Fishtailing

I recently purchased a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. I've never driven a truck before, but have heard about people fishtailing in snowy/icey weather. So they put heavy things in the back to give it some weight. What can I put in the back that won't go banging around but will be heavy enough and will survive the wetness of snow? Any advice would be helpful.

i know people put sandbags in the bed of their truck. They do that do help get traction........if its icy enough you'll still fish tail, but you'll be able to get going at least with the sandbags.

Salt bags will work well too.

also those plastic ags for pelets ( instead of a fire place some have a pellete stove) those also work well

they make a bag that you fill with water to make weight for trucks. It's supposedly strong enough to put pretty heavy loads on top of it. I assume they might have some sort of anti-freeze type stuff to put in it for winter. Sorry I can't remember what it's called. check performanceproducts.com and other places that sell parts/accessories. you might find it.

FYI adding weight to the rear may help with traction initially but if yo udo happen to fish tail or spin out around a corner it makes the spin twice as bad...

Personaly, I'd avoid the salt bags, if they rip open, which isn't all that hard to do, they can make a mess of the your truck. And really don't our trucks get enough road salt, without adding to it. I've heard of people just packing the bed with snow, makes for an easy spring cleanup, but makes the bed unuseable through the winter.

I wouldn't advise packing with snow at all. Its an "easy" cleanup in the sense that when your drivin down the road the melted snow will fly up on your back window, and if you don't pack it tight enough you'll have a giant ploom of snow following your truck. Plus snow isn't that heavy. I always put tractor weights in my bed, chained down so they don't slide too much. They work extremely well. And fishtailing isn't that hard to avoid. I prefer RWD anyways, i feel its much better in snow, just not if you wanna turn. Salt is bad, sand works pretty well. Or if you can find somethin really heavy toss it in.

they make a bag that you fill with water to make weight for trucks. It's supposedly strong enough to put pretty heavy loads on top of it. I assume they might have some sort of anti-freeze type stuff to put in it for winter. Sorry I can't remember what it's called. check performanceproducts.com and other places that sell parts/accessories. you might find it.


here's the web site for that bag http://www.shurtrax.com/

just be careful about putting anything hard in the back. here in NY its illegal to put cinder blocks in the back which people used to do.

Illegal in new york for cinder blocks. How gay. Thats states for you though. There are some VERY weird laws. But you might want to check your laws.

actually, i completely understand the cinder block law, people where using them as weight, but when in an accident, there where cases of them flying through the rear windows and killing the people inside.

I guess that could happen, but i always chain my weight down, and people ask me why i do so. Well you can't exactly steal my weight, but i know it'll fly out of there if i were in an accident.

I wouldn't carry anything in the back if I could avoid it. You should be able to make your truck dance without anything in the back. I can, anyway.

A guy I know rolled his truck, and he had a jack-all in the back. The rollover wasn't bad, he would have survived if the jack-all didn't come through the back window and hit him...

i put about 500 pounds in the back of my truck and last night the roads were all ice and i didn't slip once.

I have driven Nissan pickups in Michigan for many years. I have never put any thing other than a camper back in/on the cargo area. As has already been said. Your going to fishtail on ice. If your fishtailing in the snow your going/ accelerating to fast for conditions

i put about 500 pounds in the back of my truck and last night the roads were all ice and i didn't slip once.

I built a box out of 2x6 cedar decking, that fits between the rear wheels, 420 lbs of sand fits quit niceley, and dosent slide around.

Personaly, I'd avoid the salt bags, if they rip open, which isn't all that hard to do, they can make a mess of the your truck. And really don't our trucks get enough road salt, without adding to it. I've heard of people just packing the bed with snow, makes for an easy spring cleanup, but makes the bed unuseable through the winter.

In the 30+ years of my dad driving rear wheel drive cars and trucks he's never had a bag or salt or sand rip open while in the vehicle.

You could throw a salt bag down the stairs and it would never rip open.

just be careful about putting anything hard in the back. here in NY its illegal to put cinder blocks in the back which people used to do.

So does that mean you cannot transport anything hard in the bed? Can't buy a table and chairs, refrigerator, stove, etc, and bring it home yourself?

oops, I stopped reading at the end of the first page, didn't realize there was a second page.

in my opinion if you want to put somethin in the back then use the sand bags, I have an s-10 and I put 400 pounds in it and it didnt really make a difference. get a set of studed tires, I did and I was more impressed. took the weight out of the back and the studs work great. all people have to do is take there time and adjust there driving to the weather conditions. youre gonna slid and fish tail no matter what you do.

fish tailing is part of the fun of driving a truck....learn to countersteer?

Cinder blocks from side to side wont be sliding around, and they sure will take snow/rain. Best thing to do though in snow is let off the gas in turns, and slowly decelerate into the turns.

You don't really need to put anything in the back of your tacoma in that my physics class has investigated tested and found background info on this subject.
the truck was designed on the for-knowledge of that it would be driven in this weather so it is fi9ne.
We also found that the extra weight in the back increases your curb weight.
My advice is not to put anything in the back of your truck and just drive carefully like the law states.
My father drives a Toyota Tacoma ext.-cab and does not put stuff in the back, it's a great truck and has not let him down yet.

If you want something rather cheap to put in the bed of your truck for weight it's easier than you thought. Grab your chainsaw, fill it with gas, an go cut down a tree. Cut it into 1-2 foot sections and either split it, or just throw it in the back of your truck as a round block. Only cost is your chainsaw gas and your time, and you only need 1-2 layers of wood to give you a sutable amount of weight if you dont drive like an idiot.

Snow tires do wonders. Beats getting cut in half by a cinderbock.Putting wieght in your truck is nuts just slow down dude its winter trucks suck in the snow no matter what so get snows and take it eass. Take it from a canadian ah :biggrin:

Leave a Canadian to post in a thread started nearly a year ago.

And are you saying you'd rather have a car in snow then a truck? Hmm..

Someone was telling me about pigs...not the animal.

... post in a thread started nearly a year ago.
.


True, however with winter on its way again, this topic is relevant.

I've got 2wd and open differential, and although I live fairly far south, will be looking for some extra traction if/when it snows. Last year the truck did fine except when starting on a hill. With a little weight in the bed it'll be quite different.

My brother had a 2wd V8, said with 500 lbs of snow in the bed he wouldn't start to get stuck until there was more than 7" of snow on the ground.

A new topic could of been started. I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

A new topic could of been started. I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

:) Me either. You were right, no conflict intended.

What the hell? Am I missing the internet bashing?! This is so civilized!!

Oh, sorry.


Don't judge me, you oaf! I'm allowed to express my opinion, and yours too if I so desire. Take your misplaced whining and crawl back in the hole you came from.




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Sad, isn't it?

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