Now that the winter season is upon us here in NH, i was wondering if it is a good idea to add weight to the back of my CJ-7. Will this make the jeep easier to control in snow or will it cause the nose to become lighter and harder to steer?

I'm open to any other suggestions for winter
thanks

<font color=purple> If you have a hardtop, I wouldn't bother. Otherwise, maybe just a couple of sandbags. Sand is kind of handy to have if you do happen to get stuck. </font color=purple>

TEX

[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Got Mud?
G.U.M.B.O. Mud Racing

[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I can only speak for CA snow, but we are in very steep country AND snow. When we ordered our ZJ, the thing we tried to do was get as close to balanced as we could. That meant leaving the V8 engine behind since it added 270 lbs to the front with all the stuff that went with it. When I see it is going to snow, I fill the fuel tank, which helps a lot. I drive RIGHT BY the yuppie junk up here with our '97 Grand Cherokee 4.0 Select-trac. The Select-Trac makes more difference than anything, however, without that, I'd be just another stuck yuppie 4WD. All-wheels driving with the center unlocked is the berries! [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

CJDave

a little extra weight never hurts. sand is good 'cause it can serve other purposes. most cjs with hard top a some what balanced so dont add a lot.

dan

I do not intend to offend,I offend with my intent

With my soft top I like to have some weight in the back of it during winter. I don't think it help as much with traction as it does with keeping the Jeep balanced and going down the road straight. I also found out that no matter how little snow is on the ground it is a good thing to but the Jeep in 4wd. With the light rearend my Jeep has a habit of spinning when I down shift to first in the snow (I have no choice due to gearing and hills) ,even in 4wd, without the wieght.

Tim Springer
1980 CJ7

I think CJ Dave may have hit on something when he spoke of weight balance front to rear when driving in snow. With my 86 XJ and its light 2.8L V-6; the balance front to back is almost 50%-50%. The XJ is very good in the snow both on and off road. It might be that the weight distrbution being balanced off sets the lack of a center differential transfer case.(Mine is a part time NP 207) If your CJ has a light rear then a few sand bags might help the balance. Good Luck! [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif[/img]