Where to get Sandbags for Winter

[nobb]

Our family recently bought a new truck. First RWD vehicle we ever had, so no experience on how it is going to behave in the winter. The rear is light, so I would like to get some sandbags before winter hits. Maybe around 300lbs.

I read some other threads that said firestations give them out for free? Last time I was at a firestation to recycle some batteries, I didnt notice any sand. Are there specific ones to go to? And do they give out the bags as well, or just sand? Or if anyone knows other places to get sand for free around the NW, that would be great.

[zarge]

I believe they just give out sand for your sidewalk...

[Dumbass17]

just wait til winter is closer..tons of gas-stations have them

[ekguy]

use old tire tubes fill em with sand and tie the ends up and stick in the truck bed.

[mark4091]

It's also a good idea if you have the money to get a really good set of all terrain tires, on my 2x4 it's made a big difference.

[Jay911]

Gas stations sell them, but you may find them hard to find ... might have to hit up a few stations in a row to get enough to get decent traction. I tend to put about 120# (6 bags) or more in my F150. Most stations will get a skid or more at once, but they go fast.

Residential fire stations in Calgary give out sand in the winter months. You can only take five pounds at a time and have to bring your own container. Here's a link to the fire station locations (http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_395_203_0_47/http%3B/content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Hall/Business+Units/Calgary+Fire+Department/Fire+Stations/) - click on a given station to find out if they give out sand or not. #17 definitely does.. they're by the University.

[nobb]

Darn, 5lb limit. I was hoping to get 300lbs in one go.

[510-Trevor]

Having lots of experience driving 1 wheel wonders in the winter. Getting propper snow tires made the most difference, but you'll still want to add balast. Try this: http://www.shurtrax.com/

[hoamic11]

If you don't find sand bags, you can use Water softener salt bags will do the trick too.

[narou]

co-op wait until it actually starts snowing.. 4.99 a bag if i remember correctly

or the salt will work to until it dissolves those bags are heavy co-ops have them :p

[Cooked Rice]

I've also seen people use those concrete slabs used for walkways.

[adidas]

There is still plenty of rocks on the sides of the road from what the lazy sweepers 'missed' to pick up! so bring a shovel and a few sturdy bags, you can have as much as you want for free! :D

[Pihsiak]

Get bags of rice, then eat them in the summer.... unless you are white? you drive a truck right?

[Jay911]

I have also used cinderblocks.. and if you know someone who has a farm, you might score a bale of hay or four (which could be pulled apart and used for direct traction if you get really stuck)..

[510-Trevor]

There is another word for cinderblocks or bricks that are left in the back of a truck .... PROJECTILES.
Slam on the brakes hard or get in an accident and watch them fly!

One more thing to be aware of is how (or better yet where) you add the weight will effect how the truck handles. Try to keep the ballast over the rear wheels, if you can't center it over the wheels, forward of the axel is better than behind the axel.
Excessive weight added behind the axel will make the truck want over rotate going around corners. Keeping it centered or more forward will help keep the the handling more balanced

[adam c]

you do know they don't recommend putting sand bags in the rear of a vehicle..

i posted an article on this last year but in a brief summary, the sand bags and added weight work against you since they move around, if you get into a skid or a sliding position, the weight of the bags will cause more of an issue compared without. the bags will move around and transfer weight to where you don't need it

[GTS Jeff]

Don't bother with that ghetto shit. A long time ago I tried sandbags and they didn't do a thing. They only came in handy when I got a big U-haul truck stuck trying to hop a curb. But that's a whole other story.

Get proper tires and you'll be fine.

[Grogador]

fill the bed with snow! wheeeee snowball fight!

[dj techsta]

Originally posted by Grogador
fill the bed with snow! wheeeee snowball fight!

in theory that would work and it would be a lot of fun, but in reality it's the exact opposite.

In order for you to actually accumulate that much snow, you'd be looking at about 2-3 days of constant snow to fill up the truck bed with snow (that's based on your average 2 car driveway.

Now that wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have the issue of melting thrown into the equation, and I can guarantee you the snow melts a lot quicker in a truck bed than it does on the ground. This means you would have to keep replenishing your truckbed with snow all the time (if at all available at the time).

