How to choose an industrial trolley

The load you move picks the trolley: its size, shape and weight first, and then the route it rolls - the aisle width, the type of floor and its condition, and any gradient on the way.

For heavy flat or boxed stock moved regularly or over any distance, use a four-wheel platform trolley; the Easyroll platforms we stock run from 250kg to 900kg. For one tall or stacked load you tip and wheel a short way, use a hand truck or sack truck, rated to 270kg in the range, with two people on the handle for a load from 100 to 200kg. A fridge or another appliance needs a fridge trolley, rated at 250kg.

There are two checks to make before you buy: that the heaviest load it will carry sits within the rated load on the product page, and that you have allowed for any slope on the route, because a gradient adds push force for every 100kg of loaded trolley.

1.Types of trolleys and the job each suits

Easyroll 2-in-1 · 200kgsack truck or flatbedShop this trolley

A stack of cartons, boxed stock on the move between the racking and the dock, a fridge and a pair of gas cylinders each need a different trolley. A platform trolley is four wheels under a flat deck, and the range runs from the 250kg folding-handle model up to the 900kg steel platform with a 1220x760mm deck. For a four, five or six-wheel trolley at its rated load, WorkSafe Victoria recommends up to 400m and up to 200 uses in an eight-hour shift, with one person pushing, or two if visibility is poor or the load is long. A hand truck or sack trolley runs on two wheels instead of four: tip the load slightly forward so the toe plate (the flat plate at the foot of the truck) goes under it, push the plate all the way under, then push so the axle carries the load, not the handle. The toe plate measures 325x240mm on the 150kg sack trolley and 510x240mm on the 250kg heavy duty hand truck, which has a wide shoe for larger objects, so compare it with the footprint of what you move. The ratings top out at 270kg on the heavy duty P-handle trolley, but the rating is not the one-person limit: WorkSafe Victoria's guidance is that one person should handle no more than 100kg on two wheels, with two people from 100 to 200kg. At 200kg on two wheels its figures fall to 35m and 50 uses a shift, against 400m and 200 uses on four wheels. So regular heavy loads or long runs go on the four-wheel platform, and the hand truck takes the occasional load over a short distance.

The 2-in-1 convertible changes from a two-wheel upright trolley to a four-wheel platform truck, which suits work that switches between tipping a load and wheeling a flat one. In EHI's catalogue it's rated at 200kg upright and 300kg as a platform. A picking or tiered trolley keeps stock at working height. The steel 450kg twin picker carries the most, and the plastic tiered trolleys are rated at 150kg and 250kg. Most of the picking and tiered lines in the range are listed for indoor use only, so keep them off the yard. For a stacked trolley, WorkSafe Victoria says the height of the trolley and its load should not affect the user's field of vision.

Both fridge trolleys are rated at 250kg and come with a ratchet. The standard fridge trolley runs on 10" wheels, which Easyroll fits for the best performance over rough terrain, and its PU foam tyres mean no punctures. The stair climber model is fitted with three-wheel stair climbers for taking a load up and down stairs. WorkSafe Victoria says to avoid using a trolley on stairs where you can and, where there is no alternative, to choose one designed for stairs. For gas, the oxy-acetylene trolley carries two G-size cylinders at the same time with a security chain and is rated at 250kg, and the double cylinder trolley carries one or two D or E cylinders with a double security chain. Drums are a different job and go on drum handling gear, not a cylinder trolley.

If the site moves a mix of all of these, send us the loads and the route and we will match them to the fewest trolley types that cover the lot.

2.Load ratings

Easyroll steel platform · 900kg1220x760mm deckShop this trolley

The figure to work within is the load capacity on the product page, which is the trolley's rated load. WorkSafe Victoria asks that the load weight stays within the rated load and that a trolley carries a clearly visible label showing its rating in kilograms. Size it to the heaviest single load it will ever carry, not the average day. A 400kg load goes on the 400kg aluminium platform, the 450kg steel platform or the 900kg; the 300kg aluminium platform is rated under it, however rarely the 400kg load turns up. The push-force targets further down are set for the trolley at its rated load, which is one more reason to buy the rating for the load.

Under a four-wheel trolley, EHI's catalogue sizes each castor at 35% of the total load, and the castor guide explains why, and how to size them.

3.Deck material: aluminium, steel or plastic

Easyroll aluminium platform · 300kg23.5kg emptyShop this trolley

The deck material decides the top rating you can get in the range, how much the trolley itself adds to the push and where it can be used, wet or dry, indoors or out. The trolley's own weight counts because the regulator's slope figures are per 100kg of the whole loaded trolley.

