Well i used to stand & watch my father wen i was a youngster,wen i went with him in the wagon,then wen i started in the 70s,i had no problem,back sheet on first,font sheet on next,roped if needed,then Fly sheet,i never roped on a Fly sheet,If i carried fertilizer it was always shrinkwrapped,then Fly sheet would do that job,Norman croad,Torquay,Devon…If ever i went to load something dodgy,i would watch the bloke in front of me how he loaded his load,then i wud do the same,or just ask!
it doest cost u anything to ask drivers if u get a bit stuck how to place a load on a vehicle.Norman Croad,Torquay…
Hi all I started r&s at 14 I used to shunt in port talbot every trailer loaded with coil was tidy leaving the works ,there are coils and some sheeted paper reels out of British tissues maesteg and a prothroes with fertilizer
Tdw with sheeted eye to sky coils
gunnerheskey:
Did a couple of days on here on agency a few years ago, and the lads in the loading bay were quite suprised when i said i could rope it and sheet it myself, as they were told when the agency lad arrives make sure its sheeted. Not exactly a load of reels on a flat but still nice to do a load every now and again…
.
Don’t know if these count but all the same it still kept my hand in the game a bit…
The last 3 widdowson pics was my lorry, always had to do the full works, even though its only a fly…
You need a medal sheeting in those conditions. What with the extra weight and drag of the sodden sheets, nor to mention the wet ropes. Dare say when the sun appears and does its job , that will look a nice tight load 
smallcoal:
Hi all I started r&s at 14 I used to shunt in port talbot every trailer loaded with coil was tidy leaving the works ,there are coils and some sheeted paper reels out of British tissues maesteg and a prothroes with fertilizer
Try sheeting a 20 ton coil with wet sheets it’s hard when you got to throw the top sheet over, and you do that all day ,or in the paper mills you are knackered at the end
Try loading wool bales gunshot and rolling 96 on a 40’ flat trailer, dropped on the rear end had to roll every one the length of the trailer, 14’6" high when loaded, then came the fun part sheeting and roping, not much fun on a winters day with a howling wind blowing the sheets off, throw out one sheet climb down tie the corners [if you were lucky] if not roll the sheet up again and try to get it back up on top again, you could hardly lift them when wet let alone get them up again, after this performance you had to climb back up and start again with the other sheet, sheets on now the ropes, double dollies etc. the whole works, hands dripping blood from cracks you have had for months, this was on a regular basis if you were a lorry driver from Bradford, at least when you had done you had the luxury of climbing into the Atki with a 180 Gardner or the like, still have the scars on my hands as a reminder of my past life, would go back tomorrow if I could good old days [and nights] 
Les
smallcoal:
Rotherwas loaded with coils,also joints loaded as well
aahhh the Renault turboliner the most comfortable motor I have ever driven and slept in . wouldn’t have bought one though.
David Bratts of Cheadle Cheshire are looking for drivers to rope and sheet six days a week if you fancy getting some good old cuts n blisters n tugging on some wet sheets on a windy day n nobody to lend a hand at the forgotten art.
Personally times moved on and the tautliners is KING rip flat trailers.
Anyone can be taught to open and close curtains nowadays but it was an entirely differen’t matter to learn the correct way to sheet and rope correctly ! While a lot of drivers managed to “get by” many who had been in the job for years never mastered the skill fully as you could see by some of the disgraceful attempts you saw flapping up and down the roads in days gone by !! However when you did see a lorry or trailer sheeted and roped in an immaculate fashion it sure was a sight to admire ! I was once told that the farther you went North the higher the standards became ( I suppose a lot of the Scottish drivers were acknowledged to be masters of their craft ) but believe me there were bad,passable and excellent fleets throughout the country ! I will vouch for that as we employed drivers from all over the country and in the main those lads were as good as any you would find ! Does anyone else have an opinion positive or negative on the skill of sheeting and roping !! To start the thread off I will put one or two Bewick photos on . 