Finally come sprintime you'll have one helluva mess to clean from the back of the truck as all that snow will have left a nice dirty bed for you. (even if you use fresh snow, it's still dirty)

in all honesty, stick to sand, just make sure your sandbag's tightly tied or else you'll end up with a huge mess of sand in the back of your truck that'll take forever to properly clean out.

[hypnotoad]

You just need to buy some bags at wal-mart and take a drive to a beach. I'm sure they won't mind if you borrow some of their sand.

[adam c]

Originally posted by dj techsta


in theory that would work and it would be a lot of fun, but in reality it's the exact opposite.

In order for you to actually accumulate that much snow, you'd be looking at about 2-3 days of constant snow to fill up the truck bed with snow (that's based on your average 2 car driveway.

Now that wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have the issue of melting thrown into the equation, and I can guarantee you the snow melts a lot quicker in a truck bed than it does on the ground. This means you would have to keep replenishing your truckbed with snow all the time (if at all available at the time).

Finally come sprintime you'll have one helluva mess to clean from the back of the truck as all that snow will have left a nice dirty bed for you. (even if you use fresh snow, it's still dirty)

in all honesty, stick to sand, just make sure your sandbag's tightly tied or else you'll end up with a huge mess of sand in the back of your truck that'll take forever to properly clean out.

no in theory that wouldn't work, putting sand bags in the back of your vehicle is bad enough for the balance... filling the bed liner with heavy snow and then driving on slippery roads and/or ice will be a disaster.. stop trying to kill this guy with your suggestions


Originally posted by hypnotoad
You just need to buy some bags at wal-mart and take a drive to a beach. I'm sure they won't mind if you borrow some of their sand.

you need to shut up, ever since your poll threads all your comments are useless

[Thaco]

buy 2 sidewalk blocks, they usually fit between the wheel wells of the truck, dont take up much space, and dont make a mess if they pop open.

[black_radiation]

+1 for proper winter tires, all terrains are... ok for winter... but trust me, best advice is to invest in a good set of winter tires. There's a reason why they make them :)

[Pollywog]

I find sandbags aid my car quite a bit in the winter, in fact mercedes even makes a sand filled bag to fit properly in my trunk on my rwd hatch (probably because there is nothing else to give it weight back there other than gasoline). I think it is definitely dependent on the vehicle and bag placement however to achieve beneficial results.

[nobb]

Originally posted by adam c
you do know they don't recommend putting sand bags in the rear of a vehicle..

i posted an article on this last year but in a brief summary, the sand bags and added weight work against you since they move around, if you get into a skid or a sliding position, the weight of the bags will cause more of an issue compared without. the bags will move around and transfer weight to where you don't need it

Isnt that only for FWD vehicles?

I would have thought that a heavier vehicle would usually perform better in the snow and ice. Comparing our 2700lb sedan vs our 4300lb van, I would say the van outperforms the sedan in the snow/ice even though the sedan has better tires. I dont know if anyone else has noticed, but those Calgary Transit buses can do turns and stops that would normally bring my sedan (with all season tires) to a skid.

Of course I have winter tires. But tires aside, our family does not really have any winter experience with a RWD vehicle. I figure with an unloaded pickup truck, the rear is going to be lighter than the front which cant be good for traction.

[em2ab]

W....T.....F? I've driven cars and trucks in the winter for 10 years, never noticed much of a difference. Just drive the vehicle according to its demands and you're fine, never heard of anyone actually putting extra weight into it. Is this normal?

[Supa Dexta]

Yes its quite normal. Especially 2wd trucks.. Where they'll just sit there and spin if they are empty. Some are worse then others though.. 4wd are better of course, I'd just put it in 4wd rather then fill the bed with junk, but I need my bed quite often... I've seen all sorts of things used.. Plate steel, fork lift tires, etc.

[Jayson]

Originally posted by Cooked Rice
I've also seen people use those concrete slabs used for walkways.

I used those in the back of my truck for a couple of years... damn things kept sliding all over my truck bed. It would probably work better in a car, plus they're pretty cheap i believe, like $5

I would stick to sand bags IMO, just put it in a Garbage bag or you'll spill sand all over your car.

[adam c]

Originally posted by nobb


Isnt that only for FWD vehicles?

I would have thought that a heavier vehicle would usually perform better in the snow and ice. Comparing our 2700lb sedan vs our 4300lb van, I would say the van outperforms the sedan in the snow/ice even though the sedan has better tires. I dont know if anyone else has noticed, but those Calgary Transit buses can do turns and stops that would normally bring my sedan (with all season tires) to a skid.

