Leaving this upcoming Friday for the TN mountains.. beautiful smokey's.. I understand that there has been some great snowfall in the past few days, so I hope it continues.

Note, other items will be in the bed as well as the sand, so don't fear about it sliding around (although the bungees do surprisingly well)

EDIT: 250lbs, by the way.

 

Whew. I had terrible thoughts after looking at the photo & before reading the text.

 

I'd suggest using somthing else besides concrete mix.... Once it gets wet.. they're gonna be 80lb rock. Unless you dont really need it for anything else anyways..

Good Luck in the snow

 

Ohyea, you are in for a fun time alright. You better hope the snow doesnt get too crazy or you will be going know where fast in that 2WD. Its going to get *** wiggly for sure. If its a rough trip, I would expect you in a 4WD soon

be safe :santa:

 

if it was me I'd take 'em out of that plastic container and lay 'em flat on the bed, right up against the front bed wall.

If you hit something, or even stop quick, those bungie cords are going to be completely, totally useless and those sacks of concrete are going to go flying, denting the bed wall (or worse if you hit something). Might as well use scotch tape to hold 'em as using those cords.

 

I agree on the bunjees not being able to take the momentum of hard braking.

I have an "H" built of 2X6 treated lumber that rides between the wheel wells. 3, 60# lb. bags of sand sit inside the frame, so they stay directly over the wheels. 1/2" plywood top keeps anything from puncturing the sand bags. Of course, it helps to have a tonneau to keep it all out of sight...


BTW, had a drive home the other night of 180 miles at 35-40 mph because it was snowing and blowing so hard it was whiteout conditions. Never had to put it in 4WD, the Goodyears and the weight over the axle provided plenty of traction.

Will try to get some pics...

 

It's sand guys, not concrete.

Also, re-read my post. The whole bed will be full of suitcases, luggage, and misc other items to fill in the gaps. The bungees is just a support, but not the main support. There is five of us.. So a minimum of five large cases... The bungees are to keep the tub from crushing the suitcases in case of a quick stop, slide, etc.

They need to be over the rear axle between the wheel wells to help provide traction (having to do with direct weight and lower center of gravity). Against the front bed wall would be useless..

Anything you guys recommend instead of bungees? Regular tie downs? I want to keep them in the tub to keep my belongings clean of sand. Two bags have a leak (I went through the entire pallet at Lowes, every single bag had a hole).

The "H" idea sounds great, but I don't have the time right now to put together this assembly..

 

Good luck. I used to own 2wd trucks and added a LOT more weight than that and traction was improved only minimally. Supposedly these trucks start out in the snow/ice much better in 2nd gear, may want to give that a try.

 

How much is "a LOT more"?

 

I like use 800lbs of tube sand.

Adrianspeeder

 

Be careful on your trip.

Its snowing here right now and I am just about 3.5 hours away from gatlinburg, so I bet they have snow on the mtns too.

 

I drove around all last winter with 4 60# bags of sand in the bed and never felt out of control at all. There were a few times that I had to put it into 4WD just to get going up hill from my house, but I wouldn't say that I needed 4WD.

I was out hunting this morning and the only time that I needed 4WD was out in the middle of the field with the wet snow on the grass. We had about a foot of snow last week and rapidly melting conditions yesterday and today. Needless to say, some of the roads I was on were mud holes. Typically "Level B Road enter at your own risk" is a pretty good summation of the roads on days like today. I never felt out of controll on the mud and the only thing I had in the back was a 100# dog box, 2 Brittanys and a Springer Spaniel.

I would say that you will be good to go with your sand and luggage. Especially if your falmily packs the way my friends wife packs...

 

I don't know how your family packs, but by the way it reads, I'd imagine they're similiar Three women and two guys (one being me), so you can imagine how much crap will be in the back.

 

Unless you're going over the mountain to Cherokee, you probably will never need a 4wd anyway. They keep the roads pretty clear from what I hear. Especially in town. :santa: oh, btw, here's a link to a digital cam in the mountains:http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/webca...am/grsmcam.cfm

 

Have fun in the Smokey Mountains. We used to take family trips to the Smokey mountains every winter to see family.