Hand Trucks & Dollies

Hand Truck vs. Dolly: Which One Do You Need?

People use the words interchangeably, but they describe different tools. A hand truck stands upright, with a nose plate at the bottom and a handle at the top: you slide the plate under the load, tilt it back onto the wheels and push. A dolly is a flat or shaped base on casters that sits under the load and rolls level with the floor. Choose a hand truck for stacked cartons, appliances and items that have to go over thresholds or steps. Choose a dolly for loads that are too wide, too tall or too heavy to tilt, such as drums, machinery, furniture and crates. For full pallets, a manual pallet jack is the better fit.

How to Choose a Hand Truck by Load Shape

• Boxes and cartons: Dual handle hand trucks in steel or aluminum handle everyday warehouse work. The heavy duty wide load steel hand trucks are rated at 600 lb with pneumatic wheels and 800 lb with hard rubber wheels.
• Mixed jobs: Convertible hand trucks, rated at 500 lb in steel or aluminum, switch from an upright two-wheel position to a four-wheel platform. The four wheel multi-position steel hand truck works the same way at 600 lb.
• Steps: The steel stair hand truck carries 300 lb, and the stair hand truck with four handles carries 500 lb and gives you extra grip points for controlling the load.
• Appliances and vending machines: Appliance carts hold the unit against the frame with a ratchet. Pick the 750 lb model or one of the vending versions at 60 in, 66 in or 72 in, based on the height of what you move.
• Rough ground: The off-road hand truck is rated at 550 lb for yards, gravel and job sites.
• Tight storage: Aluminum foldaway hand trucks fold away when not in use and range from 250 lb to 600 lb. The aluminum ergonomic hand truck carries 350 lb.
• Round containers: Pail hand trucks (500 lb), cylinder tilt back hand trucks (350 lb), keg transport dollies (rated at 200) and multi-purpose drum and hand trucks (500 lb or 750 lb) have frames shaped to cradle curved loads.

Wheels, Nose Plates and Handles

Wheels decide where a hand truck works best. Pneumatic wheels cushion the load and roll over cracks, curbs and outdoor surfaces. Hard rubber wheels can't go flat and suit smooth indoor floors. Foam-filled wheels give a cushioned ride without puncture worries. On dollies you will also see glass-filled nylon (GFN), poly-on-steel, mold-on-rubber and cast iron casters: softer treads are kinder to finished floors, while harder treads roll more easily under heavy loads on concrete.

The nose plate is the shelf your load sits on, so match its width and depth to your typical carton. Some dual handle aluminum models come with an aluminum nose plate, and nose plate dollies (600 lb, in 32"×15" and 32"×18" sizes) add a rolling base under the plate. If your loads have open bottoms or lift points, the adjustable fork hand truck swaps the plate for forks on a 20" wide frame rated at 250 lb.

Handle style affects control. Dual handles give two grips for steering heavy stacks, a P-handle lets you guide the truck with one hand, and plastic dollies with a pull rope or handle let you tow instead of push.

Frame Materials: Steel, Aluminum, Nylon, Plastic and Hardwood

Steel frames stand up to dock and shop abuse and are the usual choice for heavy daily use. Aluminum frames are lighter to lift into a truck bed or carry up steps. The fiber/nylon hand truck (18"×21") offers a non-metal frame that won't rust. Polyethylene dollies, including the padded-top 18"×30" model and interlocking 16"×26" dollies that lock together for longer loads, wipe clean easily. Hardwood six-wheel mover dollies (24"×48", 1,200 lb) come with a solid deck or carpeted ends to protect furniture finishes.

Specialty Dollies at a Glance

Cylinder dollies come with hard rubber or pneumatic wheels, the double drum dolly carries two 55 gallon drums, and the roll material dolly includes a cutter for dispensing.

Use and Care Tips

• Check the rated capacity on the product before every new type of job, and keep the heaviest items at the bottom of the stack.
• Tilt a hand truck back to its balance point so the wheels, not your arms, carry the weight.
• Check pneumatic tire pressure regularly and inspect casters for flat spots, debris and wrapped string.
• Wipe down plastic and aluminum frames, and keep steel frames dry to limit corrosion.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions and your site's safety program when moving loads.

Vestil Hand Trucks and Dollies

Every hand truck and dolly in this range comes from Vestil, which builds material handling equipment for industrial and warehouse use. If you need a larger deck for bulky or mixed loads, browse our platform trucks and carts, or see the wider hand trucks and carts selection for more upright and cart-style options.