Of course I have winter tires. But tires aside, our family does not really have any winter experience with a RWD vehicle. I figure with an unloaded pickup truck, the rear is going to be lighter than the front which cant be good for traction.

no, putting weight in the back is a common thing for people with RWD since it puts weight on the rear axle pushing the tires into the ground more to "gain" better traction.

heavier vehicles might seem like the perform better on snow and ice, but when you're in a slide you are going to wish you had your sedan. more weight = more momentum which means it takes longer to come to a stop

[Jayson]

Originally posted by em2ab
W....T.....F? I've driven cars and trucks in the winter for 10 years, never noticed much of a difference. Just drive the vehicle according to its demands and you're fine, never heard of anyone actually putting extra weight into it. Is this normal?

It helps a lot actually... Just as Supa Dexta said.. I have a B2200 and the difference it makes is huge. Way better traction...

Even putting some extra weight in a civic hatch makes a world of difference. Especially if you hit a patch of black ice

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by adam c
putting sand bags in the back of your vehicle is bad enough for the balance... filling the bed liner with heavy snow and then driving on slippery roads and/or ice will be a disaster.. stop trying to kill this guy with your suggestions

:werd:

my first 240 i put 2 sandbags in the trunk somewhat near the rear suspension towers (thinking it would be perfectly balanced) boy was i wrong, i couldn't make it up 17th ave just before the crowchild turn off, the car would oversteer constantly at low speeds (even at about 40km/h on packed snow and ice), the next winter i bought a good set of winter tires and threw out the sandbags and never had a problem
but it might be different for 2wd trucks, a guy at work did the concrete slab thing in his Ranger and swore by it.

IMO you're upsetting a predetermined balanced weight that engineers figured out, don't you think when they built the car/truck they tested it on snow and ice before putting it into production?..

[Thaco]

Originally posted by n1zm0

:werd:

my first 240 i put 2 sandbags in the trunk somewhat near the rear suspension towers (thinking it would be perfectly balanced) boy was i wrong, i couldn't make it up 17th ave just before the crowchild turn off, the car would oversteer constantly at low speeds (even at about 40km/h on packed snow and ice), the next winter i bought a good set of winter tires and threw out the sandbags and never had a problem
but it might be different for 2wd trucks, a guy at work did the concrete slab thing in his Ranger and swore by it.

IMO you're upsetting a predetermined balanced weight that engineers figured out, don't you think when they built the car/truck they tested it on snow and ice before putting it into production?..

if sandbags in the back is "upsetting a predetermined balanced weight that engineers figured out" wouldn't a couple of fat people in the back seat do the same thing?... i don't know where you get your info but you're way wrong.

[Supa Dexta]

Because people have been putting weight in a truck for ever, where ever the climate calls for it. They aren't going to design it with a few hundred extra pounds to lug around, for the few days it's helpful.

Even with good tires, there are times on a slight grade that if you come onto the gas (or even worse let out the clutch) where the tires immediately break loose, and you just sit there, while the back end gets squirrly.. You can try taking off in 2nd or 3rd or anything.. But you need weight to get traction. Theres not enough grip to over come the front end of the truck being planted.

[hampstor]

In a pickup truck, the bulk of the vehicle's weight resides in the cab - towards the front of a truck. Take a turn too fast and you'll find the rear tires are not gripping as well as the fronts and your ass end swings out really easy.

If you want sandbags, you can always run to rona/totem/home depot and buy the 'play sand' used for children's sandboxes.

Personally, I don't bother. Like everyone else said these things are better:, decent tires, driving for the conditions, and knowing your vehicle.


Originally posted by Pihsiak
Get bags of rice, then eat them in the summer.... unless you are white? you drive a truck right?

Asian with a pickup truck, you make it sound like we are a rare breed... :rofl: Good idea on the rice, i have an enclosed box too so the rice will keep dry!!

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by Thaco


if sandbags in the back is "upsetting a predetermined balanced weight that engineers figured out" wouldn't a couple of fat people in the back seat do the same thing?... i don't know where you get your info but you're way wrong.

that's why i said IMO, no facts just personal experience from driving a 240 through 4 winters. with as many combinations of 'winter' setups as possible (except chains and studded)