Does adding sand bags (or any weight) to the bed of a pickup truck improve its ability to maintain control in the snow? The snowy and icy winter is in full swing, and it brings up several questions about how to maintain control on snow and ice in a truck.
This question comes to us ask@tfltruck.com from David A.
Living in Minnesota, it’s been “common” knowledge to add sand bags or weight to the bed of your pickup to gain more traction in the winter. But I’ve never actually tested to see how much a difference it makes, or if it’s even necessary with today’s modern traction control systems and today’s trucks with “4 wheel auto” settings.
David A.
This a great question and one that we aim to answer in a video soon. In the meantime, it definitely helps to add weight to where your drive wheels/axles are. If you only have rear-wheel-drive, adding more weight in the back will help you ability to get going and control your vehicle on slippery surfaces.
Yes, the latest traction and stability control systems are getting ever more advanced, but there is no avoiding the laws of physics. Another big, and perhaps the most important, part of the equation are the tires. You can have all the weight in the world in the bed, but worn or wrong-type of tires will cause big problems on the snowy roads.
Here is one 4WD snowy test we did a while ago. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
