At Verduyn Tarps, we believe your track should be the strongest part of your system. Since our bays opened in 1986, we knew we had a pretty great product on our hands – our Eagle Tarp System. Confidence grew over the years as the positive feedback from our customers poured in.
The Next Best Thing
As a brand, we are always striving for greatness and to be the best in class. We do not typically like to use that term but if the shoe fits…wear it! It was about 20 years ago that we last tested our track to any great extent and secured a patent for our tie down rail (we are the only rolling tarp system on the market with a patented tie down rail.). With innovation and quality craftsmanship laying the foundation for the construction of our Eagle Tarp System, we felt assured that it would make the podium amongst competitors.
Standing the Test of Time
Decades later, words like “strongest” and “most durable” were being used among the trucking community to describe our retractable tarping system. Honoured, we felt compelled to be sure for ourselves if the Eagle Tarp System deserved these titles. As we rewatched some video footage from prior years featuring our owner, Lloyd Verduyn, really giving our Track a beating (literally, check out this video on our YouTube channel from 2012), we couldn’t help but think we really needed to push the limits this time if we were going to test our Track again and put the results out there for all to see. It had been so long since we really put our Track through the ringer, so we dreamed up the ultimate test of strength: The Crane Test.
The Crane Test
This summer at our Woodstock location in south-western Ontario, we dreamed up the perfect test of strength for our Track. We call it “The Crane Test.”
Using a 53-foot trailer (complete with track and headboard installed), and a Western Star tow truck with a 65-ton rotator arm (a big thank you to Woodstock Towing), we were ready to turn on the cameras! We attached four track hooks to our patented tie down rail and proceeded to lift the trailer off the ground. With all wheels off the ground and the trailer suspended in the air being held only by the four track hooks, a total of over 10,000 lbs. hovered above our parking lot. Our four track hooks easily held the tremendous weight for over 15 minutes. As Lloyd would say, “We dare you to try that!”
The Results Speak for Themselves
After successfully suspending a trailer by four track hooks, our Crane Test results surprised us all. We always knew our Track was strong but, the strength demonstrated from this testing was next level. We don’t know of any other track that can guarantee these types of results, do you? If so, we want to hear from you! We happily welcome any tarping system manufacturers to demonstrate (through similar testing) that their track is equally comparable in strength. Until then, based on all the evidence presented, we hereby award the title of “Strongest Track” to us – Verduyn Tarps!
If you think this is a bold statement, let us recap the following facts about our Track that make Verduyn Tarps stand out from the rest:
- 1/2″ thick at bolt locations
- bolted to trailer every 24″.
- not counter sunk at the bolt locations
- integrated bump rail designed to withstand forklift bumps.
- UHMW wear strip keeps system rolling smoothly.
- patented tie down rail built right into our track, allowing for 104.5” of total clearance width (track to track)
We invite you to keep an eye on our YouTube channel for the release of the full-length test video *COMING SOON*. If you want to be one of the first to view this footage, be sure to sign up for our #VerduynVIP email list (scroll to bottom) so you can get that link dropped right into your inbox. Or do you want to see our track up close, with your own eyes? Contact us (1-88-TARPS-R-US) or pop-by any one of our four locations where all of your questions about our Track and the Eagle Tarp System will be answered. Lastly, grab a Get a Quote for your own Eagle Tarp retractable tarping system from the road… maybe 2025 is the year you #GetItDone at Verduyn? Safe travels!