Side Curtain FAQs

Yes! We make certified, custom sized truck curtains in New Zealand. Straitline® side curtains are made to fit all makes of side curtain bodies. Also, our range of side curtain PVC fabrics and hardware are fully compatible with all existing hardware offered from other New Zealand side curtain manufacturers. Some of our more famous curtain offerings are Eco (recycled), Tough (strongest side curtain fabric on the market) and the Straitline® Curtain Tensioner.

Yes, we have been certified to manufacture Certified Side Curtains since 1997. We have altered and re-tested our design several times since then to make sure we are offering the best possible product to the New Zealand market. We can also inspect, repair and re-certify expired curtains.

Straitline® offers a full service: new build curtains, refurb curtains, de-brand curtains, re-certification of expired curtains, curtain installation, curtain repairs, hardware replacement and inhouse printing and clear coating. We have a network of contractors across NZ to offer the most comprehensive side curtain service in the country.

Yes. We offer a thicker fabric from Austria, called Transport 9000 Tough. Tough has a 20% higher tear strength than regular fabric and 30% higher adhesion (reduces delamination) but is missing some New Zealand fleet colours. We also offer Transport 9000 Standard, the most used curtain fabric in New Zealand (from Germany). Reach out to us to find out if Transport 9000 Tough is right for your needs.

All new Straitline® Curtains come with a 5 year certification. Under normal daily use this is about the life span of a side curtain. To maximise lifespan, ensure that your side curtains are nice and tight before driving, and try to keep the forklift forks at bay!

Clear coat stops dirt and road dust from penetrating the curtain fabric, meaning they stay looking clean and shiny for far longer. Clear coat is a must if you are having a logo printed, to protect the print from attracting road grime and avoid premature fading. Clear coat will also lengthen the life span of your side curtains by offering UV protection to the fabric. Clear coat is designed to prevent paint fully adhering to the curtain, making graffiti easier to remove. Straitline® has developed a one-of-a-kind clear coat application robot, which always applies a perfect even coating. This maximises adhesion and provides that desirable wet and glossy-looking finish.

Yes, we can print any logo onto your side curtains. All you have to do is provide us with a high quality PDF file of the print you wish to have on your side curtains, and we will convert that into a printable file for our printer. If we have not printed your logo before, we will supply you with a 1:10 scale test print (called a hard proof) for your approval of placement, sizing and colour matching before manufacture.

Our standard wait time is 1-2 weeks from order and deposit payment to dispatch/install.

This is a protective rub strip welded to the curtain to prevent damage from the hard rubber pelmet. When the curtains are retracted, they fold up creating hard edges that rub along the pelmet. Over time, this will delaminate the curtain fabric and rub off signage/clear coat. Rub strips are available in black or white to match whatever colour pelmet your fleet runs. Some companies have this option as standard on their entire fleet, while some other companies have not embraced this positive change yet. We do not charge extra for a pelmet rub strip. We just want your curtains to be the best they can be!

Using your bare hands, tighten the curtain pole tensioners as tight as you can (Straitline® Tensioners are easy to use and painless to undo), you do not need to use a bar for extra leverage. All buckles must be tensioned by pulling the extra loop of webbing downward while closing the buckle (Straitline® Buckles have been specifically developed to lock easily to save unnecessary stress on your thumbs).

When you can spot delamination of the fabric. Delamination is when the outer plastic coating comes away from the woven base cloth inside the fabric. This happens most commonly around the buckles and in the bend points between the top curtain hangers. If you can see light coming through the fabric at these points, it is time to start exploring options including replacing your curtains.

*All major NZ brands and most smaller brands are pre-approved for printing, please reach out to double check if your brand is on the list!
1. Get in touch: You can send an enquiry through our website, flick us an email or give us a call to let us know you are interested in getting a side curtain from us.
2. From there we will generate pricing and email you a quote. To do this we need your registration, approximate deck length or pallet capacity and what logo you want printed. If we have made curtains for your unit before, you can provide the job number found on the certification plate on the outside rear (or curtain ID label found inside, on the top hem at the front of your side curtains).
3. Once you confirm you are happy with the price and options outlined in the quote, we can turn your quote into an order. If you don’t have a credit account, Straitline® requires a 50% deposit to confirm your order, and the remainder paid before your order is dispatched/installed.
4. Next, we will search our database for the dimensions of your unit. If we do not have them, we will need to measure your unit. You can bring your unit to our drive through service bay (located at 26 Setters Line, Palmerston North), or one of our specialists will set an appointment to meet your unit and collect the measurements (we cover most of the country with our contractors, gathering measurements will not hold the unit up or incur an additional charge).
5. For custom prints/logos, you will need to send us your artwork design. We will supply you a PDF soft proof, for you to approve the artwork size and placement on the curtain. We won’t send you a proof if you have previously approved design rules for your company logo on your curtains.
6. Upon approval of the soft proof, we will print a miniature (approx. 10% of original size) hard proof of your logo and send it to you for you to approve the colour. We won’t send you a proof if you have previously approved design rules for your company logo on your curtains.
7. Once the curtains are made, we will contact you to let you know we are ready for the next step. If Straitline® is installing, we will book a time with you to bring your unit in. If our contractors are installing, we will pass on your contact details for them to get in touch to book a time and place with you. If you are installing yourself, we will dispatch your curtains that day (or store them ready for you to collect).
8. If you have an open credit account, we will send an invoice within a few days of installation/dispatch. If you do not have a credit account, we will request full payment be made before we install or dispatch your curtains.

