Do you put weight in bed for snow or not needed

negative. we had snows of 13 inches, 8 inches, and 4 inches a few times last year.

I always left the bed cover on, and never felt the back of the truck was too loose from not having any weight. The truck was very stable and never stepped out in the back until i wanted it too.

The notion of putting weight in the bed of a truck is an old one, dating back to a time when tow things were different:
1.) There were a lot of 2WD trucks on the road
2.) Most trucks were regular cab, long bed
3.) Most trucks had iron block V8's of large displacement

The current crop of typical half tons, Raptor included, are crew cab with a short bed. The weight balance is reasonably good. Engine blocks and heads are now aluminum, displacement is down. I find a crew cab short bed truck goes pretty well in 4x2 mode. I live in NH and we get a lot of snow every year.

That said, 3/4 ton and up trucks are different animals. Their longer beds and larger, heavier engines still create an unfavorable weight bias, and I find adding weight to the bed is still useful.

troverman said:

The notion of putting weight in the bed of a truck is an old one, dating back to a time when tow things were different:
1.) There were a lot of 2WD trucks on the road
2.) Most trucks were regular cab, long bed
3.) Most trucks had iron block V8's of large displacement

The current crop of typical half tons, Raptor included, are crew cab with a short bed. The weight balance is reasonably good. Engine blocks and heads are now aluminum, displacement is down. I find a crew cab short bed truck goes pretty well in 4x2 mode. I live in NH and we get a lot of snow every year.

That said, 3/4 ton and up trucks are different animals. Their longer beds and larger, heavier engines still create an unfavorable weight bias, and I find adding weight to the bed is still useful.

Click to expand...

Agreed, growing up in the interior of Alaska in the 70s mosy trucks were 2wd. My Dad had a 3/4 ton 69 Ford 2wd and would drive all.winter with gravel in his bed. If he got stuck jed use tje gravel for traction.

My recommendation is called a suitcase and when you get in and start driving make sure the direction indicates S

Drove my 2018 in 4A for all of last year’s winter in Michigan. Never added extra weight. Only times I needed more (4H and once or twice 4L) was when we had fresh 5-6 + inches of snow. Handled them beautifully. Made me want more snow just so I can play!

Traction!?! In the snow!?! Where's the fun in that!?!?!

Stock snow and ice mode is shockingly good without addl weight

troverman said:

The notion of putting weight in the bed of a truck is an old one, dating back to a time when two things were different:
1.) There were a lot of 2WD trucks on the road
2.) Most trucks were regular cab, long bed
3.) Most trucks had iron block V8's of large displacement
.

Click to expand...

Two or three things were different?

So at 29k my tires are fairly worn and while they’d be fine for the summer and probably get another 10k+ (maybe) I’ve decided to put dedicated Noikian snows on, the only manufacture that makes a true snow tire in our size. I thought OE K02’s were decent in the snow with 1/2 or more tread but where there at now it’s not worth the risk.
I use 4A all the time, I think it works really well, better than expected, just wish they’d get rid of the slight vibration at about 2300 rpm that seem the plague the transfer cases I pin this mode. It’s much better than my 15’ 150 was but not completely gone. This newer transfer case design works better too than the 15’ IMO
The only thing that I don’t really like is the increased steering effort from the Torsen front dif when engaged.

I put weight in the bed of some of my older trucks back in the day, but my Raptor feels really planted so it doesn't need extra weight. It went fine in snow with the stock KO2's, but it's even better now with Duratracs.
I didn't opt for the front torsion diff because I didn't think I'd like it in snow and I have to deal with that white crap about 6 months out of the year.