How do you feel about tarping tall loads?

Melton makes you carry 90lbs tarp to the top of a vframe for glass then roll it to the other end.... I am tall but quite skinny 6ft 1 and 150lbs I don't know how I did it... But I did.

 

I did the same when I hauled glass for Maverick. That was the last time I carried a tarp up a ladder. They never had a problem running the tarp up for me with the crane when I asked.

 

Oh this was part of orientation never had to do it with a real load though

 

During training at Maverick they used a forklift to put the tarps on top of the frames. Most of the glass plants I went to would either drape them across the load with the crane or at least set them on top so I could just roll them out.

I had one time where the loaders went to lunch after loading me and I didn't want to wait an hour for them to come back and run the tarp up. I carried it up myself. At the time I was only about 140lbs and 5'5" tall. Was quite a struggle for me to do and I never did it again.

These days I load and tarp 99% of my loads indoors so I can have the crane pull the tarp over tall loads. Usually if a customer wants it tarped outside I'll bring it back to my shop and use the forklift to run my larger tarps up top. Only time I tarp outside is when loading on a jobsite for one of my customers or cheap backhaul that won't let me do it inside.

 

Falling isn't dangerous. It's the stopping that's dangerous.

 

If only Giraffes could drive it'd making tarping alot easier huh? It comes with the job if you sign up for it what you see is what you get, its kinda like a person joining the police force and saying hey i didn't expect to be arresting criminals. but yeah the poor old truck driver don't get no danger pay does he?

 

from OSHA
Industry Hazards
Workers in the trucking industry experienced the the most fatalities of all occupations, accounting for 12 percent of all worker deaths. About two-thirds of fatally injured truckers were involved in highway crashes. Truck drivers also had more nonfatal injuries than workers in any other occupation. Half of the nonfatal injuries were serious sprains and strains; this may be attributed to the fact that many truck drivers must unload the goods they transport.



1926.501(b)(1)

"Unprotected sides and edges." Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.

OSHA regulations govern the safety and health of the workers and the responsibilities of employers to ensure their safety at the warehouse, dock, construction site, and in other places truckers go to deliver and pick up loads throughout the country. While OSHA does not regulate self-employed truckers, it does regulate workplaces to which the truckers deliver goods and the workers which receive those goods.

The last paragraph is most likely why some shippers have you drive just off their property to tarp.

 

I used to work for a metal roofing company that did commercial work. A guy fell off a lift from only 8' up and died because he wasn't tied off. Doesn't need to be that high to cause serious damage or worse

 

My tarps will only do 6 feet. I own my truck and I'm not forced dispatch. So, I have that option.

A tip for windy days.... Keep some 1 foot long pieces of rope/chord on your truck. Tie a chain binder to the corners of your tarp and lower them down. Don't drop. They can take out lights. Ask me how I know. And don't use this method on really windy days. High winds can still lift the tarp and fling those binders at you, the neighboring truck, etc.

 

You haven't heard? Every day is a life and death struggle.