adding weight

[jrblawncare]

I have been told it might be a good idea to add some weight in the bed of my 3/4 ton over the rear wheels when plowing.Do you do this....if so apx.how how many lbs.are you adding.Thanks

 

[Matt]

jrb,
This is essential to get good perfromance out of your truck. We normally try to add at least the weight of the plow and the farther back in the truck bed you put it the better it will be. If you are planning on having a spreader on the truck this will provide you with the ballast you need. We use either bagged deicing material or sand bags for weight and if you get stuck you have some grit to put under the wheels.

 

[CCLC]

MATT is right. You do need some weight in the bed of the truck. Sure you can plow with out it but you won't be as efficient. Even our one truck that doesn't have a salter on it has 600-800 pounds of salt in it. It makes a big difference.

 

[thelawnguy]

My 3/4 ton does best with 4000 lbs of sand/salt mix in the bed, this way I can plow in 2 WD and keep my tight turning radius for the parkinglots.

 

[OBRYANMAINT]

is that right 2 ton? often?

mine will do it too but i dont push my truck that hard

 

[thelawnguy]

Originally posted by OBRYANMAINT
is that right 2 ton? often?

mine will do it too but i dont push my truck that hard

You are correct, sir. It stays there from December til March. I reload when about half is gone.

The heaviest scale ticket I have is 11,250 lbs with sand, plow, me, and snacks.

The only downside I can see is my tires only last 25-30k miles and my front brakes are toast before 15k miles. I recently installed larger rear wheel cylinders so we shall see how it goes this season.

 

[Chuck Smith]

4,000 pounds does sound like a bit much for a 3/4 ton, plowing or otherwise. I know my 3/4 ton weighs 5,700 lbs empty, and with 4,000 more, I'd be 9,700 pounds! I wouldn't trust my brakes with that much weight. Stopping distances would be a bit looooooooooooong.

~Chuck

 

[thelawnguy]

"I wouldn't trust my brakes with that much weight. Stopping distances would be a bit looooooooooooong."

Lol, thats why I bought a Dodge and left the Chevy for the guy who goes to FL every winter

 

[jrblawncare]

Well....I can see that Bill is a Dodge man!4000 lbs does seem like alot,but what do I know thats why I asked.I will be adding a western 1000 low profile spreader next week and with that full that will give me around 550 lbs than add extra bagged product...a few bags of sand[good idea] and I should be good to go,Thanks guys.....John