# Ballast weight



## BIGGB9 (Apr 29, 2004)

Hey guy just wanted to know how much weight (sand bags) should I put in the bed of my truck. I have a 2010 GMC sierra 1500 crew cab with a western HTS. The plow weight is 412lbs. Oh ya there is no torsion bars on these new GMC 1500s. Thanks Brian


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## Sydenstricker Landscaping (Dec 17, 2006)

Try 300 lbs and go from there


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## BIGGB9 (Apr 29, 2004)

I have 600 back there now just not sure if that is too much or not enough. I was not sure if there was a mathematical formula to see how much I need.


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## MarkEagleUSA (Nov 27, 2005)

Western's QuickMatch should tell you exactly what you need after filling in the blanks.


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## BIGGB9 (Apr 29, 2004)

Wow I did not even see that in quick match thank you


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

BIGGB9;1139890 said:


> I have 600 back there now just not sure if that is too much or not enough. I was not sure if there was a mathematical formula to see how much I need.


That's a good amount. You want to put it as far back as possible.


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## South Seneca (Oct 22, 2010)

That's a handy tool. It came out to 480 lbs for my truck with a comparable weight plow.

I have 700lbs up against the tailgate. I also plow in 2 wheel drive whenever possible.


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## STIHL GUY (Sep 22, 2009)

i did the quick match on the fisher website and for my truck and plow it said i need 260 LBS. i currently have 240 LBS and will also be carrying a snowblower.


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## Lux Lawn (Jan 5, 2004)

I have a 2008 Chevy 1500 and put about 400 pounds in the back. Seems to help.


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## BIGGB9 (Apr 29, 2004)

Thanks Guys, I put 360 back there seem like it is working good.


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## JCByrd24 (Oct 19, 2005)

If you've got 600 lbs already I would use it, and like COR said you want it as far back as possible. I have a 2x10 or 12 in the slot behind the wheel wells and have 8-10 70lb bags of sand between there and the tailgate. Anything in front of the axle adds to your front axle weight, which is bad. I feel like I need at least 300 lbs before I even put the plow on to be safe. The real test is using 2wd, if you can't move a little in 2WD you need more weight, because when you slam the brakes on the road your ass is going to be passing you. It amazes me the number of guys driving around with 800lb plows and no ballast because they have a 3/4-1 ton and "it can handle it", without realizing how unsafe it is when it comes to braking and handling. A couple years back my FIL upgraded to a 2500 with 8'-6" HD MM2 fisher from an old f150 with 7-6" conventional. I told him to run a bunch of ballast with that big plow, he didn't listen and ended up with a crumpled rear bumper and tailgate that wouldn't open...he now has about 1000lbs back there. 600 lbs is nothing to any truck, just like 2 of your "big" buddies, as a bonus it's ride nicer too.


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## joshg (Nov 12, 2009)

JCByrd24;1144794 said:


> I told him to run a bunch of ballast with that big plow, he didn't listen and ended up with a crumpled rear bumper and tailgate that wouldn't open...


 What caused this?


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## JCByrd24 (Oct 19, 2005)

Big plow with no ballast equals not much weight on rear tires and therefore not much traction in the rear. I believe his incident was going down a pretty good hill and the rear of the truck passing the front and than leading the way into a tree. Hard braking can lead to the same result even with no hill.


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## joshg (Nov 12, 2009)

ahh...that makes more sense. 

How much weight is it really safe to trust to your tailgate to hold back?


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## South Seneca (Oct 22, 2010)

That depends a lot on the condition of your tailgate. If you keep the latch mechanism lubed inside the gate, and in the latches themselves, they can hold more than any pickup needs for ballast. 

I've seen fairly new trucks that the gate was junk on. My truck is an '01, and it works like new.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

joshg;1146726 said:


> ahh...that makes more sense.
> 
> How much weight is it really safe to trust to your tailgate to hold back?


How is your tailgate holding the weight back?


