Using rubber rope when tarping, anyone?

I prefer the holllow 3/8. Stretches futher and fits the grouments well.
I use the special hooks they make for rubber rope because They go on and off easliy and hold well withnot knotting up.

 

I've tried both, but typically I'll use a double overhand knot to the rub rail, then at my first cargo check I'll hook on another s-hook between the knot and the last D-ring and pull it away from the load to take the new slack out of it.

I can't get to it right now, but going by memory it was a 100' piece of 3/8" I got for about $45 at Tri-City Canvas about 2 years ago.

 

Do you leave it threaded in the tarp when you roll it up, or do you take it out? Either way it sounds like less of a hassle than bungees.

 

Before I cut it into 25' pieces I pulled it out, but now I leave it in the top row of my 4' tarps unless I know I'm heading for a load of machinery, in which case I'll pull it out to use on my 8' tarps and save the bungees for keeping blankets over pointy bits. I'll pick up another 200' of it next time I'm through granite city so I can leave it rolled in my 8' tarps in 50' lengths, I'm thinking in the second row from the top, but I might have to move it down since I'm on the shorter side at 5'7".

 

When I pulled my flat I LOVED rubber rope.
BUT, to make it efficient and speedy you need J hooks under the rub rail so you don't have to lace it through the pockets/pipe spools. With the J hooks I used to run the RR through the D rings with some slack and work from front to back, D ring/J hook/D ring/J hook, repeat. Much like lacing a shoe.

Check out any wood hauler in the NW, they tarp a LOT. This is where I got my stuff, http://guthriesales.com/cargo-securement/rubber-rope.html They're in Eugene, Or. off I 5/99.

 

Here's the J hook I referenced for the trailer,

 

Know of any reasonable place to get a bunch of those J hooks?

I've wanted to try that way for quite some time now.

 

I seen those on one of our flatbed trailers a while back and I assumed they were for hooking your S hooks to when tarping but makes much more sense now that I know about rubber rope.

 

You don't need j hooks to be fast with a rope or cord. Just take the s-hooks off of broken bungees and open one side enough to fit the rope or cord into. Then, thread the rope or cord through all the D-rings you want to use (or grommets, if you're using a 20 year old tarp like I am), tie off both ends (I use the rub rail, but some prefer tying it off to the tarp), then front to back, pull down on the rope or cord between D-rings, slip an S-hook on it, and hook that to the rub rail, or the frame rail if you're worried about the tarp blowing out (which rubber rope and cord are very good at controlling on higher rows).

This method makes un-tarping extremely fast, since you only need to take the s-hooks off, and then untie the ends, and the tarp is loose (assuming there aren't any additional bungees). You can pull out the rope or cord if desired, but leaving it in the tarp helps cut down on tarp time, since threading time is eliminated. Just tie and hook it, and you're done.

If you're really interested in drilling hundreds of holes in your trailer, Tri City Canvas sells wire j-hooks you can either bolt to your trailer or tie to your rope (handy if you're interested in making custom bungee lengths out of rope or cord). 100 for $35 last I checked.