Plastic tarps!

[Animal]

Does anyone else hate these things as bad as i do? What are they good for? I have not used one yet that the eyelets have not torn out of them. I am sorry I am just on a rant here but I had to vent.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Now there you go Animal, startin a big flap.

A few years ago I got a pretty large plastic tarp to cover my pool temporarily. The first night a 40+ MPH wind came through and shredded it. The grommets were still secured to the planks.

 

[Rod in Smiths Falls, ON]

I covered my boat against heavy snowfall for twenty-five years with plastic tarps. First make sure that what you are tarping is structurally sound.

Then think about what you are doing. If you use the grommets your tarping job will fail, so don't use them. Take a 3/8" braided rope of good quality. Grab a handful of plastic tarp. Wrap the rope around the handful and tie it tightly. The knot I used started with half a regular reef knot, but then I passsed the rope around the inside of it, putting additional stress on the tarp with each wind. Then I tied the thing off with a half-hitch. I've never had the knot fail.

 

[RobMD]

The trick is in keeping the tarp from flopping around in the wind. Flapping around causes the grommets to pull out. In addition to using bungee cords in the grommets, I take 3/8" rope and go around the WHOLE object so that the whole tarp is encompassed by the tarp. Sometimes i"ll even put bricks on top of the tarp.

But then again, the stuff I have listed above takes a while to do. However, that should not give anyone an excuse not to protect their investment.

 

[Michael Soldan]

RobMD, You are absolutely right, a tarp don't last long flapping in the wind!

 

[rrlund]

I've found one good use for them. I put one in the gravity wagon when I haul fertilizer. Put the fertilizer right on top of it. Then you just open the door a little,cut a slit in it to let the fertilizer run out in to the auger. When you're done,take the tarp out and the box is clean. The fertilizer never touches it.

 

[saskpat]

The real problem is that the quality of the tarps has gone downhill. They may have come down in price, but they don't stand up to the elements at all and the grommets rip out far easier than they used to. Most seem to turn to shreds in the sunlight in less than a year. There are still a few good tarps I have found made in North America, but I haven't had any luck with the imported ones.

 

[Dave from MN]

For the price of em the are very practical. They come in almost every size imagineable. As stated if they are secured properly, and not over stretched, properly folded up and stored out of the weather, they last for ever. My pa has had the same ones for years and years. I, at 37 have finally learned how to get the most out of them.

 

[joe etx]

best tarps i ever got was from a road side billboard advertiser,same tarps you see driving down road,45 *25 with ads..painted on and bungy straped to sign board on road side.i got 10 or so for 25.00 each. cover round bales stacked side by side and one down center,cover all thats needed.check in yellow pages or call that number on bill board
joe

 

[fixerupper]

If you are a farmer or live in a farming area you can sometimes get ahold of some used grain pile tarp. It's a lot tougher plastic than the stuff you buy at the store. You can get eyes to put in it at places like Wally world if you need them. When I last got some at the local elevator they dumped it in the back of the pickup with a payloader and it made the pickup squat quite a bit. I had enough to cover the whole house when I was re-roofing and that was less than half of it.

It's not especially good looking unless you like black, white, or silver, but it's FREE.Jim

 

[Anonymous-0]

I find the cheap blue tarps are only good for one winter, but there is also several different grades of tarps availible with of course, steeper prices for the better ones. Like it was said ealier, try to minimise flopping as much as possible so the tarp doesn't get worn out that way.

 

[37 chief]

The blue ones are only good for one season, as someone else mentioned. Someone gave me some plastic that was used to line railroad box cars to keep them dry. vert tough, but the best cover I found is some stuff I got from work when they got rid of a water holding pond. It is called hyplon (spelling) I throw it over my tractor with a chain on each end to hole it down. Stan

 

[Anonymous-0]

KD lumber comes to lumber yard in plastic wraps.Ive used these wraps a lot.Get them free.

 

[doogdoog]

Aloha,
I have been using tarps for years covering various things (used to last long) and the one"s that they have now are junk. I live where there is a lot of sun and the UV destroys them in a couple of months. Now, I cover the tarp with surplus Army tent material to protect the tarp from the UV. The tarp keeps the water off and the tent material protects the tarp from the UV. No, I don"t erect the tent over the tarp but just lay the fabric over the tarp and tie it with rope. May sound stupid bit it works. LOL

Mahalo,
doogdoog

 

[hayray]

I buy the double thickness gray tarps and get 3 to 4 years out of them covering round bale stacks. It took me a few years to learn how to do it correctly so the tarps last. As mentioned earlier by a couple, keep them from flapping in the wind.

 

[Nolan]

Color and price are a pretty good indicator of quality when it comes to plastic tarps.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Lol, big flap, lol...