Cargo net for trailer?

[Paul F Franklin]

I have a 5.5 x 8.5 utility trailer that I use to haul "stuff". When I haul soil or humus or the like, I cover the load with a tarp and a bunch of bungees down to tarp hooks along the outside of the trailer. Then I usually have to take a ratchet strap around the top edge to keep the tarp from flapping itself to pieces. It works, but it takes way too long and too much fussing so I'm looking for a better way.

I see various types of cargo nets (example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HBDFQNK/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?pd_rd_i=B07HBBCN8N&pd_rd_w=TKpii&pf_rd_p=48d372c1-f7e1-4b8b-9d02-4bd86f5158c5&pd_rd_wg=ovCu5&pf_rd_r=F7VP9XZK9Y08GETQ0ZC9&pd_rd_r=29685977-243e-4383-8ca6-c354a6da1202&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNVc0NkJMT1ZYTFlDJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDAwMzk1MlNMOUZMTVRQOFc5NCZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDgxNzY2M0ZJN1Q1QjlIUlFaSCZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZ kb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1) and wonder if they would be any easier to put on and remove?

I've also thought about getting some bulk bungee cord and threading it through all the grommets in a big loop. If I got the length right I could just pull the cord down over the hooks at multiple places along each side rather than having to fuss around getting the right length bungee for each position.

Anybody have a favorite method of covering bulk loads?

[ChrisA Edwards]

I had a similar system, but is was bungee cord in a net with hooks.

Search Amazon for Bungee net with hooks.

I had a 5' x 8' utility trailer with a a rail of L angle iron foreman the top perimeter. I drilled and mounted some 1/4" eye bolts in the rail to make attaching the bungee net easy.

Similar to this
https://www.amazon.com/Stretches-Trailer-Carabiners-Universal-Organizer/dp/B07JHG5R98/ref=sr_1_19?crid=1R8HQ9ARNP5B6&dchild=1&keywords=bungee+net+with+hooks&qid=1595299509&s=automotive&sprefix=bungee+net%2Cautomotive%2C311&sr=1-19

[Jim Becker]

If you haul this kind of material a lot, you could conceivably build a hinged setup like is used on tri-axle trucks that move stone and other "earthy" materials as well as are used by landscapers, tree folks, etc., for the same reason...to contain stuff that might fly out of the truck/trailer from wind and/or motion. A "fancy" setup would have the screen on a self-retracting spool. A basic setup would just have you folding the cover when retracted. A U-shaped bar hinged about mid-way back to the trailer sides would effect the cover and uncover motion. I see from a Google search that finding a mesh cover shouldn't be too difficult...the challenge is getting the mechanism figured out to make covering and uncovering quick and easy.

[Bill Dufour]

In California I see signs at the dumps that "uncovered loads will be charged extra." The big rig dump trucks all have a giant roller shade tarp. So there must be a law.
There is always a local truck hauling bees that rolls over on the highway that makes the news every year. They usually are well tarped with screens and travel at night while the bees sleep. I have slowly driven past one or two in the daylight.
Bil lD

[Jim Koepke]

In California I see signs at the dumps that "uncovered loads will be charged extra."

California does have a law about loads being covered. In my old neighborhood many people discovered this on their way to the dump when stopped by a Highway Patrol officer.


23114.
a. No vehicle shall be driven or moved on any highway unless the vehicle is so constructed, covered, or loaded as to prevent any of its contents or load other than clear water or feathers from live birds from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.

From > http://cleanmv.org/California%20State%20Tarp%20Law.pdf

Each state has different ways of dealing with this.

See more at> http://www.pulltarps.com/State_and_Federal_Truck_Tarping_Laws.htm#C < This has the regulations for each state. Some states do not have load tarping requirements.

jtk

[Bill Dufour]

I have noticed in the last 10-15 years that cement trucks went from nothing to fitted fabric covers to factory made metal slides to cover the dump chute. This is all so the truck does not drop globs of wet concrete onto the road. I assume the same time frame as the tarp on the dump trucks.
Bill D

https://www.concretemixersupply.com/parts/ss11800/

[Jim Becker]

Not just California. It's pretty common, AFAIK, to require loads that can "escape" to be covered for both cleanliness and safety.

[Ronald Blue]

Not just California. It's pretty common, AFAIK, to require loads that can "escape" to be covered for both cleanliness and safety.

What Jim says. Basically anywhere you go if it's something that can blow out it has to be covered. The "power tarps" are very common. Grain haulers have them that roll to one side for rolling not unlike an awning on a camper. Could you build your own like this Paul?

amazon.com/Dump-Trailer-Tarp-Economy-Shipping/dp/B016AS5LUO?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_9 (https://www.amazon.com/Dump-Trailer-Tarp-Economy-Shipping/dp/B016AS5LUO?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_9)

[Paul F Franklin]

Don't really know if a cover is required here in Ohio, I assume so, but to me it's a no-brainer to cover a load that is certainly going to blow out otherwise....

Thanks for all the suggestions! I really like the idea of a roll out cover so I'm going to look into it further.

[Jerome Stanek]

I don't know if this still applies but back around 95 the one dump had a sign saying all trailers and open trucks must be tarped to enter. When I worked for a crop service here in OH we would tarp any thing that could blow out of the trucks or spreader trailers.