[Ian]

Everybody has their favorites, but I would never recommend anything that can leave the bed or go through the back window in an accident (especially cement blocks). Never had it happen to me but have seen it, it will scare the s**t out of you.

I use loose sand that is held to the back end of the bed with a 2X8 framework.

 

[NEPSJay]

get one of these for ballast purposes....:waving:

 

[douglasl330]

Yep those do work great for ballast!purplebou

 

[justme-]

get one of these for ballast purposes....:waving:

Talk about premateurily rotting out your truck!!! NEVER again in my trucks!

The key in ballast is "behind the real wheels" If you put it infront of or over the rear wheels you are not accomplishing what it is intended to do. Basic physics- levers and fulcroms.
I used to use the tube sand over the rear wheels (10 of the at 60 lbs each, sometimes 12 or 14 of them) they froze- no big deal as the didn;t leave the bed all season anyway. I made a frame of 2x4's with angles on the corners for reinforcement and chained the frame to the rear cargo tiedowns to prevent it from becoming a missle. No problems. Come spring I stacked them in a corner of the yard until next year- got 3 seasons out of a tube before it was too rotted to lift into the bed again. Just put them in 5 gal plastic pails and going to build a new frame.
This was all evenly spread in front of anf behind the rear wheel for traction and to counter itself (again physics).
I also use rubbermaid totes to carry my salt and sand for spreading on the customers (usually by hand stuff) against the tailgate which is where ballast needs to be. 2 totes full is about 200lbs each (4 50 lbs bags of salt in a tote) plus extra bags of salt in the middle. I can fit 4 totes across, 2 of each giving me over 500lbs at the gate all the time. This stuff stays in all season- the totes are not going to leak, and I bungee the lids on for safety (they do fly off on the highway if you don't)

 

[LINY Rob]

if I roll my truck I dont think the cinder blocks are going to make that much of a difference

at that point I want it done for, I dont want any chance of it being fixed, im sure the window will blow out either way, 35lb cinder block wont hurt as much as the roof collapsing on my head.

Maybe Ill look into that sand thing, but what do you do with the loose sand in the spring time?

 

[gino]

I buy 80# bags (Tube Shaped) of sand at Wallmart. They are packaged in a heavy duty weaved plastic type of material. They can be placed in and out of the truck easily. Plus, you have sand if you need it. They cost about $4.00 per/bag.
g

 

[bugthug]

just last night my father in law was telling me about some worker at the machine shop he is a manager had a brainstorm. The guy took a train wheel and dumped it right into the back of the truck. yup the truck has a bed liner so its nice and slick.long story short it came through the front of the bed, then the guy got on it and shot the wheel through the tailgate on the ground.
I like to use salt.

 

[Lux Lawn]

If your that worried about it go to Home Depot and get the Tubes of Sand 60 pounds for $3.50 each.

 

[LINY Rob]

wouldnt a 60lb bag of sand be just as much if not more of a missle as a 35lb cinder block?

 

[fernalddude]

Ok guys iam a little lost with this post or have i been doing this to long ? 500lbs in the front but no weight in the back oh and iam worried about a scratch in the bed . It is a work truck thats why you fix them. If you think that your not going to do some damage to them dont get in this line of work things break ,your using it to break thru ice and move tons of snow s**t happens. My b2's carry allmost a ton of added weight thats how i can keep up with largers trucks and out turn them and fit in tight places full size trucks can not,so add some weight or a spreader and salt the rig will preform much better...

 

[NEPSJay]

Talk about premateurily rotting out your truck!!! NEVER again in my trucks!

)

Mines a lease truck....i couldnt care less about rot. I let the next guy worry about it.. besides i never leave salt in it and it gets several washes after its used...that spreader is 2 years old...its that clean cause i take care of her.

 

[justme-]

What is it whith noone wanting to tie down their ballast?? All trucks have solid rear AND front tiedown points that are accessible with and without a bed liner- use them. Cinder blocks have holes perfect for chaining through for example.
Sand is cheaper, more durable and more useful if you get stuck.

