When should you replace loading dock seals?

Replace a loading dock seal when its pads are torn, punctured or flattened, when foam shows through the cover, or when you can see daylight around a parked trailer. Any of those means the seal no longer closes the gap between the trailer and the wall, so heat, cold, rain and pests get in every time the dock door is open. Check seals on a walk of the dock every month, and look again after any trailer backs in hard or off center.

What a dock seal does

A dock seal is the set of foam pads around the outside of a loading dock door: two side pads and a head pad, each wrapped in a tough fabric cover. When a trailer backs in, it presses into the pads and they close the gap around the back of the trailer. The pads around a dock door are called the dock seal; a dock shelter is a frame with fabric curtains that wrap the trailer instead of pressing against it. A seal fits best where trailers are one size and the dock is heated or cooled; a shelter suits a mix of trailer sizes and leaves the full width of the trailer open. Our dock seal glossary entry covers the parts in more detail.

Seven signs it is time to replace dock seals

• Tears and punctures in the cover. Rips, holes and split seams let water into the foam, and wet foam breaks down fast.
• Exposed foam. Once the foam core shows, the pad wears quickly and stops sealing.
• Pads that stay flat. A good pad springs back after the trailer pulls away. Press the foam with your hand; if it stays crushed, it has lost its recovery.
• Light around a parked trailer. With a trailer at the door and the dock lights off, look for daylight at the corners and along the top. Every gap is air and moisture coming in.
• Worn corners. The trailer's rear corners and hinges rub the same spots on every load, so the side pad corners usually wear through first.
• A sagging or loose head pad. A head pad that droops or pulls off its backing leaves a gap across the top of the trailer.
• Pads in the way of the work. Side pads that bulge into the trailer opening can block forklifts and pallets from reaching the sides of the load.

What wears dock seals out

Every trailer squeezes the pads, and forklift traffic in and out of the trailer makes it bounce against them all day. Trailers that back in off center tear the covers and crush one side more than the other. Sun, cold and moisture break down the fabric and foam over time. A seal can also be the wrong fit: if your fleet changes to taller or wider trailers, or you need full access to the trailer's width, the seal you have may never close the gap, however new it is.

Repair or replace?

Not every worn seal needs to come off the wall. Many dock seals have replaceable wear parts, such as corner pieces and head pad faces, so a technician can replace the worn part and keep the rest. Replace the whole pad when the foam has lost its spring, water has soaked into it, or the backing is rotted or bent. If the dock leveler, the bumpers or the dock door above it is also damaged, fix those at the same visit, since a bad leveler or a missing bumper is often what is tearing up the seal.

Checking the rest of the dock

While you inspect the seals, look at the dock bumpers for missing or worn rubber, the dock leveler for a lip that does not extend or a deck that drifts, and the dock door for a bent bottom bar or worn bottom seal. Dock equipment also has safety rules: OSHA's dockboard standard requires the leveler to carry the load and the trailer to be kept from moving, with wheel chocks or another restraint, while workers are on it.

How G Brothers helps

We repair dock seals, dock levelers and dock bumpers, along with the loading dock doors above them, for warehouses and businesses across the Denver metro. We dispatch 24/7 when a dock door or dock is down, and can provide a certificate of insurance, usually within 24 hours. See dock leveler, seal and bumper repair and loading dock door repair, read standard loading dock door sizes, or ask for a free estimate.

Sources

• Rite-Hite, Is it Time to Replace Your Dock Seals and Shelters? (2023)
• LoadingDock.com, Top 5 Most Common Loading Dock Problems and How to Fix Them
• OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.26, Dockboards