Electric vs Crank Roll Tarps for Hopper Bottom Grain Trailers

Written by Michael Brumleve
October 23, 2026
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Semi truck with a hopper bottom grain trailer, navy roll tarp closed, waiting at a rural grain elevator at harvest.

On a hopper bottom, an electric roll tarp is worth the money if you open and close the tarp many times a day, if more than one driver runs the trailer, or if cranking has gotten hard on your shoulders. A manual system with a hand crank is the better buy if the tarp only moves a few times a season. Either one covers the load the same way, with the same tarp, bows, roll tube, stops and latch plate.

At Brumleve Industries we install both kinds of grain trailer tarp system in Teutopolis, Illinois. We've been a family business since 1904 and have installed electric systems since 2007. The three electric brands we install are Roll-Rite, Shur-Co and Thunderstone, and we're an authorized dealer for each. Most of our customers order electric today.

What is the difference between a hand crank and an electric roll tarp?

The difference between a hand crank and an electric roll tarp is what turns the roll tube: your arm, or a motor that runs on the truck's power.

Hand crank

Electric

What turns the roll tube

You, with the crank

A motor on an arm at the front of the trailer

Where you run it from

The ground, at the crank

The cab, with a switch or a remote

Power it needs

None

The truck's 12-volt power, through a cord that plugs in between the truck and the trailer

What the truck needs

Nothing

A plug and wiring for the tarp


What does each system cost to buy and keep running?

An electric roll tarp costs more than a hand crank to buy and to keep running, because it adds a motor, wiring and controls to the same tarp and hardware.

The cost to buy

The price of an installed system or a conversion depends on your trailer and the brand you choose, so we give it to you as a quote instead of publishing one.

The one electric conversion kit listed on our site, the Roll-Rite STS Electric Conversion at $3,199.00, is built for end dumps. Don't order it for a hopper bottom, and don't read its price as the price of a hopper bottom conversion.

The cost of replacement parts

When a part wears out, the hand crank parts priced here cost far less to replace than an electric motor. A crank handle kit is $15.00 and an assembled rear roll return kit is $331.30. A replacement motor is $1,140.00 for a Thunder 7000 and $1,440.00 for a Shur-Co 4500 HD. The smaller electric parts cost about what crank parts do: a circuit breaker is $18.00.

These prices are from our site as of October 10, 2026.

System

Replacement part

Price

Hand crank

Straight Crank Complete Assembly

$148.80 (80 inch) or $173.80 (96 inch)

Hand crank

Crank Handle Kit

$15.00

Hand crank

Splined U-Joint Kit

$67.50

Hand crank

Front Roll Return Assembly

$53.80

Hand crank

Rear Roll Return Kit, assembled

$331.30

Electric

Thunder 7000 Tarp Motor

$1,140.00

Electric

Shur-Co 4500 HD Motor

$1,440.00

Electric

Thunderstone Remote Transmitter

$240.00

Electric

12V DC Reversing Solenoid

$156.00

Electric

Circuit Breaker

$18.00 (40 amp) or $22.80 (50 amp)


The crank parts are Kwik-Lock, our own line of crank hardware. They also fit Shur-Lok, which is Shur-Co's crank system. Other crank parts, like retainers and spline shafts, are in our crank system parts collection, and plugs, wire and switches are in electric system parts.

Owners who need a new motor typically order it as a motor kit, which adds the motor cover and the mount, and put it on themselves. The Shur-Co 4500 Motor Kit is $1,620.00 and the Thunderstone Motor Kit is $1,642.80. Electric tarp motors carry the manufacturer's warranty.

When an electric tarp won't run, the troubleshooting guides for the Roll-Rite Rite-Touch, the Thunder 7000 and the Shur-Co systems each tell you to check that power is reaching the system. All three have you look for a tripped circuit breaker and check the battery connections. Shur-Co's guide also calls for dielectric grease on the power plug at the front of the trailer.

Disconnect the power before you work on an electric system. And any time you run the tarp, make sure nobody is on, in or near the trailer.

Checklist for an electric tarp that won't run: look for a tripped circuit breaker and check the battery connections

Is an electric roll tarp worth the money?

An electric roll tarp is worth the money for a hauler who runs the tarp often or has trouble cranking it.

