Your truck is amazing for transporting all of your belongings around. However, the back of your truck is susceptible to theft and items falling out. Let us take a very close look at five tips for protecting your truck load.
1. Lighter goes lower
To start things off, lighter things should be placed underneath heavier things. At first, this might seem a little counterintuitive because you might be tempted to form a sturdy base. However, you want to make sure that your lighter objects don’t fly off at any costs. When they’re tucked underneath, they won’t be able to roll off onto the highway.
2. Don’t overload
Next in line, don’t overload your truck. This might seem obvious, but it can’t be emphasized enough that a truck’s load should be kept in check. Unlike an elevator or airplane, it’s difficult to determine how much is too much. Sirens won’t go off when you exceed the limit. When in doubt, always fall on the safe side so your truck lives to see another day. Overloading a truck goes beyond the sheer weight of the load. You need to consider the height of your load and how far it protrudes behind the vehicle. As you drive under bridges and next to other vehicles, you don’t want to pose a safety hazard to those around you.
3. Use a tarp
In the grand scheme of things, you definitely want to use some sort of tarp to protect the load. This protects the load against constant exposure to the sun if you will be driving all day. It’s also a great line of defense against wind and rain. Moreover, it prevents people from peeking into the back of your track and seeing all your valuables. There’s no reason your load should be exposed for any reason, so simply use a tarp to cover things up. A regular blue tarp should do the trick.
4. Tie things down
However, a tarp isn’t enough to keep things secure. In order to make sure that the load doesn’t move around, you want to tie it down with some sturdy rope. Learn the best packing knots for the job. Once everything is tied down, test out the truck with a few accelerations. Check that nothing slides around even an inch. In addition, it’s not a good idea to fully load up your truck and try to secure everything with one huge rope and knot. You’re better off with smaller pieces of rope and tying knots along the way. You never know whether there will be a lack of friction that leads to a lot of slippage.
5. Check doors and mirrors
Last but not least, check the doors and mirrors of the vehicle. It’s a common misconception that a truck’s load is all about what happens on the rear end. A protected, secure load starts with the body of the truck as well. If your doors won’t close or your mirrors are misaligned, there’s a decent chance that your load will run into trouble as well. Conduct your standard safety checks on the front half of the vehicle to ensure that the back half is safe and sound.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, these are a couple of tips for protecting your truck load. When you stuff your truck to its maximum capacity, you need to be extra careful. Use these tips on your next road trip to keep everything intact.