Hi, yes quite agree about the art of roping and sheeting, I was tought by an old driver,repeatly doing and undoing harvest slip knots,and sheeting and unsheeting a load, but still made a ■■■■ up on the first solo load,potatoes out of Pembrook to salop. When I finally got the load to the destinenation I got realy bollocked by the boys unloading about the state of the sheets, I made sure the next load was perfect & never made that mistake again.
To see a proper sheeted load with all the rope double harvest knotted, all the knots being at the same height is a joy, far better looking and a lot more pride than a curtainsider,curtain a lot quicker though !. 
hardest load to sheet ? recon a artic load of woolsheets after multi collections !
Bewick:
Anyone can be taught to open and close curtains nowadays but it was an entirely differen’t matter to learn the correct way to sheet and rope correctly ! While a lot of drivers managed to “get by” many who had been in the job for years never mastered the skill fully as you could see by some of the disgraceful attempts you saw flapping up and down the roads in days gone by !! However when you did see a lorry or trailer sheeted and roped in an immaculate fashion it sure was a sight to admire ! I was once told that the farther you went North the higher the standards became ( I suppose a lot of the Scottish drivers were acknowledged to be masters of their craft ) but believe me there were bad,passable and excellent fleets throughout the country ! I will vouch for that as we employed drivers from all over the country and in the main those lads were as good as any you would find ! Does anyone else have an opinion positive or negative on the skill of sheeting and roping !! To start the thread off I will put one or two Bewick photos on .
Hi Dennis,
I think Harry Gill did a thread on this theme,if he didn’t he certainly had a lot of input into it,as you know that was the thing that Harry’s generation did as normal,no curtains then.
Cheers Dave.
I think the worst sheeted and roped loads were driven by drivers who couldn’t be bothered to ask for guidance off more experienced men.I was used to carrying steel and the first time I carried anything like a high load was paper reels out of Reeds at Sittingbourne(I think). The fork truck driver was an ex driver and showed me how to go on because I asked,like running a part slack rope up and down the bottom lifts so that the top lifts bit into them to stop them sliding and helping me to sheet up as well as providing a chock for the back reels.
Must have been my lucky day,anyway they got to Heinz at Wigan in one piece
Dave the Renegade:
Bewick:
Anyone can be taught to open and close curtains nowadays but it was an entirely differen’t matter to learn the correct way to sheet and rope correctly ! While a lot of drivers managed to “get by” many who had been in the job for years never mastered the skill fully as you could see by some of the disgraceful attempts you saw flapping up and down the roads in days gone by !! However when you did see a lorry or trailer sheeted and roped in an immaculate fashion it sure was a sight to admire ! I was once told that the farther you went North the higher the standards became ( I suppose a lot of the Scottish drivers were acknowledged to be masters of their craft ) but believe me there were bad,passable and excellent fleets throughout the country ! I will vouch for that as we employed drivers from all over the country and in the main those lads were as good as any you would find ! Does anyone else have an opinion positive or negative on the skill of sheeting and roping !! To start the thread off I will put one or two Bewick photos on .Hi Dennis,
I think Harry Gill did a thread on this theme,if he didn’t he certainly had a lot of input into it,as you know that was the thing that Harry’s generation did as normal,no curtains then.
Cheers Dave.
This is a shot of the back-ends of a selection of our flat trailers with a variety of loads on them.
Bewick:
Dave the Renegade:
Bewick:
Anyone can be taught to open and close curtains nowadays but it was an entirely differen’t matter to learn the correct way to sheet and rope correctly ! While a lot of drivers managed to “get by” many who had been in the job for years never mastered the skill fully as you could see by some of the disgraceful attempts you saw flapping up and down the roads in days gone by !! However when you did see a lorry or trailer sheeted and roped in an immaculate fashion it sure was a sight to admire ! I was once told that the farther you went North the higher the standards became ( I suppose a lot of the Scottish drivers were acknowledged to be masters of their craft ) but believe me there were bad,passable and excellent fleets throughout the country ! I will vouch for that as we employed drivers from all over the country and in the main those lads were as good as any you would find ! Does anyone else have an opinion positive or negative on the skill of sheeting and roping !! To start the thread off I will put one or two Bewick photos on .Hi Dennis,
I think Harry Gill did a thread on this theme,if he didn’t he certainly had a lot of input into it,as you know that was the thing that Harry’s generation did as normal,no curtains then.
