calgary, most of the large pickup trucks I saw wreaked was almost certainly due to the driver being in 4wd, getting going faster than was safe, and finding out that 4wd doesn't make the breaks better. Or as in one case I watched a truck in 4wd walk itself corner-ways into a concrete divider rail because the driver didn't understand that he was no longer in control.
The joys of driving a light pickup truck. My dad owned a 6.2 diesel chevy that was amazingly light in the rear end. should have named that one skippy.
If you are having trouble driving your truck in slippery conditions, 4 wheel drive won't save you. I've driven many different trucks in some very nasty conditions, and almost all the times I needed to go into 4wd on ice was to get low range, so I could crawl it around. When I lived in Calgary, most of the large pickup trucks I saw wreaked was almost certainly due to the driver being in 4wd, getting going faster than was safe, and finding out that 4wd doesn't make the breaks better. Or as in one case I watched a truck in 4wd walk itself corner-ways into a concrete divider rail because the driver didn't understand that he was no longer in control.
The joys of driving a light pickup truck. My dad owned a 6.2 diesel chevy that was amazingly light in the rear end. should have named that one skippy.