Can I just pour cement in ballast box and add water.

[pokey1416]

If you have access to scrap steel, or old chains, the steel is significantly heavier per cu ft than concrete. Lots of demolition projects going on and your box on a small trailer and a little cash, bingo box full of steel @ 475-490 lbs/CF. Concrete is 150 lbs/CF. When the kids moved out and left their weight sets, I threw them on top of the box too.

 

[Labrat]

Some guys stick a few 2" PVC pipes in before they do the concrete. Makes a nice place to stick a shovel or rake handle. wish I knew that before I poured mine

 

[Zebrafive]

I would fill it with pea gravel or sand instead of concrete. That way it could be removed if you ever want to use the box to carry something.

What will this weigh/cu ft?

 

[ccogg]

Steel/iron for the win! If you can keep it dry, I don’t think the extra concrete of concrete is worth the cost/permanence.

 

[RoyJackson]

I was debating on putting a box on the back of my Branson and filling with sand.

Sand, IMHO, works best...
Cement or concrete is permanent. Sand can be removed if you ever want to.
As far as weight, my sand filled (estimated 600-700 bs.) has always done OK for me.
I've never added water for extra weight, except for rainwater

 

[s219]

Some stats about concrete:

Concrete dry mix density is about 162-164 lb per cubic foot if you can get the air out.

To make a cubic foot of concrete from typical sack mix, you need 135 lb of concrete mix and 14.1 lb of water. So that is about 149# total. After curing it will drop to about 145#.

 

[furnone]

OK, I went with 6 50# bags of pea stone. Looks like I can fit 2 more. I think I'll bolt a bracket to the back of the box to hang some suitcase weights on also. Ill keep my chains and stuff in the 9" extension tool box.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[bcp]

I wouldn't put concrete in a ballast box. Waste of a box. For concrete, make a wooden form from scrap wood, then remove after curing.

Bruce

PS: mold it with a large dinosaur print on the bottom so you cal leave footprints here and there.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I would fill it with pea gravel or sand instead of concrete. That way it could be removed if you ever want to use the box to carry something.

I had one I lined with a heavy duty garbage bag and filled with sand and gravel. If I ever accidently dumped it over I wouldn't lose anything. If I was going to work with something a little heavier than normal, I filled it with water. It's surprising how much water will go into a box full of sand. When that job was done the water would slowly evaporate away.

 

[rv7charlie]

To the original question...Unless you live in the Sahara, over the long term it won't matter whether you add water or not. Within weeks, or at most months, you'll have relatively weak but quite solid concrete. Down here in the southwet (east), if you don't use a bag of quickcrete within a few days, you'll have a boulder instead of a bag of quickcrete.