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I’m here with a public service announcement: Be careful not to break your the suspension in your truck by transforming its bed into a hot tub or pool this summer. A bed full of water could easily max out your payload capacity–and then some. But there’s a way to do it safely.

We’ve all seen the photos and social media stories of folks lining their pickup truck bed with a tarp, then filling it with water. And honestly, it looks like a real good time. You can park your new mini “pool” anywhere you want. You can even rig up a pump and heater to make a hot tub. But you will want to do some quick, back-of-the-envelope math before turning on that garden hose.

Anyone who’s shlepped around a full cooler can tell you water is heavy. One cubic foot of water (7.5 gallons) weighs 62.41 pounds. An eight foot pickup truck bed offers 77.5 cubic feet of volume. And 62.41 x 77.5 cubic feet is 4836.78 pounds. That’s a pretty heavy load for worn out half-ton springs.

@drinkupbeotches

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♬ Summer – Instrumental – Devinney

It might make more sense now why every summer, someone with an older half-ton truck fills it up with water and rowdy buddies and breaks a leaf spring. Luckily, there is an easy solution. Park your truck wherever you want your pool. Then grab four jack stands and support the frame.

You can take some additional safety measures and reduce the volume of water inside your truck bed. Obviously, you don’t need to fill it all the way to the brim. But you can also find some heavy boxes and put them inside each end of the truck bed to make benches at the bottom of your pool. Once you’ve placed these boxes, then lay down the tarp you’re using as a pool liner and clamp it in place.

A final option is to order an inflatable pool liner designed for your truck bed. You can buy these at Walmart. You just set them inside the bed and inflate them like a kiddie pool. The bed holds them in place, and they take up most of the space. In the end, there is plenty of room for people in your truck bed, but not tons of water.

However you choose to celebrate the summer, have fun and stay safe.

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.