A warehouse terminal building shelter defining a truck dock and seal, wherein a head pad assembly includes a head pad pivot assembly which is anchored forwardly, within the head pad assembly and secured in spring-biased relation thereto. Opposed side pads are covered and reinforced by tension tie straps secured to the blockouts forwardly thereof and in coactive sealing disposition beneath the pivot assembly. Each side pad is of L-shape configuration in cross-section, the side pads being deformable inwardly, relative to the shelter and its head pad.

A loading dock shelter of the pad type having L-shaped configuration, which, in normal operation provides a wrap-around type of engagement with the rear end of trucks backed into operative engagement with the loading dock shelter.

A loading dock shelter with hinge gap closure wherein reinforced side curtains seal corner/hinge areas, as a truck/trailer is backed into the loading dock, to thereby form a protective weather seal for the dock. Excessive pull on opposed side curtains is compensated by a pair of spring-loaded hinge assemblies, connecting the respective curtains to each shelter side frame of the front walls. Hinge gap closures having side curtains for right and left portions of the shelter are each adapted to set the curtains parallel to the door of the dock in the normal closed position, when the dock is not in use. When a trailer is backed into the dock, reverse mobility of the vehicle causes the side curtains to be forcibly deflected from their normal aligned and inoperative position, to extend them along the inside of respective trailer swing doors when open, whereupon a collapsible wedge on the extreme end of each side curtain encompasses and plugs the dock gap, created by the truck and its swing doors, preparatory to and during loading and off-loading. Respective side curtain hinges function to close in transverse extension of the side frame of the shelter when it is not in use. When in use, the hinges extend themselves arcuately outward from the side frame of the shelter toward the trailer body and its exposed swing door. Each attached side curtain is thus extended inwardly to seal the dock gap between open trailer doors and shelter. An elongated collapsible pad on the free end of the side curtain, is coactively engaged by the side wall of the vehicle, its door hinge and the open door of the service vehicle.

A pair of vertically oriented hook seals positioned in facing relation on the lateral portions of a loading dock shelter engage the aft lateral portions of a truck or van positioned adjacent to a loading dock and seal the gap between the truck sides and its open doors. Each seal is coupled to a dock shelter side panel and extends inward toward an aperture in a wall about which the dock shelter is disposed. Each seal is comprised of a curtain having a plurality of spaced, resilient, flexible ribs or reinforcing strips disposed along the length thereof and securely coupled at their respective outer ends to a dock shelter side panel. The inner end of each of the reinforcing strips is coupled to an elongated foam strip extending substantially the full height of the dock shelter sides and having a generally triangular cross section. Each of the foam strips is adapted to engage in a sealed manner an aft lateral edge of the truck as well as the proximal edge of an adjacent open door of the truck and to fill the gap between the truck and its open door. The flexible reinforcing strips along the length of each of the curtains in combination with a collapsible support frame in each side frame allow the foam strips to fill the door/truck gap along the full height of the truck not only in the case of an inclined or declined loading dock, but also when the truck is misaligned relative to the loading dock shelter, i.e., in not "square" relative to the wall upon which the dock shelter is mounted. The hook seal arrangement is also capable of accommodating trucks having a range of widths.

A loading dock seal includes a low-profile backer that is vertically adjustable relative to a wall-mounted bracket to facilitate the installation of the seal. In some embodiments the bracket is generally U-shaped with a turned-in lip on one leg of the U-shape. The backer, to which a compressible foam pad is attached, is similarly U-shaped to nest within the bracket. During installation of the seal, the turned-in lip restrains the backer horizontally, yet allows the backer to be adjusted vertically to properly position the seal. Once properly adjusted, an added fastener further fixes the backer to the bracket, so that the seal is fixed both horizontally and vertically. In some embodiments, the low profile of the backer is achieved by forming the both the backer and the bracket out of sheet metal. The backer includes elongated channels or slots for bolt head clearance to accommodate anchor bolts that connect the bracket to a wall.