How to Choose the Right Bow Height for a Retractable Tarp

On a front to back retractable tarp, the bows are the arches that span the body and hold the tarp up over the load. Get the height right and the tarp clears your load and closes properly every time.

What tarp bows do

Bows span the width of the body and support the tarp above the load. The raised arch holds the tarp clear of heaped loads and gives it a crown, so rain runs off rather than pooling. As the tarp opens and closes, sliding blocks carry the tarp frame along the side rails.

Fragar tarp bows are made from 25 x 25 mm galvanised steel.

The five bow heights

• 200 mm: low profile, for tight clearance loads.
• 350 mm: great for general freight and bulk.
• 450 mm: perfect for mixed and general loads.
• 550 mm: ideal for taller bulk materials.
• 700 mm: maximum clearance for high volume loads.

You can see all five drawn to scale on a tipper body on our retractable tarps page.

How to choose

1. Look at how high your load heaps. The bows need to hold the tarp clear of your highest regular load, not just your average one.
2. Think about what you carry. Light, bulky loads like mulch and green waste often heap higher than dense loads like sand and soil.
3. Match it to your tarp material. See mesh vs PVC truck tarps for which suits your load.
4. Bins can go flat. Skip bin and hook lift bin tarps can be made flat with no bows, or with any of the five heights.

Ordering

Bow height is one of the choices on our measure sheets. Download the retractable truck tarp measure sheet or the skip bin measure sheet, choose your bow height and send it to sales@fragargroup.com.au. If you’re not sure which height you need, tell us what you carry and we’ll recommend one.

Replacement bows

Bent or damaged a bow? Replacement bows can be ordered online in all five heights: 200 mm, 350 mm, 450 mm, 550 mm and 700 mm.