Went to pick up load of lumber, got loaded and tarped, forklift driver comes and says cant leave because some wood is showing, so i have too unload. Very frustrating!
Apparently i needed 8ft drop lumber tarps and only had 6ft tarps.

Said i was the third truck to have too unload because of wrong tarps!

Is there a one size fits all? Seems like the weight keeps going up? so i cant keep carrying steel, lumber and smoke tarps.



So, my question is will 8ft lumber tarps work for everything. I NEED TO BE ABLE TOO SCALE 48 THOUSAND#.

 

When I pulled flat for WH out of Wausau, WI, we had two lumber tarps with 8' drop. two steel tarps, and a half tarp.

When I pulled flat for J & R Schugel, we had one lumber tarp with 8' drop, and two steel tarps that could be turned sideways and cover an 8' drop. For a full load of lumber, that meant using the one lumber tarp, and both steel tarps to cover the load. For a smoke tarp, we'd fold one of the steel tarps in half. Never ran out of tarp, but crossed my fingers a couple of times.

 

If you have your tarps made just put on extra rows of d rings. The new lumber tarps we have ordered have 6 rows, that is a row every 16 inches down the side. You can cover a small load with a big tarp if you have enough rings to keep them tight.

 

You can use the 8' drops for most things, but it can be a lot of extra work for smaller freight. Like windwalker, I used to carry one lumber tarp and 2 steel tarps. It offers some versatility. If you are concerned about weight that would be your best bet. I now carry 5 tarps on my step deck. I would not worry too much about tarps and weight. An extra tarp or two won't make that much difference in the grand scheme of things.

 

I have 6 tarps, four do a full load (two lumber and two steel) all with 8 foot drops, one smoke tarp, and a "farmer tarp" for grader blades.

I think 8 foot drops is standard nowadays. A lot of shippers request them.

 

when i was flattbedding i carried 2 8 foot drop lumber tarps and 2 steel tarps, lumber tarps are a huge PITA for tarping small loads like steel.

if you get an all aluminum flatbed, you should easily be able to scale 48 000, i could do it with a heavy pete 379 and also carried a couple thousand pounds of log hauling bunks.

 

i bought a 53 ft combo transcraft for half the price of all aluminum trailer.
didnt wan to spend 40 thou in this economy. my 379 pete flat top an trailer weighs 32140 with tanks half full.
trailer has outside aluminum rims so i want too replace inside wheels if i can findem.
maybe take spoiler off roof.

if i wanted to go with three what are the best sizes? two lumber one steel?
THANKS!

 

Mabe four would be better 2 lumber two steel.

 

Man, I thought I was heavy. I have a 359 Pete, 63" bunk (with an entertainment center built from birch plywood and it's heavy), Fontaine combo flat, all steel wheels on trailer, one tool box, one set of 8' tarps, 10- 3/8 chains and binders and I'm 31,500 full of fuel.

Lumber tarps are a definite pain for smaller loads, I'd like to get a set of 4' drops but I also am leery of the extra weight.

When you say you have to scale 48000, is that for a regular run that you have or just personal preference?

 

Trying to haul steel! they sent a memo out saying not allowed on yard unless you can scale 48 thou.
wonder why im so heavy.

89 flat top pete 3406b model ?