While looking for a more efficient tarper system, Scapers Landscape found a solution to fit their every need, saving even more time and money on their operations.聽
Kyle Kraft started his landscape construction company, Scapers Landscape Construction, in 2009 as a full service landscape and lawn care firm for St. Louis, MO and the surrounding areas. About four years ago, the company developed their roll-off division and started with one truck and three dumpsters. The division has now grown to operate two roll-off trucks with a third on the way and uses more than 60 dumpsters. Scapers Landscape Construction employees two full-time drivers, operates 24/7 and services their customers whenever they call, including working with a lot of restoration contractors, taking late night, weekend and holiday calls.
Because the company hauls numerous materials due to their work, Kraft was looking for a more efficient tarper system that would have the adjustability to haul every different size box on a small wheel-based truck. 鈥淲e have flatbeds for our trucks to haul roll-off containers. With the rack and pinion style tarper system, we could never get the arms down enough, so you always had to unload the flatbed of the materials so you could get the equipment off. We needed a system that would allow us to haul pallets of material and equipment with out interfering.鈥� So in 2013 Kraft consulted with Armor Equipment, who had their built their single-axle trucks and who is also a distributor for O鈥橞rian Tarping Systems (Wilson, NC). After showing Kraft the different styles and brands of products he could use for his trucks, he was initially attracted to O鈥橞rian鈥檚 Diablo tarping system because of its adjustability and the fact that it the system was virtually maintenance free. 鈥淲e also started seeing all of the other features, including that there are no grease fittings as opposed to a rack and pinion system where you need to grease it every day. With the O鈥橞rian system the only thing we have to do now is change the hydraulic fluid in the truck once per year and adjusting the tarps as needed. The tarps themselves last for about a year before they have to be replaced.鈥�
A Successful Solution
O鈥橞rian Tarping Systems is a 3rd generation family business that has been in business since 1961. Their first tarping system that was designed for the Waste Industry was built in 1981, with many patents awarded to the company since then. Their Diablo tarper happens to use several of those patents, which allow the tarper arms to be completely below and in front of containers and compactors while also giving it the unique ability to allow multi-purpose haulers like Scapers to be able to completely load and unload flatbeds from the sides without the tarper arms getting in the way.
鈥淲hat attracted us to the Diablo were three things, 1) low maintenance, 2) the tarp arms are completely out of the way in the down position and 3) the ability to haul any different size box,鈥� says Kraft. 鈥淯pon learning about the Diablo I was very excited because I had never seen a tarp system that would completely drop out of the way of the platform we had on the truck. This tarper allows us to side load and unload palatalized material.聽This is something we cannot do with a rack and pinion system.聽While using the tarp, it allows us to haul any size length, and height box while completely, and safely covering the box.鈥�
Implementation was also a breeze for Kraft. The biggest hurdle was that it took a couple of days to get used to which way the controls work. 鈥淚t really didn鈥檛 take too much getting used to. All of our drivers stick with the trucks that they drive (for example, driver #6 always takes truck #6, etc.) and I think it鈥檚 a little bit easier to operate than the style of tarpers that have the gantry that raises and lowers. This system has just one lever that rolls it on and rolls it off and you can adjust the arms in or out. It鈥檚 nice and simple. The tarp arms come completely down out of the way below the flatbed so we can load and unload the material with the bed on the truck, which saves a lot of time for us and saves us money because we aren鈥檛 breaking material when we dump the bed of the truck.鈥�
High Efficiency, Lower Complaints
After two years of using O鈥橞rian鈥檚 Diablo tarp systems, Kraft is still impressed with its continued durability, abilities and efficiency. He has not had one problem with the tarper in all of this time. 鈥淭he biggest improvement in our operation I see is speed. Before implementing the tarper, we were doing about seven to eight swaps on a good day, now we see do about 10 to 11 swaps鈥攖hat is a huge savings.鈥� Another benefit that Kraft points out is how well the tarps fit. They are adjusted so well that the truck doesn鈥檛 lose any material. 鈥淎 big thing is in this industry is that you get complaints on the trucks driving down the road and something falls out. This tarper really minimized the number of complaints that were given.鈥�
And Kraft is not the only one who is happy with the tarper. The drivers are very happy with the change as well. 鈥淭he way that the tarp arms adjust, you can seal off the boxes as well so the drivers don鈥檛 have to get up on top of the containers. Our drivers absolutely love them. They also don鈥檛 have to grease them every day.鈥�
With all of the success Scapers Landscape Construction has had with the Diablo tarping system, Kraft is definitely looking at purchasing other O鈥橞rian products in the future. 鈥淚 am very happy that we found O鈥橞rian, and we will continue to add a their tarper to everyone of our trucks as we upgrade our fleet. I am excited to see a few more Diablos on our fleet in the next few years.鈥�
For more information on O鈥橞rian Tarping Systems, call (800) 334-TARP (8277), e-mail [email protected] or visit .
For more information on Scapers Landscape Construction (St. Louis, MO), call (314) 565-8830.
