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A quick guide to troubleshooting issues by rooting out common causes, like arm damage, and preventing them from happening in the first place before they lead to costly downtime.
By Keith Lowe and Kevin Anderson

It is a frustrating ordeal when your tarp system just will not cooperate. You are likely experiencing one of the many problems that spring or hydraulic tarp system operators typically encounter, like a stubborn tarp unable to roll up straight. Here is a quick guide to troubleshoot issues by rooting out common causes, like arm damage, and preventing them from happening in the first place before they lead to costly downtime.

Tarp Inability to Evenly Roll Up
Even when the system is mounted squarely in position, it is one of the most common problems with hydraulic and spring tarp systems: a tarp that will not roll up straight. To avoid this annoyance, check to ensure that these factors are not the root cause of the issue:

• Wind: Even a light crosswind can cause a tarp to roll up to one side, as it creates more tension on one side than the other.
• Existing Tarp Damage: When a tarp is torn and a zip tie is used to close the open area, that shortened area will cause the tarp to roll up to the side that was repaired.
• Uneven Ground: If your vehicle is leaning to one side because of this, your tarp will roll up to the lower side.
• Faulty Components: Spring pivots can weaken, roller springs can break, hydraulic cylinders can be out of sync, and, most commonly, arms may be damaged on one side (more on that in the following sections).

Bent or Broken Arms: How It Happens
A system’s upper arms are vulnerable to damage during a dump truck’s container-loading process, specifically when the operator is lowering the container. With minimal clearance (3″ on each side) to operate, the probability of contact with the arm is quite high during this sequence.

Arms are exposed to potential damage when a tarp gets rolled up to one side, as they are forced in that same direction. This places the arm in the container’s strike zone when it is lowered.
Failing to properly check for objects protruding from the container is also an opportunity for arm damage.

Preventing Arm Damage
Unlike the non-mechanical reasons for an uneven tarp roll up (wind/tarp damage/uneven ground), a broken or bent arm does require some technical maintenance—but it is also preventable with proper operator training:
• Before lowering a container from a position near the top of the cab down to the travel position (fully down), the driver must be aware of where the tarp arms are located.
• If the tarp is rolled up to one side, it is obvious that there is a high possibility the container will hit the arm located within the strike zone. Train your operators to be alert about this situation.
• An operator must also be aware if the truck is on uneven ground (e.g., the driver’s side is lower than the passenger side), as it is possible that the hoist with a loaded container can move slightly to the downhill side while being lowered. This situation is more prevalent on older hoists that have not been well kept.

Maintenance and Safety Inspections
While operator training is important for proper tarp roll-out and arm maintenance, it is vital to regularly inspect containers for damage and protruding objects that can break arms or create hydraulic leaks. A simple walkaround inspection by the operator would suffice and should include being aware of any overhead obstacles. The time and cost to replace a spring-loaded arm versus a hydraulic pivoting arm is, at a minimum, half the time and cost.

Lockout/tagout procedures should always be used when working on tarping systems and vary, depending on the type of system. If you do not know the LOTO procedures, contact the manufacturer of your tarp system.

More Parts, More Problems
Simply put, improving operator awareness can do wonders in terms of prevention, once operators are trained in the various ways damage can occur. With more moving parts, come the possibility of more maintenance costs, system ownership costs, and downtime.

While hydraulic pivots or steel springs are the standard these days, there are innovators out there working on systems that will operate with neither. Sounds like an advancement worth waiting for. | WA

Keith Lowe is a 38-year waste industry veteran who began his career in landfills, transferring to the hauling side and eventually to manufacturing. He has excelled in sales, safety, and operations during the first half of his career. This experience gave him a solid foundation when transitioning to a sales role in waste equipment manufacturing. Keith understands the importance of safety and the needs of the end user. He can be reached at (713) 817-7726 or e-mail [email protected].

Kevin Anderson is a Marketing Communication Specialist for the Commercial Vehicle Division of Safe Fleet. With a marketing career in digital spaces of 15 years and counting, his extensive portfolio includes publication articles, blog articles, social media posts, newsletters, press releases, video scripts, social videos, playbooks, websites, and print and digital ads. Kevin can be reached at [email protected].
Headquartered in Gladwin, MI, Roll Rite® A Safe Fleet Brand, designs and manufactures application-specific automated and semiautomated tarping systems, motors, controls, and tarps for open body dump trucks, open-top trailer, and detachable containers serving the Construction, Agriculture, Waste, and Recycling markets. With the additions of Automatic Load Covering and Pulltarps® manufacturing acquisitions, Roll-Rite has one of the most complete product portfolios available to customers. Roll-Rite systems quickly and reliably contain and protect payloads, create a safer working environment for drivers, and maximize return-on-investment by increasing revenues and reducing the cost of ownership. For more information, visit .