The Truckers’ Report flatbed Hall of Shame.

So, I-70 in Richmond, IN is a no go?

 

Texas will relieve your wallet .

 

I wrote that probably 5 years after last doing any programming on it. It was definitely a chore. I'd look at some of the vector stuff I'd programed hoping to refresh my brain, and was totally lost.

But I still have a 48 emulator app on my phone... Because RPN for life! LOL

 

That’s to have illuminated signage, 30min before sunrise and after sunset.

 

LOL well what can you do but laugh

 

My first coil today. Wouldn’t believe how long I spent for my tarp to look that bad. I didn’t know I was getting a coil until just then or I would have watched a YouTube video. Cannot believe how nice the guy in the video had it compared to mine. Top it off it’s a lightweight rip stop tarp and it’s ridiculously easy to tear.

 

Your tarp job looks a hell of a lot better than any of mine ever did or ever will. I hate tarping, and I hate untarping even worse.

 

I sure wish I was there to show you the easy way to a nice tarp job. But, first, get some 4’ beveled wood. You can get by with 4pcs, minimum.

For tarping these, here’s a step-by-step:
1.) Secure your front corners, however far forward you want to start your tarp. I like 2-3 pockets forward.
2.) Secure 2 rear D-rings (corners), at the same distance as the front. You want a teepee, of sorts.
3.) Check your tarp is even on both sides. If not, pull it over until it is.
4.) Secure 3 bungees, in the center, at a medium tension to one side.
5.) Go to the other side and start securing from the middle, alternating fore and aft, working your way outward to your corner bungees. You want all these bungees as tight as you can get them.
6.) Go back to the other side and tighten your first 3 bungees. Then, start working your way outward, like the other side. That should have your basic foundation.
7.) To tighten your front, start hooking the 8’ wide D-rings at the deck, working your way up, pulling those bungees down and rearward. Do the same on the other side. You should have an 8’ wide slope up to the top of the coil.
8.) For the rear, start with the next D-ring forward of the 8’ row, on each side. Using 3 bungees, hook one side to the other, pulling them tight, across the back. You want the excess on the sides of the coil tightened up and being pulled around the rear of the coil, so the sides don’t flap and it’s tight across the back.
9.) Your excess on the deck needs straightened, folded lengthwise, and flattened. Start back-folding it under itself, at each D-ring, until you get to your first secured corners. That’ll give you a nice, flat backroll that just needs pinned down. This should give you a nice, clean look.

There’s a Maverick driver’s YT video out there that’s tarped backward and looks terrible. Don’t be like him. Dude is clueless.

Keep channel locks on the truck. Use them to pinch the ends of your bungee hooks. You want the end that’s through the rubber to be fully pinched together. The other end you want pinched until both sides of the hook are parallel and still able to fit over the rubrail. This will minimize hook damage to your tarps. When you buy a new box of bungees, take the time and do this, so that box is ready to go, when you need it. The pic is properly pinched on the rubber end. I’d pinch the open end a bit further, though.