Guide To Buying Lightweight Lumber Tarps

Guide to Buying Lightweight Lumber Tarps

Lumber and Steel tarps are an essential and expensive piece of equipment for flatbed truckers. These tarps need to be extremely rugged and heavy duty to withstand the wear and tear of over the road use. The most common fabric used to make these flatbed tarps is 18 Oz Vinyl (PVC Coated Polyester). 18Oz Vinyl is ideally suited for lumber and steel tarps as it is 100% waterproof, extremely abrasion and tear resistant and easily repairable. However a typical 18Oz Vinyl Lumber Tarp can weigh as much as 110 Lbs. Since these tarps have to be applied manually, a heavy tarp usually means that tarping the load is more difficult and time consuming. Usually there is a trade off between the weight of the tarps and its longevity. Tarps made out of heavier vinyl are always going to be able to take more wear and tear and lost longer.

One way to make lumber tarps lighter is by using 18Oz vinyl for the top of the tarp and lighter weight fabric (14Oz or 12Oz Vinyl) on the sides of the tarp. Most of the wear and tear is usually on the top portion of the tarp. By using heavy duty 18Oz fabric on the top, you can ensure that the tarp is long lasting and by using lighter fabric on the sides the total weight of the tarp can be reduced by 10 to 20 lbs

In the past decade there have been numerous innovations in the fabric coating industry and now there are light weight fabrics available that can offer the same performance of 18oz Vinyl at 25-30% lesser weight. These fabrics usually have a higher thread count and a higher performance PVC coating formula that allows them to weigh less and yet take the same wear and tear as the traditional 18 Oz Vinyl. Tarps made from these fabrics are much lighter and last just as long as the 18 Oz vinyl tarps.

Some fabricators also make their tarps with coated nylon or airbag fabric. Lumber Tarps made from this type of fabric is lightweight however they are not 100% waterproof and cannot be easily repaired.

Choosing the right fabric for your tarps is very important as it determines the life of your tarp and how much it is going to weigh. Visit Mytee Products Inc. for more information on Lumber Tarps, Steel Tarps, Machinery Tarps, Mesh Tarps, Tarp Straps and more.