Tautliner and curtainsider are used as generic names for curtain sided

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s/ trailers. Tautliner is the trade name of commercial vehicles built by Boalloy of

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. The curtains are permanently fixed to a runner at the top and detachable rails/poles at front and rear, allowing the curtains to be drawn open and

forklift A forklift (also called industrial truck, lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th c ...

s used all along the sides for easy and efficient loading and unloading. When closed for travel, vertical load restraint straps are attached to a rope rail beneath the truck bed, connecting the truck bed and curtain along both sides. Winches at either end of the curtain tension it, hence the 'Tautliner' name. This stops the curtain from flapping or drumming in the wind and can also help retain light loads from slipping sideways. Curtains can be rated to restrain a load of a defined weight per metre but only if the load is positioned within a certain distance from the curtain. The company patented the concept in 1969, and credits much of its popularity to its adoption by the haulier Eddie Stobart.

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