How do you feel about tarping tall loads?

If they pay me to tarp it I tarp it. Don't care if its 6" off the deck or 15ft in the air.

My only requirement on excessively tall loads is that they have to put the tarp up there or drape it over with a crane.

While I do get the concern for falling I'm personally not too concerned about it. Though I am fairly young and smaller so climbing around on things isn't too hard for me.

The only thing I won't do is carry any tarp up a ladder. No way for me to safely carry 75+ lbs on my shoulder while climbing a ladder. Tried it once a while ago and nearly broke my back.

 

I don't tarp high loads without a safety harness and I'm 6'1 190lbs very flexible but I also fell 13'. It only takes one fall to injured. No I don't live in fear. I still enjoy heights but for me it is foolish to play with my well being. My arm is not a 100 percent because of the fall. I still do flatbed. Be wise your body needs you to be.

 

I haven't tarped mulch but I have hauled it. It's taller than, say, super sacks, but nothing like a load of hay or insulation. I would certainly secure it and then tarp it. You shouldn't have to worry about it holding together, use v boards if needed to help secure it.

Just be careful when you have to move over the top of the tarps, you don't want to step in an empty space.

 

Tarping sucks. Let's not sugar coat it, but it's part of the job. I will say tarping beats the heck out of going hungry.

 

We tarp straw and hay on the regular, and we have an arrangement with all the farmers we pick up from that it comes back to our yard so we can use the fall arrest system and not have to tarp in the field. I would refuse to tarp something that high without fall protection.

I don't have any problems with heights (I do pulllups on the ceiling in our tarp shed when tarping straw), but I have a problem with falling and the sudden stop at the end of the fall. I can't afford to stop working.

 

Does anyone that complains about tarping a load here own a house? Who cleans your gutters? What happens when you have to trim a tree branch?

I guess I should get osha out when I have to get on my snow covered roof to clean my chimney right?

Cripes truck driving is one of the easiest most stress free jobs a guy can have. Lets not make it seem like there is this some big element of danger involved.

 

Mulch is about 5 to 6 feet tall, at least the one time I Hauled it. I didn't have to tarp it though. I almost always had my securement under my tarps though. If I'm going to be walking on it I don't want it moving under me. For the really soft loads with lots of holes though I wouldn't walk on them. I carry a little giant type ladder that reaches 17 foot. It can be a pain going up and down and moving the ladder a bunch of times but it's better then falling.

What ever you do, be careful. Apparently one of our drivers fell off his trailer last week and broke his hip.

 

I'll tarp stuff with holes and walk on it but I go very slowly and very carefully. Not interested in making that mistake.

 

We do cedar mulch out of Alberta as a backhaul fairly often and it goes down to the US. Those loads are just short of 14' tall total height. About the same height as straw. Drivers usually strap over the bundles (which are on pallets and tightly wrapped in plastic) then tarp.