Safe way to tarp a flatbed

I just used one of those systems at GP in Phillips WI two days ago. I thought it was going to be a pain in tr butt, but it was really nice. Basically a tarp crane. You hook the hooks to your d rings on one side and lift your tarp up and over. Really looked good after I was done allowed me to get the tarps spread neatly without much physical effort. Here's the load after using the tarping machine and not once setting foot on top of load.

 

The ultimate in bad tarp loads is a machine in some kind of welded frame with all kinds of sharp edges and points. God knows why they want these tarped but they usually do. Guaranteed you're gonna get a hole in the tarp even if you wrap all the points in carpet.

Either that or they're "wrapped" in thin guage plastic like a pallet which starts shredding 5 miles down the road and you get to eat the littering tickets.

Do wish you guys would keep a better eye on that plastic though. Hate it when one of you goes sailing past with 10 ft of plastic flapping out behind you like the tail on a comet. No fun to have to peel your "discards" off my windshield, grille, exhaust pipe.

PITA too to hear you beacin on the CB for 10 miles when John Law nails you for a couple hundred bucks.

 

I use my 5th wheel pin puller alot on my tarp jobs. Can use to hook the "d" rings and pull it over the load and helps get it tight. Their are some that are too high but a little 4ft step ladder gets used

 

just supply red bull to the drivers

 

Just have a semi sheltered area free of rainfall and too much wind, put the tarps on top, and let us do our part of the job. If your safety Nazi insists, a harness and cable...

Tarping machines are great...for sheetrock or lumber or shingles. Not so much for steel or things with sharp edges that we have to get on the trailer to pad anyway.

Platforms that come to either side of the trailer are worse than nothing. Nine times out of ten they're out in the elements, and they leave a foot or two gap to the rub rail. I would very much rather jump off the trailer, tuck and roll than to fall into that gap. Had both happen before, which one do you think hurt more?

If you're not good working at some height or on uneven surfaces, you won't be flatbedding long anyway. Let Darwin work, people. Those who can, will...and those who can't will find out quickly and hopefully not too painfully.

 

Good for you looking out for drivers. I applaud you.

Tarping can be difficult. I don't know your industry so I can't give specifics. If its steel typically the loads aren't tall so I have to assume you are talking lumber or pipe or something.

If you go with the side rails, a driver will still have to climb on top of the load to unroll the tarps. Its nearly impossible to unroll one on the ground and then pull it up over the load. The cheap route is to have a harness for the driver to wear and a cable to stop falls.

The best option for drivers (and you for the long run) is a tarp hoist. Most lumber mills such as Georgia pacific have them. Its basically a crane over the truck that has a lot of hooks on it. The driver controls the crane and lowers the hooks. He puts the eyelets on the tarp thru all the hooks and then the crane will not only lift the tarp in the air, but it can also move across the truck pulling the tarp over the load. The driver never has to be on top of the load. Saves you the liability and speeds up shipping, saves the driver time and effort, its a win win.

 

Care about drivers? Or care about their insurance premiums?

 

Guess you missed the SAFETY part of Pape's post.

 

Nope, I've read each post. Can't help but to think this way about shippers. Seems as tho good shippers are becoming more scarce, few and far between.

If safety is the goal, that's great. But, I've been to some shippers where it seems like they just put "safety" rules in place to make our day miserable.

 

FWIW, the OP started the thread almost 2 years ago...hope he is still in business; nice attitude.