Buying Flatbed Tarps

Yes. When I broke in at Prime my ####### of a trainer had a set of 6' tarps with a skirt you could take on and off. They added an additional 2' to make them 8' total. The skirts connected to the D rings. They were a bigger pain in the ### than just carrying a set of standard 8 footers.

 

Most people call the extensions “skirts” from what I hear. I carry a couple of 6x18 sides from a old tarp. It works to cover the bottom of some taller loads and also doubles as padding in a pinch. The only tricky part is you can really bungee to the skirts. I usually nail them up. You can kind of see then under this load.

 

I know this is a dumb question to many of you, but how do they get a trailer on top of a trailer like that? And outside of the straps I can see in the picture, is there other securements? Like when you transport like that, do you have to have 4 points of contact with chains also? And what would be the reasons you transport like this?

 

Stacked them with a large forklift. I do usually use 4 corner chains on stacked trailers. If I’m only hauling a stacked trailer I will just use 4 chains. This load I just counted the straps over the fright. Both options are legal in my opinion.

as for why, we’ll I sometimes ask myself that same question. Usually to reposition equipment to different yards that have that type of freight. We try to grab a partial to at least cover our costs on those moves.

 

Another dumb question...not coming at it from doubting your opinion but it made me think...if I was a Flatbed driver, and I wanted to know "exactly" what was legal in this (or any situation), what resources could I use or check? What tools are at my disposal for such a thing?

I know that there is this out there: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Drivers_Handbook_Cargo_Securement.pdf but I haven't read through it yet, don't know if it covers this, and I am wondering if there is any easy way on the fly to check such a thing if I didn't know, was solo, and time-sensitive.

 

One Reason is dropping loaded trailers at a job site. And then stacking them up when mt .Think pre stressed beams and siding on large buildings…….

 

Started working on this. One grommet is in, and I pulled it by hand from every angle I could and there were no signs of tearing. She'll put 5 more on, and we'll thread a cord through to see if it will hold the tarp up without any sagging. I probably won't run this tarp with any loads, but I can set it over the deck and spray it with a hose or something to see if it leaks at the new stitching. Hopefully we'll get it done tomorrow, or else it might have to wait a few more weeks.