Custom Heavy Duty Tarps

Custom Heavy Duty Tarps Made to Order in Weatherproof Fabric

A tarp earns the words heavy duty on three numbers: fabric weight, denier, and how the edges are finished. Our custom heavy duty tarps range runs on PVC-coated polyester at 18 oz and 12 oz over a 1000 denier scrim, reinforced so the tie-down points fail last instead of first. For extreme weather, 18 oz Tarp Armor is the answer: it stays flexible in cold that turns lighter coated fabrics brittle, resists tearing when wind gets under an edge, and carries a 7-year warranty. Cut to your dimensions and shipped across the USA.

What Actually Makes a Tarp Heavy Duty

The phrase gets printed on packaging that doesn't deserve it. Three things separate an industrial custom tarp from a hardware-store poly sheet:

• Weight — measured in ounces per square yard. Poly tarps land around 3 to 6 oz; industrial coated fabric starts at 12 oz. More coating means more to abrade through before the scrim underneath is exposed.

• Denier — the thickness of the yarns in the scrim that carries the load. Our heavy duty fabrics use a 1000 denier scrim. The PVC keeps water out; the scrim stops a small puncture becoming a long rip.

• Edge construction — a tarp almost never fails mid-panel. It fails at a grommet that pulled through or a seam that let go. Heat-welded seams and a reinforced hem are what make the rated fabric strength mean anything in the field.

Heavy duty tarps made to order add a fourth factor: fit. A tarp sized to the load has less loose fabric for wind to lift, which is the most common way a good tarp destroys itself.

Tarp Armor or Tarp Shield: Which Weight for Which Job

Both are 100% waterproof PVC-coated polyester with heat-welded seams. Neither is a downgrade — they're built for different working lives.

• Tarp Armor — 18 oz (610 gsm), 22 mil thick, 1000 denier. The heavier coating buys abrasion life and tear resistance, and stays workable down to -20°F without cracking. Spec it for permanent installation, highway hauling, and equipment left out through winter. 7-year warranty.

• Tarp Shield — 12 oz (410 gsm), 15 mil thick. The same waterproof barrier in a fabric one person can fold and re-deploy alone. Choose it when the tarp comes on and off regularly, when the span is large enough that 18 oz becomes unmanageable, or when exposure is seasonal. 5-year warranty.

Rule of thumb: if the tarp lives outdoors and rarely moves, go heavier. If someone handles it often, go lighter and spend the difference on tighter grommet spacing and perimeter webbing.

Unsure Between 12 oz and 18 oz? Tell us the job, and we'll spec the weight — call +1 720-882-0756 or email sales@zipcovers.com

Built for What Weather Actually Does to Fabric

Commercial heavy duty tarps fail in predictable ways, and each has a spec behind it.

• Cold — coated fabric stiffens as temperature drops, and a stiff tarp cracks along its fold lines the first time it's moved. Tarp Armor is cold-crack resistant to -20°F.

• Standing water — water doesn't get through PVC coating, it gets through needle holes. Our seams are heat-welded rather than stitched, so the panel stays continuous instead of weeping at every stitch line.

• Wind — sustained wind finds the loosest edge and works it. The fabric usually survives; the anchor points give way. Tighter grommet spacing and perimeter webbing are the fix, not a heavier panel.

So, whenever looking for industrial custom tarps, do check whether the material is made to beat the weather blues or not.

Edges and Hardware

Anchor the tarp to suit the site: rustproof brass grommets at the four corners or spaced at approximately 24, 18, or 12 inches, and welded D-rings at 24 or 12 inches where ratchet straps pull harder than a grommet is rated for. In this range, we recommend adding 1.5" reinforced perimeter webbing first — tension goes into the webbing instead of the fabric, so grommets stop tearing out.

Shapes and Sizes

Rectangle and square tarps are ordered by length and width; round tarps by diameter, cut as true circles for tanks, fire pits, and anything that has to sit flat.

• Heavy Duty Custom Tarps – Rectangle / Square — cut to your length and width for equipment, loads, stacks, and open storage.

• Heavy Duty Custom Tarps – Round — cut to your diameter, smooth even perimeter.

Need help sizing? The Custom Tarps hub covers overhang allowances for wind-exposed sites and tall loads.

Related Collections

Custom Tarps | Custom Vinyl Tarps | Custom Waterproof Tarps | Custom Mesh Tarps | Custom Sports Tarps