One of the best forum responses I’ve seen. Accurate, full and to the point. Well done all!
PS. Dave, permission to use pickys? 
Peter Smythe:
One of the best forum responses I’ve seen. Accurate, full and to the point. Well done all!
PS. Dave, permission to use pickys?
Thanks for that Peter. 
Yes mate, you’re welcome to use my pics. 
A couple of videos which may help.
Notice the movement of the uprights in the second video and how it works, these can vary a bit but I’d say the ones in the video are typical.
Wheel Nut:
It’s a good thread, no one will know about every type used, but remember one thing!TENSION!
That means it wants to take the tip of your finger or nose off when you release it, just have a look at the ratchet and pawls before you press or pull anything.
And don’t forget the curtain is only there to protect the goods from the elements, it is not load bearing.
And the curtain poles bloody hurt if they hit your head 
ROG:
chris_89:
I’m just a bit worried that as it’s though an agency I’d just be expected to turn up and know what to do.They can expect what they like but point out one driver on here who knows everything ■■?
I know how to operate the curtains but I’ve never done fridge or tipper work so does that make me any more or less of a driver than you… of course not
You 
No probs dieseldave, your post really put me at ease as I was worried about it!
Anyway, did it today and…
It was [zb]ing box wagon!!! LOL
In the job description it said you’d be driving a ‘curtain sided’ truck. It was 6 drops in a dirty old Iveco thing. Was actually pretty cool to drive though. 8 speed slapover box (learnt in a 12 speed splitter) but drove it no problems which was cool. Only problem I encountered was when I got to the first drop I couldn’t get the bloody tail lift down 
The guy showed me in the yard but I never actually tried it myself. Both the catches were rusty as hell so it was a right job to do. Luckily the guy at the first drop busted out some WD40!
All in all it was cool and I enjoyed really myself! I pulled out of the yard grinning like a cheshire cat as it was the first time I’d been out in a wagon on my own
chris_89:
No probs dieseldave, your post really put me at ease as I was worried about it!Anyway, did it today and…
It was [zb]ing box wagon!!! LOL
Hi chris_89, I’m glad that you found my post to be of use.
It also looks like you enjoyed the job, which is a bonus, but I can confirm that box wagons don’t usually have curtains.
dieseldave:
chris_89:
Hi guys. May have a weeks work next week driving a curtain sided truck. Having never used one of these things in my life, is there any guides on their operation? Don’t want to turn up and look a pillock because I don’t know what I’m doing…Thanks in advance!
ChrisHi chris_89,
Pease bear in mind that a curtain needs to be tensioned BOTH horizontally AND vertically…
Below is my attempt to give you the basics…To open a curtain, first you need to get rid of the vertical tension.
To do this, you open the “buckles” by pulling downwards on the strap as in the pic…
Then, lift up the buckle and unhook the strap from underneath the deck…
(Have a look underneath to see how to put it back later
Do this, from the front, as many times as you need to gain the opening that you need…
Then de-tension the curtain horizontally by pulling the (smaller) lever at the bottom of the tensioner towards you…
Then unhook the front pole by lifting it upwards…
To close a curtain, pull the curtain pole back to the the tensioner and engage the pole in the slot…
You might need to turn the tensioner to engage the pole in the slot…
Then push the small lever all the way away from you…
Then use the larger of the two levers repetitively to tension the curtain horizontally… it’s a ratchet
Then re-engage the vertical tensioners and snap the buckles shut…
Some other tips:
Depending on the maunfacturer of the curtain system, there might be a horizontal tensioner at either OR both ends of the curtain.
You don’t always need to open the whole of the curtain, but that depends on how much you’re going to load/unload and the type of curtain tensioners.
If you mention that you’re new to curtainsiders, I don’t think most drivers would mind helping if you ask them to show you.
As ever, I only try to give new guys a head start, without too much technical stuff.I hope this helps… Did it
spot on dave
Just to add to this brilliant post :-
Most curtain siders have side post’s - these will have to be moved to one side when you do a side tip - there are many different types - most come with instructions stuck to them in the form of a lable
the main thing to check is that the post is actually attached to the top of the trailer roof - they are heavy and i have had some where they have been in place but unbolted from the roof lol
watch out as they are under tension as they support the roof - and some types spring out and can break noses and teeth
when replacing watch your fingers as they are normally a lever and have pinch points
finally if there are two or more posts each side never never undo all of them always leave at least one post fixed each side - the roof will dip down and you’ll need a fork truck to lift it back -
cheers
Steve