The advantage of the side kit is that it is much faster than having to throw tarps. I have D rings inside my kit which may be used with chains or straps. Some have chains that drop into the trailer. I have those on my step deck. I can also put straps underneath the side panels, but don't like to do that if it is raining since there is a slight chance of spray making it's way into the kit. I usually only need to remove a couple of panels to load with a side kit. Another advantage of a side kit is that you can keep your chains, binders, etc., inside the kit. You don't need to pull them from your headache rack or side boxes and throw them on the trailer. They are already there. When I go in with my kit to load, I unhook my bungee's on one side of the trailer, throw the tarp to the side, pull the bows aside and take down as many panels as needed to load. Once loaded, I simply revers the process. I use my hand ratchets and straps a lot in my kit. They are much faster than chains. If I load steel, I usually use chains, but with other things I may use straps. The down side to having a kit is that they can be a pain to tear completely down and stow. You will need to take it down for some types of freight. I always keep tarps with me in case I need to tear the kit down. There are some types of freight which need no extra securement. For instance, I used to haul a lot of valves and pipe which were strapped to pallets. They fit snugly in the kit so there was no need to do anything else to them. If I didn't have the kit I would have needed to use straps. The shipper for which I hauled these mostly shipped by side kit. It was pretty much like loading a van. The only thing is that most receivers unloaded from the side, so I would need to take down panels on one side so that they could unload.

Any of the moving tarp systems would limit you as to what you could haul. Conestoga, curtain-side and Roll Tite trailers have their advantages, but limit you in some ways. For instance, you could not haul over-sized loads with them. You can buy a side kit for about $1,500-3,600. Most of the others I mentioned will run about $15-17,000 over the cost of your trailer. I am not too sure about the cost of a Roll-Tite system.

I rarely took down my side kit. It seems that most drivers whom I have had pulling it have kept it down more than up. Much of the reason is the type of freight we pull. Some driver prefer to tarp rather than dealing with a kit.

 

So what if I make more than you. I earn every penny. Its more than opening the back doors and bumping a dock :roll: And I never razzed you, even gave you options before you bought your truck. And there is no "lawsuit", so I'll leave it at that about claims. I could break things left and right and still do great.

 

I see lots of $2+/mi dry van freight on getloaded. In the demo, they changed it to loads with rates only and there is some good stuff on there. Theres stil garbage too, but its out there.