Due to the wind I have seen a fair few motors with the curtains pulled back some doors open some shut. I had been told modern curtainsiders shouldn’t be run like this as the curtain is part of the strength of the trailer.
The trailers I pull seem very flimsy. If you undo all the posts it’s very hard to do them up as the roof seems to drop. So is there a way of knowing what trailer is sutiable to run open.
I find by doing the curtains aa tight as possible then the buckles the same it seems to resist the wind a bit better.
Sorry to ask but I’m new to this curtainsider business.
I wouldn’t be arsed myself, just slow down if it gets hairy.
I don’t see how the curtains can add to the strength of the trailer and I wouldn’t bother taking the posts out because they do. Don’t know about the back doors, ask your boss then you can’t get bollocked for breaking it.
Silver_Surfer:
I wouldn’t be arsed myself, just slow down if it gets hairy.
Sounds about right to me. If it’s that bad park it up, drop the legs, pull the pin and move forward a couple of feet. Deal with it once the weather improves, assuming your trailer is still on it’s wheels.
If you really have to drive, and assuming you are on a motorway, then try to run alongside another truck where possible. The reason for this is that contrary to common perception, it is not the force of wind blowing you over that will cause you to break your mirrors, it has more to do with the negative pressure (or vaccum if you like) which is created on the downwind side which will usually succeed in ‘pulling’ you over. However, if you are running parallel with another truck (or other large vehicle) then the vacuum has to be twice as strong to have the same effect, meaning you are half as likely to be pulled over on your side.
KR, you told me something on the phone earlier about 2 trailers and their roofs, running with the curtains open will increase the likelihood of this, it has also been know for fixed roof trailers to be lifted by the wind getting under the roof
personally, i would do what you did and get the curtains as tight as possible
From another windy thread.
Coffeeholic:
The real Biffo:
Empty HGV, curtains closed, plus high winds = oops! road blocked for a few hours.Or with modern trailers,
Empty HGV, curtains open, plus high winds = oops, that’s my roof on top of those cars in lane 3. And rather interestingly it looks like it has also decapitated that fat bloke on the motorcycle. Could you drag him over here please officer so I can get a better look? Road blocked for a few hours.
I think I’ve only done it once. I had an Estron euroliner coming back home on a Friday and rather than park up for the night or even longer I wanted to be home so I opened the curtains, pulled them to the front, slid the roof to the front and strapped all that in place, then strapped all the wooden boards to the floor with span sets and lastly opened the rear doors and put another span set over the top to hold them in place. Never had a problem and had a very comfortable ride back home in some very strong winds and put it all back together again in the dock ready to ship over to Holland. I’ve never had a trailer with a solid roof so I can’t comment on those as everything I’ve pulled has been euroliners and tilts. I’d never run with a sliding roof closed, I’d imagine it’d soon rip off as they’re quite flimsy at best. I’ve seen trucks driving down the road with their sliding roofs flapping in to the air behind them like a large kite!
Hang on and enjoy the ride?
I have been lifted from the road, running a curtainsider with the curtains open 
Experience tells me, it is best to run as normal…And just enjoy the experience, but be ready to do what you have to do if it gets hairy…Including parking up, only you can make this decision…But you can keep running with curtains open…Not pleasant.
I did hear yrs ago that if the curtains are pulled to the rear and the doors opened and strapped together there is less possibility of roof blowing off.Dont know if theres any truth in this as i never did it.
regards dave.
Either do curtains as tight as you can, or tie curtains back and open doors so wind goes straight through and doesn’t lift roof
I opend the curtains for the first time today. Curtains to the back, doors closed, 5 span sets over the roof. This was with a euroliner an I never had any problems
I’ve run with curtains open, but always made sure the doors are open too. Cleans the trailer up nicely 
However, definately DO NOT run with your posts out, they are the supports for the roof, some trailers have up to 6 posts and some may have re-inforced roofs with no posts, but you can see the difference in the build quality. If they are shut then tight as possible, although it is hard to tighten them if the wind is blowing them when you are closing them on your own, and some older trailers leave a lot do be desired in the strap / buckle department. Whatever the case, if your not sure then slow it down, you only have to look at the amount of box trailers that are sat in fields with adverts on them that are not on their wheels…AND THEY AREN’T EVEN MOVING !!!