hmmmmm.......I am sure 90 or 99% are happy there, but over the past couple of months I must have met the 1 to 10% that are unhappy as they all claimed they were leaving the company and never looking back

 

You guys probably don't remember but back in the day we used to use canvas tarps and wooden wedges to keep them tight. AHH progress.

 

I agree, this wasn’t about “straps over tarps” but rather a good example of a lazy driver who chose to secure his tarps with his load securement instead of using bungies. Thus waving a big red (or in this case blue) flag for any DOT officer to see.

 

I was talking to a Canadian driver at a GP back in June who refereed to the practice of throwing straps over the tarp as the "French way" of tarping.

 

Straps over tarps says to me, I don't know how to tarp. "Just thinking out loud".

 

I've done it once when I got screwed out of almost all of my bungees on a Laredo drop and hook. I had about 25 bungees to tarp a lumber load.

So there are times that call for it.

 

on lumber loads i personally dont see why someone cant throw straps over the tarps. i do it so the tarps dont come off the load but i also bungee the tarps like the straps werent there. I have had one tarp shred on me going down the road

 

There is a time to tarp first and strap over it, as much as I hate the practice in Principle: My two best examples:

1. Load o Sheetrock/ plywood/ OSB/ particleboard, (Read: Moisture Sensitive Product.) And there's a measurably significant risk o Precipe at your unload point.. (In certain areas, like the coast, Fog and Dew can be significant enough..).
Strapping over the tarps allows you to hit your drop point, unstrap and stow your gear, pull and stow bungies making D*mn sure you leave enough on to hold tarps in place..
At unload, you can execute a "peek-a-boo" or "Reveal" live unload in the rain by drawing the tarp up or back for the forklift to 'get a bite', minimizing exposure to ambient weather conditions.
And in cases like this I try like hell to get a Sig on the BOL before the first bundles come off - If they're gonna make the call, they're gonna take the risk. And if nothing else there's abundant evidence that you did everything You could as a driver to accommodate the situaiton.

2. Lowe's/ Home Depot JunkMix loads: same principle. Let'em fork it out from under the tarps..
If you handle yourself well, you'd be surprised how many Receivers will sign off in advance in inclement weather conditions. And that's your only Real release from a damage claim..

As they unload the trailer, rear to front, front to rear, (doesn't matter in Bad Weather), I leave the tarps piled on the trailer until we're done. That way I can fold the tarps 'up on deck' and not have to do it on wet ground/ pavement/ mud AND not have to dik with a Tarp Lift from a Fork Op who's probably not gonna come back for you 15-30min after he/she's ducked off back inside the building. :wink: Tarps'll be wet, yeah.
But as clean as you're gonna be able to keep'em...

 

I strap the load, put the tarp on and many many times I've strapped down the tarp to prevent it from filling with air. I have 25 straps and winches on my flatbed and I hate having a tarp blowing around on an odd shaped load.