not enough weight?
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Elder User
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: UTI student
not enough weight?
Can too little weight in the back cause problems 4x4'ing? I took the utility bed off my F250 cause it was way too top heavy and just plain sinking my tires like anchors. I can't find a good bed so I'm currently running no bed. I took a little trail today on the way to work. It was as if my tires were drag slicks. I threw alittle lose sand but other then that I could barely go. My tires were spinning like slicks in the rain. I wasn't trying to spin them I was just trying to keep momentum. Tires were going same speed but truck was slowing down. I wasn't digging in either. Do I not have enough weight? My gas tank is in cab. This is my first 4x4 so please go easy on the new off roader if it was my driving style. I have 38" Dick Cepeck Fun Country Kevlars NOT the new FC 2's.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,236
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From: Senoia, GA
lol well your first mistake is the tires but thats another story... your new 
weight is a tough and very debatable subject. it all depends on terrain and the truck/rig your in. if you are in a rather large truck and tall skinny tires then a lot of weight is good. it helps to sink you down to the hard stuff without spinning as much. but if you are in a light rig such as an early bronco or samarai weight can kill you b/c light rigs thrive on floatation and just use tires to literally paddle their way across the top of the mud.
but its really something that you will have to experiment with and see what works best. i pulled my bed off and noticed that i can boil my rear tires off with no problems b/c i dont have that extra weight of the bed. i personally love it but i do plan to build a flat bed sometime when the metal prices come back down!
-cutts-
weight is a tough and very debatable subject. it all depends on terrain and the truck/rig your in. if you are in a rather large truck and tall skinny tires then a lot of weight is good. it helps to sink you down to the hard stuff without spinning as much. but if you are in a light rig such as an early bronco or samarai weight can kill you b/c light rigs thrive on floatation and just use tires to literally paddle their way across the top of the mud.
but its really something that you will have to experiment with and see what works best. i pulled my bed off and noticed that i can boil my rear tires off with no problems b/c i dont have that extra weight of the bed. i personally love it but i do plan to build a flat bed sometime when the metal prices come back down!
-cutts-
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Elder User
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: UTI student
I have noticed that the Cepeks aren't much better then the BFG's they replaced. I live around sand but I hate 4x4'ing in sand. I like light mud and rough dirt roads that require you to slow down to less then 10 MPH. Maybe it's because I don't know much about 4x4's but I like to take it easy until I get a little better. I do have a super swamper radial that was a spare until I cut a cepek. I might just switch to super swamper's.
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: okc
does it kinda look like this.....
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...r/Dec22-09.jpg
i took the bed off my 78 F-250 because it was trashed out, and it made it easier to change my rear springs....with my old 31" tires i couldnt get much of anywhere in the mud, the only advantage of no bed was that it was easier to dig out when i got stuck!!!! but when i put some 35" BGF MTs on it(yeah i know, ONLY 35's) it made a huge difference, now i can drive through those holes i got stuck in with ease.....not having the wieght in the back makes steering a bit tricky because you have to compensate for the rear end trying to swing around you in certain situations, but like fishy said, with the low wieght im able to "float" over alot of it.....the BGF mud terrain tires really made all the difference though, they arent the best mud tire, but they sure made my truck alot more fun to wheel..........
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...r/Dec22-09.jpg
i took the bed off my 78 F-250 because it was trashed out, and it made it easier to change my rear springs....with my old 31" tires i couldnt get much of anywhere in the mud, the only advantage of no bed was that it was easier to dig out when i got stuck!!!! but when i put some 35" BGF MTs on it(yeah i know, ONLY 35's) it made a huge difference, now i can drive through those holes i got stuck in with ease.....not having the wieght in the back makes steering a bit tricky because you have to compensate for the rear end trying to swing around you in certain situations, but like fishy said, with the low wieght im able to "float" over alot of it.....the BGF mud terrain tires really made all the difference though, they arent the best mud tire, but they sure made my truck alot more fun to wheel..........
