So I'm Really Bad At Tarping

I'm on my second solo load and it's a couple big eye to the sky coils. It doesn't seem like the easiest load to tarp, but I spent three and a half hours on it; 15 minutes securing it and 195 minutes tarping. I had no idea what I was doing and that was confirmed as I started driving down the highway and had a hot air balloon on the trailer. I've taken five stops along my route to add something on to it to try to calm it down. I think I have it pretty good now with just about every strap and bungee I own on it. I have so many straps over the tarps and so many bungees on the sides, it looks so embarrassing and ridiculous.

Wondering if any knows of any websites or books that show how to tarp different kinds of loads. A Google search just brings up a lot of flatbed product sales websites.

Learning how to drive a truck is hard. Learning how to flatbed is really hard.

There's like a gazillion vids on youtube. Just put flatbed tarping in the search box.

Bound to pick up a few pointers there.

Rick

True. A lot of times I'm in a place where I have no signal. With a website I could just cache all of the pages and with a book, well I'd have a book. I'm wanting something that has guides for tarping all types of different loads that I can always reference while I'm doing the tarp. I think what I'm wanting doesn't exist.

Hope you make it on time.

Times like that is when you look longingly over at the truck with the two trailer doors on the back that can open and close in a matter of seconds.

Well at least it sounds like you do not have to worry about the ten feet of space between straps rule.

how to tarp a flatbed load google search brought up a bunch of youtube videos.

I have a probably poor suggestion. At some point you will have a signal, use youtube downloader to download video tutorials you find helpful and leave them on the computer or put them on a flash drive or SD card, then you can access them whenever you need them.

You had me laughing at your description of the Hot Air Balloon on your trailer. I completely understand your frustration. When you start out as a rookie flat-bed driver there is so much to learn and so many different ways to do things, plus there is never sufficient time with the trainer to practice on all the many different types of loads you will encounter. Once I had a set of tarps that had alternating sections of black and white and with the way I tarped the load it was kind of heaving in and out with sort of a bellows type action from the wind - I swear from my mirrors it looked like I had a giant angry caterpillar on my trailer whose anger had him inhaling and exhaling great big breaths of air!

Here's a look at that load:

Now the reason I included the photo is to show you how the tarp is tapered from the load to the deck of the trailer. You don't have to taper the front like I did in this example, but when hauling something like a couple of coils if you will taper the rear section of the tarp, and pull it tight with some bungies that will allow any air that goes up into the tarp while travelling down the road to have an easy way to exit the tarp also. What caused your Hot Air Balloon effect is that the air flow was trapped inside the tarp. I could have just rolled up the front section and brought it down to the deck of the trailer and secured it there with bungies or a strap and it still would work just fine.

I do not know of a book about tarping, although there may very well be one. As a rookie I think you will find, as I did, that at most places you go to there will be other experienced flat-bedders there tarping their loads, and if you will observe how they are doing it you will learn a lot of little tricks and short cuts. Don't be embarrassed to speak to another driver and just tell them "hey they just turned me loose on this stuff and I don't have a clue as how I should tarp this load, I was just wondering if I could ask you what you think is the best way to do it?" I can tell you that my experience in doing just that usually resulted in someone coming over and helping me get the whole job done, and brother were there a few times I was really grateful for the things I learned from them.

One other thing I noticed when I was a beginner is that both TMC and Maverick drivers seemed to have gotten some very good training concerning tarping. If you see one of them I would ask them for a few tips if they are available.

Don't sweat it man, after a few months this stuff will all seem like a piece of cake to ya! The only thing that gets to me these days is dealing with those tarps like I did last week up in Massachusetts when it's about 4 or 5 below zero and there's four feet of snow on the ground and about an inch of ice on your trailer. I put on a really cool trailer deck ice skating exhibition that day with some full 360's to thrill the crowd!

You had me laughing at your description of the Hot Air Balloon on your trailer. I completely understand your frustration. When you start out as a rookie flat-bed driver there is so much to learn and so many different ways to do things, plus there is never sufficient time with the trainer to practice on all the many different types of loads you will encounter. Once I had a set of tarps that had alternating sections of black and white and with the way I tarped the load it was kind of heaving in and out with sort of a bellows type action from the wind - I swear from my mirrors it looked like I had a giant angry caterpillar on my trailer whose anger had him inhaling and exhaling great big breaths of air!

Here's a look at that load:

Now the reason I included the photo is to show you how the tarp is tapered from the load to the deck of the trailer. You don't have to taper the front like I did in this example, but when hauling something like a couple of coils if you will taper the rear section of the tarp, and pull it tight with some bungies that will allow any air that goes up into the tarp while travelling down the road to have an easy way to exit the tarp also. What caused your Hot Air Balloon effect is that the air flow was trapped inside the tarp. I could have just rolled up the front section and brought it down to the deck of the trailer and secured it there with bungies or a strap and it still would work just fine.

I do not know of a book about tarping, although there may very well be one. As a rookie I think you will find, as I did, that at most places you go to there will be other experienced flat-bedders there tarping their loads, and if you will observe how they are doing it you will learn a lot of little tricks and short cuts. Don't be embarrassed to speak to another driver and just tell them "hey they just turned me loose on this stuff and I don't have a clue as how I should tarp this load, I was just wondering if I could ask you what you think is the best way to do it?" I can tell you that my experience in doing just that usually resulted in someone coming over and helping me get the whole job done, and brother were there a few times I was really grateful for the things I learned from them.

One other thing I noticed when I was a beginner is that both TMC and Maverick drivers seemed to have gotten some very good training concerning tarping. If you see one of them I would ask them for a few tips if they are available.

Don't sweat it man, after a few months this stuff will all seem like a piece of cake to ya! The only thing that gets to me these days is dealing with those tarps like I did last week up in Massachusetts when it's about 4 or 5 below zero and there's four feet of snow on the ground and about an inch of ice on your trailer. I put on a really cool trailer deck ice skating exhibition that day with some full 360's to thrill the crowd!

Old School. I would just like to say for the record. You ARE the mannnnn.

Oh my goodness I could never imagine driving flatbed, but I needed the chuckle! Dude, I don't have any advice on tarping but hang in there. Everyday is an adventure I am finding, and some of them are better than others!