I have an 03 f150 2wd and was wondering how much weight to throw in the bed for the snow storms. I had 500lbs in there last year and still found myself slipping. So i threw in 350 more #'s in and go figure it didn't snow again so I really don't know a good number. Also where do i want to place the weight. I know there needs to be most over the axle but does the rest need to be in front or behind the drive axle? And yes I am getting snow tires for this year which I didn't have last year.

 

With a good snow tire I would expect 300 lbs. to work just fine. The further behind the axle, the more leverage the weight will have. I'd put the sand bags against the tail gate.
In any event, you shouldn't need more weight in the rear than you have in the front (engine weight).

 

I've heard people say that you need more weight in front of the axle rather than behind. Not sure what really effects traction the most though

 

Anything that presses down. If you want to conduct an experiment, get a digital kitchen scale, a 12 inch ruler, a pencil, a small item that weighs ten ounces or so, and a stack of books.
Place the scale next to the books and lay the pencil on the scale parallel to the books. The books represent the front of the truck and the pencil represents the rear axle.
Lay the ruler over the pencil and wedge the end of it in the books. This will allow the end of the ruler to stay in one position.
Zero out the scale, then set the weight directly over the pencil, note the weight measurement. Then move the weight further away from the pencil and the books. This represents shifting the load towards the rear of the bed. Note any weight changes. For fun, you could move the weight toward the books to see what happens. My belief is that as the weight sits closer to the front of the bed, more of the static load is transferred between the front and rear axles. Some portion of that load is going to be shared by both axles even if the load is directly over the rear axle. It's not until the load is moved behind the rear axle that you'll see the front axle actually get lighter due to the rear axle becoming a pivot point.

 

I use to put 4- concrete piers in the bed for/aft of the wheel well.

 

I don't like putting weight that far back because of the safety issue. In an accident anything you can put in the bed becomes a projectile. Loaded that far back it is much less likely to be stopped by the front wall of the bed.

I load right up against the front of the bed for that reason. You're also not levering weight off the front axle that way, which can make it harder to steer.

 

weight put on or behind the rear axle puts all the weight on the rear... I see the point of loading against the front wall of the bed, but a portion of that weight is then supported by the front axle, so you need MORE weight in that location, which effects gas mileage... from a pure "weight" analysis, the further back the better. ........... sand bags are not much of a projectile... concrete blocks will slide if not tied down.

 

I'm not too worried about gas mileage as I won't be driving to often. The only thing I'm kinda worried about is going on hills. So from what I'm hearing, I'm still not sure wether or not to put the weight in front or behind the axle.

 

Weight behind the axle can make you tail happy when stopping or in a turn.

I would put weight in front of or secured above the axle.

Remember, the weight will help with traction, but it also adds to braking distance and is more weight to try to turn in corners. It's a trade-off in most cases, so start with 300lbs and see how that works with the new tires.

Serving suggestion, all my snow driving was in cars with open diffs and a motorcycle.

 

I agree...mine were secured.......

 

Honestly I'll start with 5-6 so I can have a little extra sand if I need it for traction. I also have an open diff too. I'm pretty conservative on braking distance. So from what I'm thinking now is that it is best to put the weight in front of the axle.

 

buy better tires or just take it easier on the pedals
300lbs should be plenty of weight, 3 or 4 sand bags from lowes.
my bed-liner has a little slot on either side that a 2x6 will slide into to keep things located by the tailgate.


I just noticed the 2wd part of your post, Definitely buy dedicated snow tires get a couple exra rims to put them on and only run them in the winter, you will think you're driving a different truck
and if only run in the winter they will last for several winters easily

 

Absolutely, that is one of my priorities to buy before the snow hits. So do you think weight by the tail gate would be better? I'm just looking for the most stability and handling out of a 2wd truck in snow. Can't afford a 4x4

 

weight further back puts the load on the rear axle... Putting 300# of weight 2 ft behind the axle will NOT decrease steering ability or make it less stable.. The front tires are maybe 12 ft further to the front so the "LIFT" on the front end will be 25 POUNDS or NOTHING.

 

I'd agree with that.

If a 40-lb sandbag comes through the rear window in a crash you'll probably never know what happened.