What tarp factories need before they can quote
How do you make a fleet tarp lot comparable?
Use one line for each configuration and a quantity for each line. Keep the dimension sheet, fabric requirement and hardware drawing under the same revision. A supplier should be able to see which pieces are identical and which need a different pattern. A total quantity alone hides that distinction.
Illustrative request, not our offer: “Planned replacement lot for a flatbed fleet. Configuration A: 12 lumber pieces; configuration B: 8 steel pieces. Twenty pieces total, not twenty sets. Finished sizes and panel maps on the attached sketches. Coated fabric weight and its tolerance to be confirmed; no substitutions without written approval. Delivery destination and required date to follow.” This demonstrates how to state quantities. It establishes neither a factory MOQ nor a viable order at those quantities.
| Line to agree | Make the request explicit | If unknown |
|---|---|---|
| Piece and set count | Pieces of each configuration; pieces in each set. | Give an approximate quantity and mark it provisional. |
| Finished geometry | Flat size, drop, flap and usable coverage, or fitted coil pattern. | Send measured loads and ask for the dimension sheet. |
| Fabric by panel | Material, coated weight per area, measurement basis and agreed tolerance. | Leave the property open; a catalog reference is not confirmation. |
| Confection | Seam and hem construction, hardware count and positions from named edges. | Ask for a drawing and representative construction evidence. |
| Timing and destination | Required date, delivery location and terms to be clarified. | Distinguish production time from transit and delivered timing. |
What should the reception record compare?
Agree the checks, tolerances and evidence before production. Retain the order revision and identify the received batch, piece and any fabric specimen. Record the agreed value, observed result and unresolved discrepancy on separate lines. A completed record needs actual measurements; the checklist below is a planning method, not a test we have performed on delivered tarps.
- Finished dimensions against the approved drawing, including flap placement.
- Fabric weight per area on the agreed finished coated fabric, with specimen identification and method.
- Hardware counts and positions, plus the hem and seam construction shown on the order.
- Specified performance reports identifying fabric, method, edition and test conditions.
Do not accept “ASTM D751” as a complete test result. ASTM's published scope lists distinct procedures for different fabric properties. Ask which procedure and edition the report used. A vendor's reference sheet, a statement in a sales reply and a batch-specific result are different evidence.
ASTM D751, Standard Test Methods for Coated Fabrics is the method-family reference, not a certification held by this brand. The public scope was read October 3, 2026; the full standard was not used to prescribe a test procedure here. An informal scale check does not establish compliance with it.
Resolve the dimensions and set layout, then prepare the specification block and attach your lot details to the request. The two factory replies below show why unanswered properties must stay visible instead of becoming defaults.
The replies, field by field
| Input | Factory A | Factory B |
|---|---|---|
| Flat size | Factory Arequired in feet | Factory Bbuyer provides finished dimensions |
| Drop height | Factory Arequired in feet | Factory Bset from the specific truck dimensions |
| Fabric weight | Factory Arequired in ounces per square yard | Factory Bdeclared fully custom on 2026-08-23, "all weights and thicknesses can be customized"; the 420, 500, 700 and 800 gsm message list and the 380, 420, 500, 550, 600 and 750 gsm image list were never reconciled |
| Weight tolerance | Factory ANot answered | Factory B"usually plus or minus 5%", declared 2026-08-23 |
| Weight basis | Factory ANot answered | Factory B"we usually refer to the basis weight after the product coating", declared 2026-08-23 |
| Hardware | Factory Anumber of D-rings and grommets, plus whether they are sewn on webbing | Factory BNot answered in the reply. |
| MOQ | Factory ANot answered | Factory B1 piece declared 2026-08-23 |
| Lead time | Factory ANot answered | Factory Bunder one week declared for small orders, about 8 to 12 days above 10,000 square metres |
| Example of past production | Factory ANot answered | Factory BAsked twice on 2026-08-23 and not supplied. The factory answered that it builds to the buyer's specification. |
We asked Factory B to close two of those gaps on 2026-08-23, one question per message. It answered that the weight is “usually plus or minus 5%”, and that it refers to “the basis weight after the product coating”. So the figure is finished coated fabric, not base fabric before coating, and that distinction decides whether a gsm number means anything at all. It did not reconcile the two different weight lists it had sent, and it did not supply an example of a tarp it has already produced, asked twice.