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## joshg (Nov 12, 2009)

I was reading that people recommended putting the ballast between the rear axle and tailgate area of of the bed meaning that in S Senca's case above there is 700lbs contained by the tailgate. I was thinking of it being "held" during steep uphill, sharp turns, acceleration, etc. Probably more force toward the cab from rapid braking risk but it has just occured to me as my tailgate needs a careful eye on proper latching....need to take it apart and understand why the mechanism sticks.


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## JCByrd24 (Oct 19, 2005)

I wouldn't worry too much about the tailgate, the big concern is your ballast coming through the rear window when braking or during an accident. Even under huge uphill accelleration something against the rear of the tailgate can't gain any momentum backwards enough to hurt the tailgate, but in the opposite direction it has a few feet to gain momentum and become deadly. I'm working on my "ballast retention method" as we speak, but my truck is basically a yard truck, don't drive it on the road much, WRX with blizzaks is much more fun and less nerve racking for me, plus gets almost double the MPG.


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## South Seneca (Oct 22, 2010)

You are absolutely right there. 
I know a man that carried 6 ft long concrete marker posts for weight, in the back of his pickup. Each one weighed hundreds of pounds.
He went off the road and hit an embankment bringing the truck to a sudden stop. His concrete posts didn't stop, until they came over the front of the box, and through the back window of the cab, and broke his neck.


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## Moss Man (Oct 23, 2010)

My truck calls for only 200 pounds for a ballast with the Fisher 8' HD. I would think the safest place would be right on the reese hitch.


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## andcon83 (Dec 10, 2005)

I use 5-10, 5 gallon pails of sand, ratchet strapped in the rear of the body. Put covers on them, they stay nice and dry, so when you get stuck, a few shovels of sand and you are out (most of the time).


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## JimRoss (Sep 23, 2003)

This is how I support my 475lbs of ballast behind the rear axle:


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## plowin-fire (Jan 31, 2011)

Said I needed 816lbs and thats about what I got. I have mine in the front of my box though. I have a tonneau cover and use the back for shovels and straps and such.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

plowin-fire;1240713 said:


> Said I needed 816lbs and thats about what I got. I have mine in the front of my box though.


You realize that adds weight to the front axle right?


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## Bigcat99 (Jan 7, 2009)

plowin-fire;1240713 said:


> Said I needed 816lbs and thats about what I got. I have mine in the front of my box though. I have a tonneau cover and use the back for shovels and straps and such.


 I have an almost identical setup (2x8's & 2x4's) to Jim's pic above, and even with my tonneau cover, have no problem with reaching for/getting at shovels, and other stuff in the front of the box. Works well for me.


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## jklawn&Plow (Jan 8, 2011)

Anybody have a ballast setup (~500lbs) and still have room to ramp up a 5 HP dual stage snowblower?


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## Moss Man (Oct 23, 2010)

I bought some sand tubes at Home Dumpit today, 14 of them at 60 lbs each for a total of 840 pounds of ballast. Seems a bit excessive to me, the Fisher site says I need 260 lbs for the plow/truck combination I have and that seems light. My hope is for the Xtreme V next year, so maybe the 840 will be just right for that. I might toss 4 of them into storage and run 600 lbs in there for this year.


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## chevyman83 (Nov 25, 2010)

I'm trying to come up with a way to mount ballast to receiver hitch so I don't loose full function of hitch or bed without having to load or unload the ballast. Thinking of steel through the open ends/sides of the receiver. I'm hoping to get about 400 lbs back there.


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

I dont care how much weight some dumb calculator calls for. Take the number is says and double it. More weight in the back is going to give you better traction in the back for acceleration and braking, it's going to keep weight off the front to help save wear and tear on your front end, and once you get moving it's going to give you better momentum to keep that big load of heavy wet snow moving as it starts building up in front of you. Plus if you are using sand and salt like I do, you can always dump it out on the ground if you get yourself stuck. Yes a few hundred extra pounds will cut into your fuel mileage a little bit, but if you're that worried about mileage, you shouldnt be plowing.


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