Most of the time we do have the measurements, but not always…if your exiting curtains have a certification plate on the outside (located at the rear between the last 2 buckles) or manufacturing label on the inside (located on the top of the curtain at the front), then you can give us the job number engraved/printed for easy reference. Alternatively, if you provide the unit’s registration number we can check our database for curtain size. We are also happy to measure your truck or trailer ourselves or send a local contractor to your truck to measure it (at no charge to you). Finally, if those methods fail or you want to get things moving quickly, we have a measure sheet which is very easy to follow along and fill out. Click here to get a measure sheet and to watch our video on how to measure truck curtains yourself.

We currently manufacture curtains for (and have great relationships with) all side curtain builders. If you want Straitline Canvas curtains, tensioners, or hardware just ask your account manager at the body builder to make sure Straitline is written down on the build sheet. Your account manager will want you to have whatever hardware on your build you are comfortable with. Sometimes they have default suppliers they may want to use for specific parts, if you are interested in what you are buying you are always welcome to ask them what they have specified and why.

Very similar situation to the above, but you will need to make sure you let your Lease Company account manager know about the hardware you would like and ensure that they will get the message through to the body builder. Don’t forget - you are the customer! You are doing the work which generates the money to spend at companies who provide for the transport industry. It’s only fair that you are given the chance to discuss what hardware you would like on your trucks and trailers.

Yes absolutely. Please contact us for our Side Curtain Installation Instructions.

Straitline® has a curtain re-use program, we are happy to take care of your old curtains for you if you are buying new curtains from Straitline®.

No. Your old logo cannot be physically or chemically removed from the curtains without wrecking them. You can try painting over top, but remember clear coat is designed to prevent paint sticking, so the paint will fall off over time. Straitline® recommends replacing curtains if you need to de-brand.

There are 4 main designs of Side Curtains:
Dry Freight: standard design of Side Curtain found everywhere all over New Zealand.
Double Skin: dry freight curtain with an entire second skin on the inside of the curtain. This protects the straps and fabric of the side curtain from the load and offers some insulating properties. Perfect for chiller units that do not carry frozen goods or loads that will give side curtains a hard time.
Insulated: very similar to Double Skin Side Curtains but has a layer of foil backed bubble wrap inside the curtain skins to provide as much temperature control as possible. Best suited for units which carry frozen goods. Please note these curtains are very heavy and should be made with double roller plates instead of traditional single roller hangers (to help prevent roller and track wear over time).
Chipliner: these curtains are found on tipping units. They have 50% more buckles and straps, and interior flaps to deal with carting bulk loads. These units are very specialised and not very common on New Zealand roads compared to other side curtain units.

Sometimes we have issues with our new products, we are a team of humans and humans make mistakes from time to time! If some component fails due to poor workmanship, we will repair or replace it to ensure you get the quality you have paid for. If you drive around with a loose curtain and leave it to flap itself to death in the wind, then we will not be held liable.

Yes, Side Curtains have been called a wide variety of names, here are some examples we have heard over the years:
• Truck Curtain
• Curtainsider
• Curtainside
• Debrand Curtain
• Soft Side
• Side Loader
• Truck Canvas
• Truck Side Canvas
• Taught liner
• Slide-a-side
• City-slide

Yes, expired curtains can be re-certified for a 1-year period if they pass an inspection. Now, there is no damage or wear and tear that cannot be fixed! The question is how much time, energy and money should be spent on an old set of curtains? As an example, let’s go through the following common scenario: your curtains are 5.5 years old and light can be seen through the fabric around every buckle. Your truck has a capacity of 14 pallets (which has an average of 12 buckles per side). Depending on the state of your curtains, it often averages around $50+GST per buckle (indication only, this will vary) to remove, clean, weld a patch, and reinstall each buckle (to restore your curtains to a certifiable state). This means in order to re-certify your curtains (for 1 year) you could be looking at a bill of about $1,200.00 +GST. When you compare that to the new pricing estimate found above ($2,350.00 +GST), and keep in mind that new curtains come with a 5 year certification, re-certification seems like a less viable idea.