Read the wording, not just the numbers. Both answers are hedged with “usually.” Neither the tolerance nor the measurement basis was given as a commitment. That is the whole argument of this site, stated by a factory rather than by us: a weight you did not write down and get confirmed is a habit, and habits are not what you receive.
What a plus or minus 5% tolerance does to an order
US buyers order in ounces per square yard; this factory works in grams per square metre. Convert the order, then apply the tolerance it declared. One ounce per square yard is 33.906 grams per square metre, so the arithmetic below is exact and you can check it.
| You order | That is | Delivered weight still inside the declared tolerance |
|---|---|---|
| 14 oz/yd² | 475 gsm | 13.3 to 14.7 oz/yd² |
| 16 oz/yd² | 542 gsm | 15.2 to 16.8 oz/yd² |
| 18 oz/yd² | 610 gsm | 17.1 to 18.9 oz/yd² |
| 22 oz/yd² | 746 gsm | 20.9 to 23.1 oz/yd² |
The consequence is the one this site was built around. An 18 oz order filled at the bottom of that band and a 16 oz order filled at the top are 0.3 oz apart. The two-ounce gap a buyer thinks they are paying for can arrive as almost nothing, with the factory entirely inside the tolerance it stated. Nobody has to act in bad faith for this to happen.
This is our arithmetic on figures the factory declared, not a measurement of anything delivered. We have never weighed a tarp from this supplier. What it shows is why a written specification names the weight and the tolerance and what the weight is measured on, and why it asks for that in writing before production starts.
So on 2026-08-24 we put a third question to the factory, and deliberately not “is that binding?”. A yes to that costs a salesperson nothing. We asked where the number appears: written into the proforma invoice or the order confirmation as a term, or nowhere in the documents at all. It answered that the figure “will generally appear on the proforma invoice”.
That answer is worth more than a yes, because a proforma invoice can be read. It puts the tolerance in the document a buyer pays against rather than in a chat window, and it sets a deadline: once plus or minus 5% is printed on your proforma invoice and you accept it, the table above stops being our arithmetic and becomes the deal you signed. A tighter tolerance has to be agreed before that document is issued, not argued about after the fabric is woven. The hedge did survive, “generally”, the third in three answers, and we have not seen a proforma invoice from this factory.
What remains unanswered
- Whether the plus or minus 5% weight tolerance really is printed on the proforma invoice, as the factory says it generally is; no proforma invoice has been seen
- Which fabric-weight list applies: the 420, 500, 700 and 800 gsm sent by message, or the 380, 420, 500, 550, 600 and 750 gsm shown on the image
- Base yarn, weave, coating process and coating weight
- Seam process, hem construction, webbing specification and reinforcement layout
- D-ring rows, grommet spacing and hardware pull-test method
- Current tensile, tear, adhesion, UV and cold-crack test reports
- One finished tarp either factory has already produced, asked twice and not supplied
- Sample terms, and permission to publish supplied photographs
What this changes for a buyer
“Custom size available” is not a specification. A dependable request names the finished flat size, the required drop, the fabric weight and tolerance, and the exact hardware construction. If a factory has to guess one of those fields, two quotes can carry the same product name while describing different tarps.
Our quote form already captures the four fields the first factory required. The missing construction and test details are follow-up questions, not values we fill in ourselves.
Method and limits
- Two direct replies received on 2026-08-21, plus a follow-up round with Factory B on 2026-08-23; this is a small sourcing sample, not a market survey.
- Both companies describe themselves as custom manufacturers. We have not audited either factory.
- Factory B declared an MOQ and a lead time. No price, no sample and no test report was supplied by either factory.
- Neither factory supplied an example of a tarp it has already produced. We asked twice.
- The tolerance table is our arithmetic on a declared figure. We have not weighed any delivered fabric. Asked where the figure appears, the factory answered that it generally appears on the proforma invoice, so it is offered as a document term rather than a habit; no proforma invoice has been seen.
- No supplier photograph is used here. Sending a catalog or image does not by itself grant website publication rights.
- Factory identities and contact details are kept in the private sourcing file, outside this public repository.
First personal reply within 2 business days, with clarifying questions or next steps.