The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Weight for Bed of Pickup (bumpity bumping going on )

I have a 1971 pickup and I want to load and haul something around 150 -200 lbs in the bed so to keep the bounce from it when driving the bumpy streets and roads,, plus if I drive it in the winter ,for traction also.
I have in the past used a large truck innner tube ,,cut in half and filled it with sand and then hose clamped the ends ,,might just do it again ,,,,but wanted opinions from any of you of what you might of done the same as I for weight for the traction in winter driving..

My pickup is a daily driver and I enter it in shows sometimes so by saying that I want somethng that would not scratch the paint ,,

If you have a water softer, stock up with bags of salt.

The last time I had the innertube sand filled weight ,, I had a chain hoist set up by my shop (which since moving I havn't got any more ) to take it out when I wanted ..so if I had smaller weights rather than a large one ,,ideas for this would be a lot of help..

The last thing you want in the bed is salt. One little tear in one bag and your bed will rust out.

I wasn't no way putting salt in my bed of my pickup,, I thnk that was a Un-knowlegable idea some one had. lol

I was wondering about sand bags that they use for sand bagging ,, as long as they do not leak sand I may look into maybe using them for weight.

Well, I drive a 3/4 ton a lot and what I use varies.
Sometimes a jag of green oak firewood.
Sometimes an ATV.
But my favorite is about 30 ft of 3/4 chain. It will weigh in at over 200 Lbs.
Plus a good conversation piece.

I have heard of folks bolting a steel plate under the bed for weight also.

Don

Whatever you put in the bed be sure to secure it. As a 35 year veteran of Law Enforcement I have personally worked 2 traffic accidents where a heavy object was not secured and came through the back window. One accident the female driver (a nurse) was decapitated by a tool box, the other a young teenage driver had his neck broken by a loose 22 inch aluminum wheel. Strap/Bolt whatever you use down tight to the bed.🛠

maybe 4 bags of sand, one in front of the wheel and one behind on both sides.

Sorry Idaho, My bed is wood. Does not rust. AND has a tonneau cover.

Don ..I think 200 lbs might be about right ,, I have dual exhaust and no spare tire ,but it would take a 40 inch x12 inch x1.5 inch chunk of steel to weigh close to 200 lbs ..I like connecting the weight under the bed ,but this is a humongest .lol

Martin,, I thought about that too ,when I had the innertube back there and if it came forward it would take out the cab and a head or two also ,depending on the quick stop to cause it ..

To be safe one would have to drill holes in the bed to secure what ever you put back there,, ,up by the cab I have already holes for drainage ,, but I want the weight futher back ..

I guess I could take the bed bolts out and make a connecting washer and fasten it that way ..??
Martin ,,So knowing you have witnessed wrecks before ,,what would you do further with safety with my last idea ?

Seasonally I have 4 bales of hay in the bed. I stock up in the fall because there is no further haying until June and I don't want my rabbits to go without. I cover it with half inch commercial fishing net which is very strong. Works well but the load decreases in size and weight as summer hay becomes more readily available.

Anything you put in the bed will fly forward in a frontal impact unless secured. Sand bags, while somewhat more benign than metal or concrete objects still become dangerous projectiles. Find you some railroad rail and cut it into 3 foot sections. Drill 4-6 1/2 inch holes evenly spaced and bolt them to the frame rails aft of the axles. Use shorter pieces if the 3 footers don’t fit. A 3 foot section weighs about 90 pounds.🛠

Some one mentioned to me a couple years ago that beings I do not haul heavy loads to just take a leaf out of the springs and it would do the same thing ,,softer ride.. wish I knew someone who has done this and I could beleive them if they did and said it does work.. I know on paper it should work ..but,,, lot of work to do and put back together if I am not happy with the results ..

Box the frame rail and pour lead into it?.....worked for race cars.

There has been discussions about removing a leaf spring or two also to improve the ride.
Myself, I prefer the extra load capacity if I need it.

Great pictures BTW, in front of the Train Museum in Nampa.

Don

I use two round steel stamps from a gold mill. They were used to crush the rocks as they started through the mill and weigh 120 pounds apiece. I welded a bolt on two sides of them and mounted them behind the rear wheels in my 1967 C10 . We have used these for years and the weight behind the wheels works great for traction in the winter. My son also has a couple mounted in his 1972 C10 . They have been in there since the truck was new and was my dad's last demonstrater when we had the Chevrolet dealership.
Jim

One place I worked would bolt a sheet of steel in the bed of their trucks and then lay a rubber bed liner type mat over it. About 3/16" steel I think. It added weight, added strength to the floor of the bed and had no effect on use of the bed except of course for the added weight. It was bolted down, so not going anywhere so long as you use an appropriate size and grade of bolt. It really helped tame those trucks on washboard roads. When they sold the trucks, they pulled the plates and bed mat, it left the truck with a fairly straight bed with a few bolt holes in the floor.

3/16" sheet steel weighs about 7.6 lbs/ sq foot, a 4x7 foot piece would weigh 212lbs. 1/8" steel weighs 5.1 lbs / sqft, so a 4x7 sheet would weigh 142lbs.

I use four 5-gallon kitty litter plastic jugs filled with water. They have screw-on lids and weigh about 40 lbs each. Add some antifreeze in the winter. Yes, secure them.

Just fill that tube with water,It's fun watching people try to steal it.

Gets easier to handle (and harder) if you let them freeze. Could be a problem up here in the winter - still need to be tied down.

Get you an old 250,weld in some motor mounts and bolt it to the bed. Then watch people try to figure it out.

I'd suggest a 3/4" plywood partition between the wheel wells and the tailgate, and about 10 milk jugs full of sand behind it. If you really want the load secured, run a couple of pieces of 2X4 forward against the front of the bed. When you're carrying a big load, it's just a matter of a few minutes' work to remove it. A tool box bolted to the front of the bed behind the cab with a few hundred pounds' worth of tools, chains, a jack, stands, and various other stuff was a pretty normal thing for me, but all my trucks earned their keep. They weren't Cowboy Cadillacs.
Jerry

For a while I used some treads off a bulldozer for traction in the winter in my 54 3100. They were heavy, nice and compact, and didn't move around.
Samantha