How To Identify The Perfect Poly Tarp

Purchasing your poly truck tarps from Mytee Products ensures you will be getting a high-quality product capable of performing as you expect it to. From lumber tarps to steel to smoke tarps, we make it our mission to carry only those products that provide truck drivers with the quality they need.

Experienced drivers who have been using them for years, know exactly what type of poly tarp they require, however new drivers who might be looking to save some money might miss out on the key qualities of a good poly tarp.These are essential characteristics for poly tarps one should pay attention to when making purchase decisions as they go a long way in determining how well a tarp will perform and how long it will last:

Tarp Color

Shopping for tarps reveals you can purchase them in a variety of colors including blue, black, red, green, yellow, and silver. There are canvas tarps as well. Please be aware that manufacturers do not choose colors at random. The color of a tarp will tell you its general strength without you having to look at the specifications. This can help you weed out undesirable products so you can concentrate only on the ones capable of doing the job.

Truck drivers will typically be looking for black, blue or red tarps, depending on their needs. Stay away from anything that is green, yellow, silver, or camouflaged unless you are looking for something for light duty work.

poly tarp

Tarp Construction

Tarp construction is a big one. Just like a building, a tarp manufactured according to best practices is the one that will last the longest and do the best job. To begin with, you are looking for poly tarps using a woven fabric. A woven polyethylene is a plastic fabric that is incredibly durable. Woven is better than non-woven because any tears or holes one might incur are not likely to spread.

Other factors to consider include double stitched seams, reinforced grommets and box stitched D-rings. Where the grommets and D-rings are concerned, you can never go wrong with quantity. There should be an ample supply of both, properly spaced all around the outer edge. For lumber tarps, D-rings are especially important on drop downs.

Fabric Strength (thread size)

When you are dealing with linen products or canvas, fabric strength is determined partly by thread count. In terms of poly tarps, it is thread size that matters. Take one of our heavy-duty steel tarps for example. We use a base cloth of 1,000 x 1,000 Denier in a heavy-duty, 18-ounce vinyl. This makes for an exceptionally strong fabric that holds up very well.

The absolute minimum for most flatbed trucking jobs is 700-800 Denier. The higher the thread size, the stronger the fabric. Fabric can also be made stronger by applying a laminate.

Environmental Exposure

The average poly tarp is treated to provide UV protection. It is also moisture resistant as well as resistant to both mold and rot. Such environmental exposure standards should be the bare minimum when purchasing flatbed truck tarps. In regards to lumber tarps specifically, the driver needs to go one step further to make sure tarps are heat-sealed to make them waterproof. This is non-negotiable. Lumber must be kept dry, or it could be rejected by a receiver upon delivery.

Knowing what to look for will make your shopping experience easier and more productive. As always, we encourage you to purchase your truck tarps from Mytee Products. We offer competitive pricing, fast delivery, and high quality. You will find everything you need for load securement and cargo protection in our online store including tarps, straps, and edge protectors.