A sealed cover can do more harm than no cover

Tarpaulin Covers for Machinery & Equipment

Machinery covering has a counter-intuitive risk: a sheet wrapped tightly to the ground can trap warm, humid air against metal and hold condensation on the equipment long after the rain stops. Effective machine covers shed water from above while still allowing air to move underneath. Double Kissan supplies HDPE woven tarpaulins in six GSM options and to custom dimensions for equipment covering.

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Blue Double Kissan HDPE tarpaulin tied snugly over outdoor machinery in an open yard

Rope threaded through a reinforced eyelet — how a Double Kissan tarpaulin is secured, including for Machinery & Equipment

The real problem

Machines are awkward shapes. Exhausts, mirrors, hydraulic rams, loader arms and lifting points all create high points that concentrate load onto small areas of the sheet, and low points where water collects. Meanwhile the operator needs to get to the machine, so the cover comes off and goes back on repeatedly — a handling pattern closer to a truck cover than to a storage sheet.

How an HDPE tarpaulin helps

The practical approach is to treat the cover as a roof rather than a wrapper: supported at the high points so water runs off, open enough at the base for air movement, and sized so it can be fitted by one person in the time available. Protrusions should be padded rather than allowed to bear directly on the fabric.

What decides your specification

Ventilation at the base

Leave the lower edges open or loosely secured so trapped humid air can escape. Sealing a cover to the ground around a machine is a common and damaging mistake.
Protrusions and pressure points

Pad sharp or narrow high points before covering. A cover bearing directly on an exhaust stack or mirror arm will wear through at that spot first, regardless of GSM.
Water shedding, not water pooling

Ensure the cover slopes. Any horizontal span between two high points will collect water, and standing water is heavy enough to deform the cover and eventually find a way through.
Access frequency

A machine used weekly needs a cover one person can remove and refit quickly. A machine in seasonal storage can take a heavier, more thorough cover.
Storage environment

Covers under a shed roof face dust and bird fouling more than rain; covers in the open face wind load and UV exposure. These are different requirements.

Measuring and sizing

Measure the machine at its widest point, its longest point, and its tallest point — including anything that will remain fitted, such as a loader arm or exhaust. Required sheet width is roughly the machine width plus twice the height you want the cover to descend on each side. Because machines are rarely rectangular, add a working margin: a cover that is slightly generous can be gathered and tied, while one that is exactly calculated will not fit over the first protrusion you forgot.

The full sizing method, with worked examples

Securing the cover

Tie at the sides rather than sealing at the ground. Run rope through the eyelets and secure to the machine's own fixed points where they exist, so the cover cannot lift as a single sheet in wind. Check after rain: if the cover has collected water anywhere, add support beneath that point rather than tightening the cover, which usually makes the pool worse.

On GSM for this application

For machinery, cover geometry and ventilation usually affect the outcome more than sheet weight.

Double Kissan sheets for this job

All six standard GSM options are available in blue, yellow and transparent, and any of them can be produced to a custom size. Where a requirement repeats — a fleet, a site, a yard — made-to-order dimensions usually work out better than the nearest standard size.

Quick answer

Application: Machinery & Equipment
Product: Laminated woven HDPE tarpaulin
GSM options: 80 · 100 · 120 · 160 · 180 · 200
Colours: Blue · Yellow · Transparent
Custom sizes: Manufactured to order
Retail: Amazon · Flipkart
Bulk: Direct from the factory

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Choose a weight

The six GSM options

Work through the GSM guide if you are not sure which weight suits how this cover will be used.

80 GSM Lightest of the six standard options 100 GSM Second lightest — the first step up from entry weight 120 GSM Mid-range — the balance point of the six 160 GSM First of the heavy-weight options 180 GSM Second heaviest standard option 200 GSM Heaviest standard option in the range

Machinery & Equipment — common questions

Should a machine cover be sealed to the ground?

Generally no. Sealing a cover at ground level traps humid air against the machine and can hold condensation on metal surfaces long after rain has stopped. Covers usually work better shedding water from above while allowing air movement underneath.

How do I measure machinery for a tarpaulin cover?

Measure the widest, longest and tallest points including any attachments that stay fitted. Required width is machine width plus twice the desired side drop, and the same logic applies lengthways. Add a working margin, because machines are not rectangular.

Why does my machine cover wear through in the same spot?

Almost always because a narrow high point — an exhaust, a mirror arm, a lifting eye — is bearing directly on the fabric. Padding that point extends cover life more reliably than moving to a heavier sheet.

Can Double Kissan make covers to fit specific equipment?

Custom dimensions are manufactured to order. Send the machine measurements with your enquiry and the finished sheet size can be calculated at the quotation stage.