Hi, how should you secure a load in a Curtainsider? Do drivers always use straps or is gravity enough? Are the straps that suspend from the roof enough to restrain a load?
Best security is a ratchet strap from one side to the other from the side raves (the bit you latch the curtain under) but internal straps (the ones from the roof) are ok for light loads if they are replicated on the other side. Shouldn’t really leave anything unrestrained in case of a pull but really light ones really wouldn’t cause any safety issues IMO.
With internal straps you can stop them from moving backwards by arranging them like an X at the back of the load. Internals shouldn’t be used for any heavy stuff through.
Thanks, that’s good advice. Just wondering, how do you throw straps over a high load in a trailer?
Pull the strap till its nearly out the ratchet roll it up and keeping hold of the ratchet throw the roll up and over the load making sure no one is the other side of the trailer as a whack off a strap coming down comes bloody sharp.
Walk round the other side clip the hook under the trailer walk back round take the slack up and do the strap up tight, secure your load then get the curtains tight as you can and job done.
Hope this helps
Jeff .
To be prudent with internals, get them out of the headboard and slide them to the back before loading begins, you don’t want to be in a situation of clambering up trying to get the straps out. With ratchet straps, separate the strap and the ratchet and roll up the strap with the metal clip on the outside (you don’t want to be putting a hole in the roof/damaging load/knocking out a person on the other side). Hold the metal clip and reel in one hand and throw it over the top keeping hold of the clip, try and keep it as smooth/straight as possible or you could end up twisting it, but that’s quite common so if it does it’s not really a big deal.
Get the ratchet and close it so you can feed the strap through the bottom and then pull it down away from the ratchet, pull it all the way through as tight as you can by hand and then use the ratchet then close the ratchet again after it’s tight, pay attention to the top of the load to make sure it’s not getting damaged. To release, pull the spring loaded clip and then open the ratchet and pull the strap out.
It’s a good idea if you store the straps neatly for the next driver as you don’t want to be the one pulling 10 tangled ratchet straps out of the lockers.
The internal straps need to be pulled taught, placed on the side raves and then clipped shut. Not much to them really.
Thanks for the advice guys, I’ll practice next week.
Have a look on youtube, there are some good videos on how to use the ratchet straps properly.
Never used the internal straps inside a curtain sider, Only used one a few times for very light, not too high pallets, if I had high pallets, stacked one on top of the other - I’d need to dig out the straps. As a new driver, the first time I was out in a curtain sider (accompanied by someone with even less experience than me) we couldn’t for the life of us figure out how to use them 
Saw a curtain sider in our yard the other day, guy opened the curtains and pallets were stacked 2 high front to back, he had used the interior straps, wish I’d had the time to go and pick his brain