Buying a Side Kit for my flatbed. What do you recommend?

Having a side kit, I can tell you some of their drawbacks and advantages versus a Conestoga. They are great for hauling coils, and a single one is the best of the best. 2 coils with a side kit or Conestoga you spread them out, unlike what you would do tarping. With 2 coils, you have to undue the front. Pulling the front of the tarp over the corner is a little hard to do. It would seem to me that a Conestoga would be easier, and those guys are a lot faster.

Long low loads, like bar or pipe, putting the tarp back is more challenging than a Conestoga, and finding a place to put the panels while loading can also be hard. Higher loads like aluminum sheet, pulling the tarp over can be a real challenge.

Wide loads, and I'm not talking about overwidth. The panels are on the edge of the deck, so you can't haul 96" loads.

It could be that I'm saying thus only because everybody has 4' panels, so I would go with 4. Replacement panels and posts are available. If you need on the road, it may be more of a challenge.

Most side kit tarps go over to the right. Undoing the tarp because you have to load or unload from the right, or anytime you have to pull the panels on the right side, well you would wish you didn't have it.

My take away? If the majority of what you will haul, like 65%, will be coils, and you are afraid that your Conestoga could get torn by crane operators and you want to get better mileage, a side kit would be your choice. If your freight varies, and you know that most of the damage to tarps is by the driver, I'd go with a Conestoga. Based on the freight I have hauled, I would get a shorter one to try to mitigate the fuel economy. If I had $20,000 right now, I would replace my side kit and put a Conestoga on.

 

Here is an 84" coil in mine.