Hello all I’ll be taking my next step up the ladder tomorrow as I’ll be handing in my notice at my current job ( pallet network driving class 1) and the following week will be starting at ARR Craib (eaglescliffe) tramping … Never done nights out before so it’s something different ! The other thing is they do roping and sheeting, not too keen on that , done a bit in the army but not on my own ! Anyone got any good advice/tips for roping and sheeting ? Cheers !
Never did it but wouldn`t turn a wheel till a Driver stood and showed me till I got it right , twice. lol
Smoggie89:
Anyone got any good advice/tips for roping and sheeting
If you got two sheets put rear sheet on first, get forky to lift sheets up for you, fold them up properly ready for unravelling on your next job and keep your eye on the weather. 
Back sheet on first, then front then the fly sheet, it’s not always possible but if you can sheet up undercover or in some sort of shelter out of the wind, good luck with the new job
Cheers people anyone got any good links for roping and sheeting ?
Wrong time of year to start if your a novice…id keep the night job. 
I thought the next step up from a being a driver, according to popular opinion on this forum was TESCO shelf stacking
chester:
I thought the next step up from a being a driver, according to popular opinion on this forum was TESCO shelf stacking
Nope there is one in between.
Cleaner !! 
Sod Tesco shelf stacking, thats only a little bit better paid than some haulage jobs, Aldi shop staff on £8.70 starting wage according to the recruitment ad in my local store, rising to just under a tenner.
Get some plastic waterproof gloves if you’re going to be roping as against using ratchet straps, as a newby to roping your hands will get split to buggery, especially along the side of your index finger and thumb and underside ridges of your fingers if you do it ungloved (the hand that suffers is the one you wraop the rope round to pull it tight down on the dolly…its 25 or more years since i roped a load but the scars and thick rough skin from the splits and callouses are still there on my right hand 
…steady on chaps i know what you’re thinking…
Have you learned the most important knot yet?, the dolly.
From day one keep your sheets and roping neat, once you are experienced you can join the ropes as you go along, but for now use one rope at a time and don’t overlap, that way if one section comes loose you can simply retighten or rerope that section without having to undo the whole trailer.
Best of luck with it, its an art form and old school lorry drivers take great pride in their roping and sheeting, a neat well sheeted and secured load is a badge of honour…we learned to do it right to get respect and approval from the old school back in the day, and learned to do it well and take a pride.
As above, back sheet on first and secured by its ties, front sheet on next, secure load properly, then fly sheet over the top if necessary, it is permitted to rope criss cross front and rear the fly sheet to secure it but it should be unroped for its main length to allow the wind to get under it and throw the water off…if very strong cross winds you might need one rope in the middle section to keep it in place, common sense and a few loads and you’ll have it.
Smoggie89:
Cheers people anyone got any good links for roping and sheeting ?
Have you looked on you tube mate ?
Legend_Scania:
Smoggie89:
Cheers people anyone got any good links for roping and sheeting ?Have you looked on you tube mate ?
no not had chance yet mate will have a look over weekend, and cheers for replies
I’ll be taking my next step down the ladder tomorrow my current job ( pallet network driving class 1) and the following week will be starting roping and sheeting
[/quote]
I’m sure your new job will have drivers or even a yard man that has roping and sheeting experience and will keep you right if you ask nicely, if you told your future boss you could rope and sheet before you got the job then you might have to eat humble pie but if they know you haven’t any experience then they will or should get someone to give you a hand or ‘show you the ropes’!
You can’t expect to learn from a few sentences on here, far too much involved, why this isn’t included in its basic form during driver training beats me, there are still many places that still use sheets and I don’t go with the ‘Its a lost art’ nonsense, if I was a young driver today I’d make it my business to learn it, again even if its just the basics. Tying a Dolly Knot is a hell of a useful thing to know and can be used in many instances, hands up who doesn’t even carry a length of rope on his motor!
Frankydobo:
I’m sure your new job will have drivers or even a yard man that has roping and sheeting experience and will keep you right if you ask nicely, if you told your future boss you could rope and sheet before you got the job then you might have to eat humble pie but if they know you haven’t any experience then they will or should get someone to give you a hand or ‘show you the ropes’!You can’t expect to learn from a few sentences on here, far too much involved, why this isn’t included in its basic form during driver training beats me, there are still many places that still use sheets and I don’t go with the ‘Its a lost art’ nonsense, if I was a young driver today I’d make it my business to learn it, again even if its just the basics. Tying a Dolly Knot is a hell of a useful thing to know and can be used in many instances, hands up who doesn’t even carry a length of rope on his motor!
Initial DCPC training involves tying a dolly knot although I still wouldn’t know how to rope and sheet properly, I could do you a dolly knot no probs.
Tie your dolly and do a test pull before you hook it on and tighten it.
ie, do your loop and twists, hold the knot in one hand and tug the tail with the other, if it doesn’t pull through it’s a good 'un and you can hook it on and start pulling on it, straight down only mind or else you can hurt yerself if it slips, don’t ask how I know 
If the knot comes undone on the tug test,pul it through and try again, no shame in having to re-tie dollies
Better to have 3or4 goes to get it right than do it once badly and have your rope come undone and trail down the road behind you 
Congrats on the new job BTW, you’ll soon get the hang of it, I loved roping and sheeting, gravel bags, planks, brick and block, used to be fit as a butchers dog
It gets a bit more interesting when you have to stack it high or have a double pallet load. No doubt about it though, it’s nice to sheet and rope and see it all nice and tidy.
Yeah where I’m starting I told him I done it probably once or 2wice in the army when transporting live ammo but there is a few doing it not just yourself , so he said its no problem if I need training like so that’s alright, just thought I’d try and get a bit of information before I start there so I don’t look like a complete ■■■■■■ lol! I don’t think they sheet every load mainly metal I think!
as well as getting someone to show you how to pt the sheet on, get them to show you how to fold it away correctly.
Correct folding saves a load of effort next time you use it.
del949:
as well as getting someone to show you how to pt the sheet on, get them to show you how to fold it away correctly.
Correct folding saves a load of effort next time you use it.
Wot he said. Nothing more annoying on that job than coming back from hols and finding all your sheets folded up ■■■■-eyed.
Hi Smoggie , go on to the Old Time lorries forum, somewhere on there is aload of posts on roping and sheeting, most of them by ‘Bewick’ Have a scan through and you’ll have ropes and sheets coming out of your keyboard !
Respect to Bewick he knows what he’s talking about
Best of luck