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
well I think less weight is always better no matter what (unless its for pulling!), But it still has to be distributed evenly. I bet your truck would run like a bat out of hell, if you could hook up that is.
Its Comin Right for us!
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: GA
Originally Posted by Amtek
well I think less weight is always better no matter what (unless its for pulling!), But it still has to be distributed evenly.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: Oregon
Originally Posted by Amtek
well I think less weight is always better no matter what (unless its for pulling!), But it still has to be distributed evenly.
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Elder User
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: UTI student
I put my motor on an edelbrock alum upper diet. Heads and intake alum. I reduced all the junk the previuos owner put on the front. I had and ammo can mounted to the inner fender that was loaded with bad wheel bearings. The can is still there but it holds stuff I can use now. I don't have the knowledge to mid mount my motor so I really don't see that ever happening. Not a bad idea though. I found a halfway decent bed for sale i just need to drill holes to fit my highboy. I might get it unless i find a highboy bed for sale. I can smoke the 38's with my 390/C-6 until I get bored and let off the gas. I just need to hook up.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Duncan,OK
After quite a bit of study and half a bottle of Who Hit John I figured out the cause of your problem and the solution. When you removed your bed you made it so that gravity had less surface to push down on. Causing the rear of the truck to want to float away. To compensate for this you need weight fill your rear tires with calcium or add helium to your front tires
Pat
Pat
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: Oregon
Well, I've got mine set back about 3" and although it hooks up fine in mud the rear wheels still cut loose on the road if I nail the throttle. I dunno, traction would be nice but I guess I shouldn't complain too much 
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,574
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From: Golden, CO
Yep, the weight over the axles makes a BIG difference. The go-real-fast crowd pays close attention to weighting when they set up for a day of racing. With that much weight missing, I'll bet your truck rides like a three legged horse.
Since you like to trail ride, think about maintaining your departure angle. When I grafted on my step-side, I referenced to the cab and came out even with the frame rails out back. In the process, the point furthest back from the axle moved in six inches, and up six inches. My next romp in the weeds I was two wheeling through ditches that used to take four wheel drive.
I was having one of my abstract moments while reading through the posts: Mount some type of track system with a trolly on the back end that you could load up with weights and move front to back. With extensive testing
a person could find the axle weighting that best suits them. Any results could be quantified at the local truck scale. Hmmm...
Since you like to trail ride, think about maintaining your departure angle. When I grafted on my step-side, I referenced to the cab and came out even with the frame rails out back. In the process, the point furthest back from the axle moved in six inches, and up six inches. My next romp in the weeds I was two wheeling through ditches that used to take four wheel drive.
I was having one of my abstract moments while reading through the posts: Mount some type of track system with a trolly on the back end that you could load up with weights and move front to back. With extensive testing
a person could find the axle weighting that best suits them. Any results could be quantified at the local truck scale. Hmmm...
Post Fiend
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From: Coutts Canada
There's an idea, or what you could do instead of using tracks, lay a piec of plywood in the backs then take some 2x4's or 2x6's and then just screw them in with a couple of screws then just through in some snad bags or something for weight. Then when you find what you like just go find some big pieces of cast iron or something and then bolt it between the frame rails for a more permanment weight gain.
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Elder User
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From: UTI student
Ok so it seems that weight balance is a really big deal. Since that's the case why not move my gas tank from the cab to just above rear axle. Then run dual batteries out back. That would shed all the weight I can without going too crazy. Also if my gas tank was BEHIND the rear axle wouldn't that offset even more weight then just the tank alone. The rear axle is the leverage point when the gas is floored correct? So if I loaded enough weight behind the axle I could make a 4 banger pull the front tires off the ground. Not that I want to do that but was using that as an extreme example. Am I way off base here? I am planning to run a bed just need to solve other issues with the motor before I pick the bed up.