Why use loose sand- contain it in totes, bins, 5 gallon pails, something. As I said I built a wooden frame from 2x4's- 1 each across in front of and behind the wheelwells then 2 between them and another across the center on the bottom. The sand bags on top of the bottom one tend to hold it down against the wheel wells and they keep it from sliding either way more than an inch or two- as it tries to slide it has to slide UP over the wheel well and the weight of all the sandbags keep pulling it back down. That's my traction aide- I will be rebuilding it with higher sides and a plywood bottom to hold the 5 gal pailes for this season.

Make sure your tailgate latches properily then strap the pails, totes, etc against it useing the rear tiedown points and problem of sliding solved.

Free cargo in the bed is a hazard reguardless of what it is- while rolling your truck would suck- it's not what you should be concerned about reguarding ballast- how about sliding off the road and hitting a tree- air bag deploys and saves your life but the loose cinder blocks in the bed (or sand bags) come flying throught the rear window and crush the back of your head. Game over man.

With the totes I use a good rubber bungee cord from the center stake pocket diagonally down around the tote to the rear tiedown anchor secures them from sliding around

 

[justme-]

Mines a lease truck....i couldnt care less about rot. I let the next guy worry about it.. besides i never leave salt in it and it gets several washes after its used...that spreader is 2 years old...its that clean cause i take care of her.

I did what I could to take care of my Chevy when I had the sander in her, after the first year or two she started rotting our from under me no matter what I did is seemed. Never putting one on a daily driver for sure. I used to cover my sander load and tried only to load dry sand/salt too. Had to sand and repaint the bed each off season top and bottom.

 

[NEPSJay]

dont get me wrong....after every storm it costs me a small fortune at the car wash. I think i came up with a pretty good system....if there is any white residue anywhere from salt or from just drivin around, im in the express lane headed to carwash to drop a pile of quarters. i make it a point to take spreader and bed liner out a couple times a month to wash the heck out of them. Ridin around in a clean ride makes me feel better plus its good for biz.. Its nice to get compliments once in a while.

 

[scottL]

After using those frozen torpedos ( tube sand ) for years and then having to find a spot to dump the rotting slugs - I've gone to bags of water softner salt. Season is over and they go into my basement for use in the water softner. They don't seem to freeze either.

 

[justme-]

After using those frozen torpedos ( tube sand ) for years and then having to find a spot to dump the rotting slugs - I've gone to bags of water softner salt. Season is over and they go into my basement for use in the water softner. They don't seem to freeze either.

watch out- those bags often have holes and will leak h20 inside. Been there too. They won't freeze- they're salt. They will leak salt water out the holes and over your truck and they will solidify and "grow" a mold sometimes tho.
I used to use water softner salt instead of "ice melting" salt because it was cheaper per lbs and bigger pieces lasted longer during a storm I still use it for certain applications or when ice melt is out of stock

 

[Grn Mtn]

Exactly what you are looking for

Reading Snow Magazine I saw an ad that I think is exactly what you are looking for: http://www.shurtrax.com/

 

[LINY Rob]

unfortunetly my 250sd doesnt have any cleats in the bed, maybe the newer ones do

 

[drplow]

I use cinder blocks, around 35 pounds each, you can line the bed with them so all you will lose is the height of the blocks, around 8" or so.

I leave them in all winter, easy to still use the bed because you can just put cargo on top of the blocks. I had somewhere between 30-35 of them in there last year, they dont slide around either.

Even though they say to use 500, the extra helps out especially when going site to site when you may not want to use 4 wheel drive because the roads arent all that bad

i find that sand bags are the easiest to use. i use the same ones for three years and then toss them. only $3.00 a piece, it seems safer than blocks and they don't slide around at all. i built a ballast system to hold them and if you get stuck, you could always use them to get out.
i just watched a show on TV that showed what can happen to some objects in the back seat when you get into an accident going at 60mph. it was on myth busters and its something to really watch.

 

[RODHALL]

I took an old class iv receiver hitch, and 6 foot long piece of 6 inch diameter steel pipe and welded the hitch into the pipe and then filled it with 250 lbs. of concrete. You have to use a cherry picker to pick it up and put it in the class IV receiver. But boy do I pitty the person who hits me in the rear end.

You will find your truck will have more traction and need less ballast , with the weight farther away and little lower then the rear.