We have recently been working on a lot of tippers that have been carting cotton seed. Cotton seed as a cattle feed is a low cost alternative protein and roughage source utilising a product that would otherwise have no further use to the cotton industry. It’s a great use of a gin by-product.
Additionally, it's lightweight so trucks can be loaded to full capacity with this product. But herein lies the catch.... Yes, it's lightweight, meaning the bin can be filled to capacity, but it's so light that often the bin is full before it reaches full weight - creating a temptation to try to squeeze in just a little bit more to get up to maximum weight.
As a tarp manufacturer and installer this raises red flags for us immediately! Think loaders trying to get just a little more product in and inadvertently hitting and damaging a centre bar, cross bows or pelmets. Think loads peaked up in the centre causing the tarp to be tight in the centre and loose on the ends - making the ends flap and wear.
Carting Cotton Seed and Getting the Most out of your Load
How to Avoid Damaging Your Roll-Over Tarp
 | If it’s possible and safe to do so, level the load out so there are no high and low spots. |
 | Load the cotton just a little higher than the bows, roll the tarp over and secure under the lock angle. You may only just get the tarp under the lock angle without rolling it back around the pipe at all. In 5 or 10km’s down the road once the load has settled, re-tighten the tarp. Repeat this again in another 50km’s or so down the road once the load has had a really good chance to settle. By now you should be able to get a couple of tarp wraps around the pipe. |
 | If you know you will be carting cotton, tell us when you order a new tarp and we will make your tarp with a bigger drop on the driver side to assist with the above step. |
 | Avoid the temptation of asking the loader driver to push the load down with their bucket! |
Cotton seed can be a challenging product to cart at times, but hopefully by following these simple steps you can avoid bin and tarp damage; a much more costly issue in the long run than the value of a little bit of extra cotton seed in the load.
We hope this advice helps you; it's just one of the services we offer to keep our customers on the move.
Until next time…
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