A Fathers Day surprise

The truck and trailer

Usually Fathers Day is reserved for relaxing, recreation, eating and sometimes gifts.  Well for us, besides the gifts, this Fathers Day is filled with some necessary labor.  This labor of love consists of getting one piece of equipment ready for the fast approaching wheat harvest.

The project:  Replace the old roll tarp on the grain trailer that had developed a sizable tear from age and use.  For those maybe unfamiliar, this tarp or cover is very important as it can be rolled over the top of the trailer for rain protection.  If you are lucky it will never rain during wheat harvest (we are rarely that lucky) so some way of protecting that freshly harvested grain is a must.  Excess rain or moisture promotes rot and germination, not to mention a dockage at the grain elevator.  (Dockage is the percent of non-wheat or foreign matter within the load, thus reducing the total value of the load)

Below are the steps taken to replace the old roll tarp with a brand new one.  The 98 degree weather did not make it much easier.  At least there was no wind.

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The old cover, not terrible but there are some thin spots and a tear at the front.

First step, unfold and roll out the new cover over the old cover making sure to properly position it and with the correct orientation.

My mom and me positioning the new cover

Next step is to release the old cover and remove the retaining screws from the pipe that hold the cover to the pipe.  Then the pipe can be removed from the end.

Pulling out the pipe that is sewn into the old cover

Having some type of forklift helps manage the long pipe.

After re-installing the pipe into the new cover and securing it with the retaining clamps.

Now the old cover can be removed

Re-installing the pipe on the other side, this is the side with the crank

After the crank pipe is installed, it is time to install the retaining clips on the reinforced ribbing in the cover.

Drilling and installing the retaining clips

Now to test it out to see if it works.

It works!