There are many different kinds of trucks and cargoes that they carry, but one thing’s for certain, in many cases if you don’t have your load covered by a tarp you’re not going anywhere. Tarps serve quite a few different purposes, they keep the cargo safe on long distance hauls to their final destinations, and they also keep other drivers safe from pieces of the cargo falling off and causing accidents. In nearly every state or country, tarps are required or the trucker and his company can be heavily fined. There are a lot of different kinds of tarps, some are better for different applications due to a variety of factors. Let’s take a look at some of the better and higher quality tarps and other uses in the trucking industry.
When Hauling Gravel, Dirt, Garbage, Or Construction Debris, Insurance Companies Insist
Since any kind of debris, whether it be dirt or gravel or otherwise, that falls from a moving truck and hits a car in windshield will result in the truck driver and his company being liable for damages and it will be the insurance company that pays, they take a dim view of trucks that don’t cover their loads properly.
For this reason, insurance companies are insistent on all trucks carrying any kind of loose gravel or debris be securely covered with a strong tarp 100% of the time. An insurance company will even go as far as canceling a company that has too many claims against them, and a truck driving company with no insurance is immediately out of business.
Trucks That Haul Lumber Or Construction Materials Need Types Of Different Tarps
These tarps, instead of being mostly to protect drivers from falling debris, are primarily there to protect the cargo from the elements. For that reason they will normally be high-quality waterproof tarps that are made to keep the materials underneath them dry while resisting the high velocity winds due to the highway speeds. They’ll will need to have incredibly strong grommets placed 12 to 18 inches apart along the edge for the attachment of ropes.
Plus, since they are exposed to the sun, the material will need to be UV resistant in order to last a good long time in use. Since many construction materials are flammable, most of these kinds of tarps will also be especially fire resistant to protect the materials from any kind of burning cigarettes or other types of flame as they drive down the road.
Even though tarps for construction materials are primarily there for the protection of the materials, law enforcement personnel will still enforce the regulations that require all loads to be covered for the protection of other drivers on the road. For this reason nearly every flatbed truck on the highway will have high quality tarps on board.
Many Of The Truck Tarpaulin Specialist Manufacturers Have Tarps For Specific Uses
Tarps can be highly specialized for the use in specific applications to make them easier to be taken off and put back on by a single driver without help, thus saving the truck driving company the cost of having helpers on every trip.
Many of the gravel and refuse tarps can be easily maneuvered into place by a signal driver without help, and there are even some that are motorized as well. There are also a wide variety of truck tarpaulin specialist manufacturers tarps that are designed for many different agricultural uses too.
There are special tarpaulins made to cover potato hauling trucks, grain trucks, equipment hauling trucks, and nearly any other kind of agricultural product. There are even some motorized specialty tarps that can be controlled with a wireless remote so that the driver can be strategically positioned for viewing while the trampoline is slowly removed automatically, allowing him to pause and resume at any time.
Many Tarpaulins Are Equipped With Specialized Ratchet Straps Built-In
Since many cargoes need to be securely tied into place and protected too, the truck tarpaulin specialist manufacturers have devised tarps that have built-in strapping with ratchet winches in order to secure the load onto the truck. Since truck drivers get paid by the delivery or by the mile, every minute that they spend securing their load is cutting in to their pay.
My making the tarpaulins dual-purpose in securing a load on the truck and also projecting load from wind, rain, fire, and theft they reduce the amount of time that the loaders and truck driver need to spend tying down and securing each load.
Some Of The Best Tarps Are Made From PVC Fabric
PVC coated polyester fabric offers incredible strength, and long-term durability in addition to strong water resistance as well. Larger tarpaulins can usually be custom-made and assembled by welding several smaller ones together with waterproof seams to maintain the integrity of the tarp.
The edges will be securely hemmed using high-quality polyester cotton threading that has a long lifetime and incredible strength so that the eyelets contained around the edges of the tarp will be securely held in place at all times. Typically, all of the corners of high quality tarps will be double reinforced since they are under more stress than the eyelets around the edges of the tarp.
If you have a specific tarp application that you need, most likely you can find it available online without too much trouble. However, most of the truck tarpaulin specialist manufacturers are willing to custom make a tarp to fit almost any application that you can imagine and will give estimates online if you’re able to supply sufficient information for them to make an assessment of your needs.