I carry two tubs of sand in the rear of my van.  They are approx 5 gallons each.  I find that they don't add any traction due to down pressure.  However, it's nice to have the sand in the van for when I need to spread it under the tires when I am slipping on snow/ice.  The tubs are great since I can keep a small trowel in one and re-seal them after I use some sand.

I bought my 2wd van when I lived in Seattle.  Now I live in VT.  After this winter I will likely just use it as a summer camper given the traction issues and copious use of salt on the roads.

Grant
'89 Westy

----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Tuovinen <mst@AK.NET>
Date:         Sun, 21 Sep 2003 21:38:28 -0800
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject:      Re: Best winter tires for 2wd ?

> Want better traction, add sand bags. Adding weight over or just forward of the drive wheels will work nicely, especially with the Nokian's. The local VW dealer uses a 2 wheel drive vanagon for parts delivery and adds sand bags to increase the down pressure on the drive wheels(an old cold country trick). Never put the weight behind the drive wheels though, it will turn them into a fulcrum and leverage the front ones up reducing steering ability. An obvious no no.
>
> Mark in AK
> 87 Westy Syncro
> 90 Audi 200 Quattro Turbo Wagon
> 90 Jeep Cherokee 4x4
> Do you see a theme here?
>
--
__________________________________________________________
Sign-up for your own personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup

CareerBuilder.com has over 400,000 jobs. Be smarter about your job search
http://corp.mail.com/careers