Cheers Dave.This is a shot of the back-ends of a selection of our flat trailers with a variety of loads on them.
A single wheeled tandem stood in the depot loaded with reels.
I was lucky enough to be able to sheet a load long before I started driving myself, I was always with my Dad in the holidays, Saturdays & any other day I could wangle a day off of school, I learned the noble art firstly by watching, then getting in the way, then finally helping out. When I finally started driving heavies I had flats so I started doing it all on my own, I reckon I was pretty decent at it, not the quickest, but I was taught to do each load as if I was taking it to John O Groats, stopping to tie up loose ropes or flapping sheets was not doing it properly. I ended up doing two or three regular loads & set my stall out accordingly, with ropes of differing lengths & combining different sheets for each load, I would’ve been able to carry pretty much anything with confidence. I then got a curtainsider, no more getting filthy dirty, no more clambering on top of loads, thank ■■■■ for that 
When I first went to Canada I was doing flat work, it was like riding a bike, I knew how to do it, but it didn’t half make me ache
Those old pics of Bewicks trailers are a prime example of masters at work, you can keep all your chrome & lights, you won’t see a better looking outfit than a 111 Scania pulling a well sheeted flat 
newmercman:
I was lucky enough to be able to sheet a load long before I started driving myself, I was always with my Dad in the holidays, Saturdays & any other day I could wangle a day off of school, I learned the noble art firstly by watching, then getting in the way, then finally helping out. When I finally started driving heavies I had flats so I started doing it all on my own, I reckon I was pretty decent at it, not the quickest, but I was taught to do each load as if I was taking it to John O Groats, stopping to tie up loose ropes or flapping sheets was not doing it properly. I ended up doing two or three regular loads & set my stall out accordingly, with ropes of differing lengths & combining different sheets for each load, I would’ve been able to carry pretty much anything with confidence. I then got a curtainsider, no more getting filthy dirty, no more clambering on top of loads, thank [zb] for thatWhen I first went to Canada I was doing flat work, it was like riding a bike, I knew how to do it, but it didn’t half make me ache
Those old pics of Bewicks trailers are a prime example of masters at work, you can keep all your chrome & lights, you won’t see a better looking outfit than a 111 Scania pulling a well sheeted flat
Here’s another shot of the trailer park.
Bewick:
newmercman:
I was lucky enough to be able to sheet a load long before I started driving myself, I was always with my Dad in the holidays, Saturdays & any other day I could wangle a day off of school, I learned the noble art firstly by watching, then getting in the way, then finally helping out. When I finally started driving heavies I had flats so I started doing it all on my own, I reckon I was pretty decent at it, not the quickest, but I was taught to do each load as if I was taking it to John O Groats, stopping to tie up loose ropes or flapping sheets was not doing it properly. I ended up doing two or three regular loads & set my stall out accordingly, with ropes of differing lengths & combining different sheets for each load, I would’ve been able to carry pretty much anything with confidence. I then got a curtainsider, no more getting filthy dirty, no more clambering on top of loads, thank [zb] for thatWhen I first went to Canada I was doing flat work, it was like riding a bike, I knew how to do it, but it didn’t half make me ache
Those old pics of Bewicks trailers are a prime example of masters at work, you can keep all your chrome & lights, you won’t see a better looking outfit than a 111 Scania pulling a well sheeted flat
Here’s another shot of the trailer park.
A nice tidy tandem stood next to a dreaded Tautliner!!
I’ve only been driving for almost a year now, almost everything now is behind curtains or just strapped down. The company I work for as an engineer has 2 lorries which I drive when needed. I’ve seen them roped and sheeted and dread the day I have to do it with no help as the only guy that would know how to do it is off. Its something Id love to be shown how to do properly but then not much people now will give you the time of day to show you.
Great pics there Bewick,
I havent lost the skill but any future employers out here wont be getting to find out about