Tarping before or after securing?

They are a compromise but I hope they work for you.

 

The horror begins! Good luck

 

Im a company driver. All I'm supplied with is a 3 pc lumber tarp set. 6 ft drop and only 2 rows of d rings. When I haul steel (when I have to tarp)I secure as normal with straps, then tarp and strap again over the tarp. That way I dont need to tighten on the tarp too bad. If its low to the deck I dont fold the tarp out all the way either.

Some places I pick up dry wall and have to strap over the tarp completely. I haven't seen any damage to the tarps yet from doing this.

 

Good luck with that tarp.

 

For a better looking tarp job make sure you pull your tarps tight front to back.

 

A tip for you ive done to find/remember the flap end- is tie a big heavy ziptie or two to a grommet on the flap end, sort of like an i.d. tag that will be exposed when the tarp is folded up.
I do this to one of my steel tarps too because one is longer than the other.

 

100 is a good start, then another 50 any time you find yourself using all your bungees. I break/lose an average of 2 bungees every time I throw my tarps, so for me, that's another 50 bungees every 3-6 months.

I used to use almost exclusively 21" bungees with a few 31" mixed in for the nose and tail, but now I'm switching over to exclusively 31" bungees. What you'll want to use will depend entirely on your tarping style.