Well as there’s seems to be some differing opinions the Yanks and Canadians have it correct .
A Curtainside is basically a flatbed with an upper structure mounted to the flatbed as a tarping system.
There are two types of curtainside trailers, the Conestoga and the Tautliner. Both trailers are of the flatbed variety and both are covered with a tarp system or curtain which can easily be moved out of the way, thereby providing ready access to the trailer for loading cargo.
protectedcargo.com/Curtainside.html
Why is it the Traffic office Owners and DRIVERS here cant seem to understand it.
A Tautliner isn’t a type of curtainsided trailer, it’s a curtainsided trailer which is made by Boalloy, it is their registered trade name for it.
So a tautliner (the most common over here) is a type of curtainsider never heard of them being called anything else tautliner/curtainsider is interchangeable. A kestrel is a kind of bird so calling it either is correct unless you’re an incredibly ■■■■ twitcher.
A curtain sider (tautliner) is what it is, a flat bed with a headboard, doors, roof and curtain sides!
That Conestoga trainer in my opinion is not curtainsider.
jobseeker:
A curtain sider (tautliner) is what it is, a flat bed with a headboard, doors, roof and curtain sides!
That Conestoga trainer in my opinion is not curtainsider.
The point being JS its a Flatbed with easy sheet so the load still needs SECURING which is what SOME cant Grasp
never knew the yanks had curtainsiders thought they were box men
nick2008:
jobseeker:
A curtain sider (tautliner) is what it is, a flat bed with a headboard, doors, roof and curtain sides!
That Conestoga trainer in my opinion is not curtainsider.
The point being JS its a Flatbed with easy sheet so the load still needs SECURING which is what SOME cant Grasp
ah now I understand what you’re getting at, yup have tried to explain that to an office
nick2008:
jobseeker:
A curtain sider (tautliner) is what it is, a flat bed with a headboard, doors, roof and curtain sides!
That Conestoga trainer in my opinion is not curtainsider.
The point being JS its a Flatbed with easy sheet so the load still needs SECURING which is what SOME cant Grasp
Not necessarily, I ran a load of potato crisps from Devon to Essex on Friday, that didn’t need securing and if I did strap it down it would just have damaged the boxes. Even in the most serious accident it wouldn’t go through the curtains.
For decades a curtainsided load was considered as safe as a roped and sheeted load, the only thing that changed was “elf n safety” and the fact that some stuffed shirt Hooray-Henry in Westminster who wouldn’t know one end of a truck from the other has decided that it isn’t doesn’t mean it isn’t. 
I secure loads that need securing and I don’t secure loads that don’t need securing. Simples!
i’v got a load of 1 ton open topped bags of sand in my curtainsider and each row is secured by 1 ratchet strap, is my load secure?
Harry Monk:
nick2008:
jobseeker:
A curtain sider (tautliner) is what it is, a flat bed with a headboard, doors, roof and curtain sides!
That Conestoga trainer in my opinion is not curtainsider.
The point being JS its a Flatbed with easy sheet so the load still needs SECURING which is what SOME cant Grasp
Not necessarily, I ran a load of potato crisps from Devon to Essex on Friday, that didn’t need securing and if I did strap it down it would just have damaged the boxes. Even in the most serious accident it wouldn’t go through the curtains.
For decades a curtainsided load was considered as safe as a roped and sheeted load, the only thing that changed was “elf n safety” and the fact that some stuffed shirt Hooray-Henry in Westminster who wouldn’t know one end of a truck from the other has decided that it isn’t doesn’t mean it isn’t.
I secure loads that need securing and I don’t secure loads that don’t need securing. Simples!
I know what your saying harry but would you have
A. carried that load on a flatbed without a tarp.
B. carried that load on a flat bed with a tarp and rope
C. carried that same load on a flatbed with just a tarp.
I would say at a guess in years gone by you would have got away with. C.
but if it was to be done properly in the past I bet you’d have had corner boards .
Many years ago, use to take 1 ton bags of fertilizer from Immingham to Penzance, as a backload 3 times a week.