Go electric if:

  • You tarp many loads a day.

  • You wait in elevator lines at harvest.

  • Cranking has gotten hard on your shoulders or your back.

  • More than one driver runs the trailer. On a short haul, a driver with a crank may skip the tarp.

Brian Flom, a farmer in Kenyon, Minnesota, put an electric roll tarp on his grain trailer. He told FARM SHOW magazine: "I especially like the way it saves time at the elevator during weigh-in." Flom said he uses the remote to open the tarp from the cab as he drives onto the scale.

Quote card: Brian Flom says his electric roll tarp saves time at the elevator during weigh-in.

A poster on the Agriville farm forum wrote about shoulders and short hauls: "We put electric tarps on every truck, mostly to save shoulder injuries and since we did we tarp every load, every time regardless of distance."

Keep the hand crank if:

  • You tarp a few loads a season. You won't use the tarp enough for a motor to be worth what it costs.

  • You're the only driver and cranking doesn't bother you.

  • Several trucks pull the trailer and the tarp doesn't get much use. Each of those trucks would have to be wired.

If several drivers run the trailer and several trucks pull it, lean toward the electric. Wiring a truck is a one-time job, and the cranking comes with every load.
Comparison: wiring a truck for an electric tarp is a one-time job, while cranking the tarp comes with every load.

Can you convert a hand crank to electric?

In many cases a hand crank roll tarp can be converted to electric. It depends on the trailer and the crank system on it, so the first step is to tell us what you have. If you're buying new, you can start with a crank and, in many cases, convert it later.

A conversion generally keeps the tarp and hardware you have and adds electric parts in two places.

On the trailer:

  • A motor and arm at the front

  • Wiring from the motor to a plug on the trailer

  • The manufacturer's control unit, which the driver works with the switch or remote. It's a control box in the nose of the trailer on a Thunder 7000, a relay on a Roll-Rite system and a receiver on a Shur-Co system.

On each truck that pulls the trailer:

  • A plug that matches the one on the trailer, wired to the truck's battery through a circuit breaker

  • A coil cord that connects the two plugs

  • A switch in the cab, or a remote, for the driver to run the tarp

Diagram of a truck and hopper bottom trailer showing where the motor, wiring, plugs, coil cord and cab switch go.

A conversion is usually a shop job. Some owners do their own. Brian Flom and his farming partner did, and he told FARM SHOW, "We did the install over two days and really didn't have any glitches."

Can you open an electric tarp by hand?

On the electric systems we install, you can open and close the tarp by hand. We build a manual override into them: a splined shaft on the roll tube that takes a crank. If the truck loses power or a part in the wiring quits, you pull the main shear bolt up by the motor to disengage the motor, put the crank on the shaft and run the tarp the way you do now, so you're never stuck at the elevator with a tarp that won't open. If you convert, keep a crank with the trailer.

What about snow and ice?

Snow and ice call for more care with a motor than with a crank. With a crank, you feel the weight on the tarp as soon as you start to turn, and you stop and clear it. From the cab, you don't feel it. On a Thunder 7000, for example, snow or ice on the tarp can trip the controller's overcurrent protection, which stops the motor. One company with electric tarps on its trailers described its rule on the BulkLoads forum: "We have reminder training every fall not to use the remote when covered with snow or ice." Clear the tarp before you run it.

Which brand of electric tarp should you pick?

If one of your trucks or another trailer already has an electric tarp, the simplest pick is the same brand. The plug on the truck has to match the plug on the trailer, and a remote only works with its own brand's system. If you're starting fresh, we don't rank the three brands we install. A customer who wants a certain brand gets that brand.

The brand only changes the electrical side. About half of a finished system is made in our shop, where we build the nylon tarp and the mounting hardware, and the electrical kit comes from the manufacturer.


Get a price for your trailer

If you want a price on a new electric system or on converting the crank you have, call us at (217) 857-3777, Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM Central, or send us a message. Have three things ready: the trailer's make and length, the tarp system on it now, and the brand of electric tarp any of your trucks is already wired for. We do our installs and conversions only at our shop at 1317 West Main Street in Teutopolis, so you'll bring the trailer to us. If you're keeping the crank, we stock the parts to keep it running.