"The idea for this truck 'lid' came from necessity. A new state law against littering was being enforced, making it virtually impossible to legally haul silage or other material down the road in an uncovered truck," explains Edwin Scott, Mebane, N.C., designer and inventor of the new load-containing lid for dump trucks.

Framework for the cover is made from 1 1/2 in. tubing that can be covered with a variety of lightweight materials. It's raised and lowered by a switch from inside the truck's cab. "In our operation we use two self propelled silage cutters with dump boxes that empty into our six dump trucks for transport," Scott told FARM SHOW. "Then, the load is hauled down the road to our trench silo several miles away."

Scott said people began complaining about the amount of silage that blew out of the trucks onto the highway and eventually the State Highway Patrol intervened with a litter warning. Scott built his automatic cover to avoid the time and expense of covering each load with tarp.

Scott's lid fits a 7 or 8-ft. wide truck bed and can cover up to 15 ft. in length. It's fastened to the top of the truck with only 5 bolts and can be removed easily.

"The best thing about the lid," says Scott, "is that it's electric and can be adapted to any truck with a 12-volt system. And you don't have to crawl over the truck to tie down a bulky tarp."

Scott would consider custom building the lid but is more interested in turning it over to an interested manufacturer.