Steel carries the top ratings in the range: the 450kg steel platform and the 900kg steel platform, which Easyroll builds with a fully welded frame for strength and longevity. Steel is not automatically the heavy option, though: the folding steel 250kg platform weighs 18.6kg, lighter than the 300kg aluminium platform at 23.5kg.

The aluminium platforms are rated at 300kg and 400kg. Easyroll says aluminium will never rust and is very easy to keep clean, and both have a buffer strip on each corner to protect walls and furniture. Plastic tops out at 250kg on the large two-tier platform trolley, and the three-tier plastic trolley is rated at 150kg with a lip on each deck to contain spills and non-marking grey rubber castors that keep the noise down. Both plastic trolleys are listed for indoor use. So pick aluminium where the trolley gets wet and the load stays within 400kg, and plastic for lighter indoor picking and anything that spills.

4.Wheels for your floor

WorkSafe Victoria asks for a wheel material and diameter suited to the floor surface, gives pneumatic tyres as its own example, and lists spring castors alongside them. Flat spots on a wheel, debris and floor irregularities all add to the force it takes to start a trolley rolling, and a swivel castor that is not facing the direction of travel adds resistance until it swings into line. If the floor is finished and can't take wheel marks, look at the 250kg folding platform, which runs on non-marking rubber wheels. For a yard or any stretch outside, check that the product page lists outdoor use before the trolley goes out: every platform but the steel board trolley does, and so does every hand truck and sack trolley, the 2-in-1 and both fridge trolleys. Among them, the 150kg and 250kg heavy duty sack trolleys run on puncture-proof wheels for reduced push effort. For tyre types in depth, see the wheels guide.

WorkSafe Victoria wants trolleys inspected and maintained regularly, with a damaged one taken out of service until it is repaired or replaced. We stock the spare wheels: the 261mm polyurethane TSW01 fits the fridge trolley, the light duty P-handle trolley, both sack trolleys and the 2-in-1, the 250mm polyurethane TSW02 fits the 250kg heavy duty hand truck, and the 251mm rubber TSW04 fits the oxy-acetylene trolley.

5.Pushing it safely

The Hazardous Manual Tasks code of practice (Safe Work Australia's model code, as published by SafeWork NSW) sets no safe weight for all workers in all circumstances, because too many factors beyond the weight contribute to the risk. It puts trolleys in its engineering-control row alongside mechanical lifting aids, so a trolley counts as a control in the risk assessment. It also prefers pushing to pulling, because pushing involves less work by the muscles of the lower back, and WorkSafe Victoria notes that people can usually exert higher push forces than pull forces, so push the trolley rather than pull it.

WorkSafe Victoria's targets for an ergonomically designed trolley loaded to its rated load, on a flat level surface, are a starting force no higher than 21kg-f, a rolling force no higher than 12kg-f and an emergency stopping force no higher than 36kg-f. A kg-f is a kilogram of force; 12kg-f is about 118 N. The weight of the load is not what matters most, the horizontal push force is, and under typical conditions starting is always harder than rolling, with positioning in a tight space typically the highest force of all. Point the wheels in the direction of travel before you push and that first effort comes down. WorkSafe Victoria recommends a vertical handle or one at about 1m, so the hands sit just above waist height with the elbows bent close to the body; the 300kg aluminium platform's handle sits at 970mm.

On a slope, WorkSafe Victoria's table gives the extra push force per 100kg of loaded trolley weight: a 1 in 20 adds 5.0kg-f, a 1 in 15 adds 6.7kg-f and a 1 in 10 adds 10.0kg-f, and its worked example is a 150kg laden trolley that needs 3kg-f on the level and 10.5kg-f up a 1 in 20. Put a 300kg laden trolley up a 1 in 15 and the slope alone adds 20.1kg-f, which is more than the whole 12kg-f rolling target. The regulator's advice is to reduce the load on a slope to stay within the rolling force limit. If you need to stop on a ramp or use ramps regularly, choose a trolley fitted with brakes; the code names brakes and speed limiters as a way to control speed. Going down an incline, keep the trolley in front of you. WorkSafe Victoria tells anyone using a hand truck or a four, five or six-wheel trolley to wear safety footwear, as toes, feet and lower legs can be hit or crushed.

6.Standards

The castors under an industrial trolley fall under ISO 22883, the standard for manually propelled or power-towed industrial castors up to 4 km/h, adopted in Australia as AS 1961.7-2004 and since withdrawn; the castor guide covers it.

7.How to order

If you'd like us to pick the trolley, send us the load and its heaviest weight, the floor and any ramps, stairs or outdoor stretches, the aisle and doorway widths it has to pass, and whether it needs brakes for a ramp. Or open any trolley's product page, which lists its load capacity, dimensions and weight and carries a datasheet PDF.

For pallet jacks, drum handling and dollies, head to the materials handling guide.