How much Balast?

[poolrebel]

Hi Guys, I'm new here and have been searching the threads for any recomendations oh how much balast I should have in the bed of my truck. Unfortunatly I had no luck and there is nothing in my owners manual for the plow about it. I have an 01 chevy 2500HD Dmax/alison with a meyer C7.5 plow. Can some one enlighten me?

[BOUNDS-ELECTRIC]

I was told 1/2 - 3/4 weight of plow! This is with back of truck cleaned out! Weight of every-thing you put in back! Keep total weight below gvwr of truck! Keep as much all the way in the back!

[pro property]

theres some guys here that may be able to provide a more technical answer. But for me I keep at least 400 pounds of salt , plus the weight of my wester salter(tailgate salter) . The weight is past the axle, towards the tailgate, not over the axle.
Mine seems to ride nice... hope this helps
:canada :burnout

[Chuck Smith]

400# is a good starting point. Like Pro Property, most guys carry salt all the time, so the amount of ballast changes constantly as they apply and load up with more salt. Try 5 or 6 80# bags of salt and see how the truck sits (with the plow up) and drives.

~Chuck

[snowjoker]

As long as you have good winter tires you probabbly could go lighter on the ballast. I have 2, 50 gallon containers full of bulk salt for ballast and they work great!! Have no idea how heavy it is but has to be pretty heavy.

[wyldman]

Even with good tires,lots of ballast helps balance the truck,and keep the rear wheels plated.

Like most have said,400 pounds is a good starting point.I'd run more if it's a long truck,like an ext cab long box.My truck (ext cab long box) is terrible unless I have 7-800 pounds in the back.

[poolrebel]

Thanks everyone for the info. 400 lbs sounds like a good place to start. I can tweek it as needed. That is a little over 1/2 the plow weight.

Thanks again,
Poolrebel

Fyi = ext cab short box