In the winter, sheeted the load and roped enough to keep sheet in place.
In the summer only ever roped a cross on the back two bags, then when we got tautliners just closed the curtains even with double stacked 1/2 ton bags.
Also full loads of bagged (56lb) potatoes, loaded by hand onto pallets on the deck tied down the same way, and again in tautliners, no straps, no ropes.
In about 10 years doing that job, never had a load shift or lost a bag.
This is not only me but all the companies/ drivers worked the same way.
And then we were not stuck to 56mph, we had to run flat out to make the northen markets.
I despair at the H&S crap that is happening over there now, I’m so glad that I got ■■■■ outta there.
neilg14:
Many years ago, use to take 1 ton bags of fertilizer from Immingham to Penzance, as a backload 3 times a week.
In the winter, sheeted the load and roped enough to keep sheet in place.
In the summer only ever roped a cross on the back two bags, then when we got tautliners just closed the curtains even with double stacked 1/2 ton bags.
Also full loads of bagged (56lb) potatoes, loaded by hand onto pallets on the deck tied down the same way, and again in tautliners, no straps, no ropes.
In about 10 years doing that job, never had a load shift or lost a bag.
This is not only me but all the companies/ drivers worked the same way.
And then we were not stuck to 56mph, we had to run flat out to make the northen markets.
I despair at the H&S crap that is happening over there now, I’m so glad that I got [zb] outta there.
We didn’t have the volume of traffic and numpties either though did we 
The way I see it is that tautliners are just regular curtainsiders with back doors. Then you have the fancier Euroliners with a sliding roof. Simple! No need for your silly arguments.
Just as a curtainsider is often referred to by the generic name of Tautliner, a conestoga (covered wagon) is often called a Rolltite. The conestoga is similar to the covered coil carriers used in the UK.
So, why does my gaffer pay an extra few grand for load bearing curtains on all of our trailers? The ones that say “will bear 1 metric tonne per square metre” on them? is that just a bloody tarp as well?
The Sarge:
So, why does my gaffer pay an extra few grand for load bearing curtains on all of our trailers? The ones that say “will bear 1 metric tonne per square metre” on them? is that just a bloody tarp as well?
Its just that LOAD BEARING it wont stop the movement of the load and with the movement of the load the Vehicle COULD please note COULD become unstable.
Think of it another way
youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE
Its about time the UK took load security more seriously, that whole clamp down is and was a complete farce. Side boards, anti slip mats, corner protectors, min of 20 straps onboard and anchors points all the way along a trailer should all be standard on lorries.
Bear in mind that an awful lot of stuff is, and has been for years, moved on curtainsiders with no additional restraint other than the curtains themselves (yes, I know they’re not technically load restraints, but it takes an awful lot for anything to fall through them), with no problems whatsoever. It’s obviously nonsense to say such loads are intrinsically dangerous, since stuff is carried in this way day after day after day, and has been for donkey’s years. I know that some items need restraining with ratchet straps, and I’d never hesitate to either restrain something if I felt it needed it or refuse to carry it if my employers hadn’t provided me with the equipment to secure it, but for the most part, well wrapped palletised freight is perfectly safe unsecured on a curtainsider trailer. It must be, else I’d have had stuff strewn all over the motorway every night for the past ten or twelve years …
Rhythm Thief:
well wrapped palletised freight is perfectly safe unsecured on a curtainsider trailer…
Absolute tosh.
Rhythm Thief:
It must be, else I’d have had stuff strewn all over the motorway every night for the past ten or twelve years …
You are overdue to lose a load, give us your reg please so we know to give you a wide berth while you keep pushing your luck.
Saaamon:
Its about time the UK took load security more seriously, that whole clamp down is and was a complete farce. Side boards, anti slip mats, corner protectors, min of 20 straps onboard and anchors points all the way along a trailer should all be standard on lorries.
Could not agree more. The UK should and must accept at least the EU standard when it comes to load security. DVSA is struggling enforcing an archaic rule and way too many hauliers and drivers risk life and limb treating a curtainsider as a box day in day out.