Abstract: The apparatus for spiral wrapping a load comprises a carriage which is mounted moveably in the vertical direction on a fixed base-mounted stand and to which two prestretch rollers each coupled with simultaneous rotation with a frictionally engageable wheel and a film supply roll are secured. The downstream prestretch roller and its associated frictionally engageable wheel are carried by a two-arm assembly moveable around a vertical axis and may be moved by moving the member in order to engage or to disengage the frictionally engageable gearing mechanism. A switching assembly which keeps the gearing mechanism disengaged at the beginning of the wrap and thereafter allows an engagement of the friction gearing mechanism until the end of the wrap comprises a base-supported, vertically displaceable and upwardly pretensioned cam member with an upper abutment surface and a lateral cam surface and a switching element coupled rotatably with one arm member of the two-arm member.