The Importance of Trolleys: Making Product Transport Easier

If you run a logistics or a delivery company, then increasing your warehouse efficiency and productivity is something you want to focus on. And ensuring your employees can quickly and efficiently load, transport and locate items will certainly make a huge difference in terms of productivity. 

Obviously, you can’t expect your employees to lift boxes and heavy loads with nothing but their own strength. Since working in a warehouse is one of the most labour-intensive jobs, you should do everything in your power to ensure that your employees are equipped with all the necessary transportation equipment that will provide an uninterrupted workflow. 

When it comes to the essential transportation equipment for a warehouse, you can’t overlook trolleys. Trolleys are practical platforms on wheels that can transport a variety of both light and heavy items. Depending on their application, there are several types of trolleys your business can benefit from. 

Dollies

The term “dolly” can refer to a large number of trolleys used for moving heavy and bulky items such as furniture, appliances and pianos. It is a platform on wheels that has two axles and four wheels, one on each corner. The only downside to the dolly is that it has no mechanism to lift the item onto it, so it has to be lifted manually or with the help of some other device. 

If you want dollies that are easy to maneuver and balance, I recommend that you choose four-wheel dollies, but if you need to transport very large and heavy objects, you can also find two-wheel dollies which are more convenient to use. There are many types of dollies, but the following ones are most commonly used.

Appliance Dollies 

When browsing the range of appliance dollies for sale, you’ll notice that they look like regular hand trucks or utility dollies. They are “L” shaped platforms with two wheels and a solid base. What makes them different from the other dollies is that they have straps to help and secure heavy appliances. These straps are much stronger than other straps used on other types of dollies, and are usually in the form of ratchet straps or bungee cords. 

Additionally, appliance dollies have a high loading capacity, from 270kg to 360kg, unlike hand trucks. They are often used for moving appliances, also known as white goods, such as dishwashers, dryers, refrigerators, cooking stoves and so on. They will not only help you save time in loading and unloading but also prevent damaging or dropping these costly goods. 

Another advantage of using appliance dollies is that they have rub rails, usually padded with rubber to protect the finish of your appliances and prevent scratches. Furthermore, they come with different types of wheels depending on what kind of surface you are going to move them around. They can have solid wheels that are ideal for rolling heavy items on fairly flat and stable surfaces, or inflatable wheels which are better for uneven surfaces and obstacles. You can even move them up and down stairs. You can also look for a manufacturer that produces custom-made appliance dollies for sale to suit your particular requirements. 

Using these types of dollies isn’t at all difficult. First you need to position your item with its smooth side towards the back of the appliance dolly, so you avoid damaging any mechanical components or electrical cords. Then, tilt back the item and slide the dolly underneath. A good thing about appliance dollies is that you can slide them underneath the items instead of lifting the items by hand. 

After the appliance is placed on the dolly, you will need to secure it by fixing the strap around it. Before pushing the appliance dolly, you should tilt the back slightly towards yourself and start walking forward slowly. When you are moving up and down stairs always have another person with you to observe you and help if needed. 

Furniture Dollies

These types of dollies are great for moving furniture and other heavy, irregular and bulky items including moving a piano. They come with solid wheels or pneumatic tyres. If the object that needs to be moved has solid sides, this dolly will attach to the sides of it. Once attached, the handles extend to provide an easy method of lifting the item. 

Drum Dollies

Drum dollies are wheel support rings or platforms, suitable for both steel and plastic drums and containers. They are also known as band dollies or drum trolleys, and are easier to maneuver than hand trucks since they don’t require containers to be leaned back and balanced. Usually, they come in a standard design with simple wheel castors and are made of powder coated or stainless steel.

Hand Truck Trolleys

The hand truck was invented in the 1700s to help young workers in ports to unload heavy items from ships. It is known by other names too, such as: a two-wheeler, a trolley, a trundler, a trolley track, or often miscalled dolly, but quite different. It is an ‘L’ shaped platform that stands upright, with two large wheels, a strong back and a solid base. 

To use this type of trolley, you need to slide the bottom platform under the boxes or whatever materials you’re moving, and then tilt the back slightly towards yourself in order to move the item around. Even when the items are small and can be easily lifted by hand, you will be able to load many of them onto the appliance hand truck and carry them all at once as long as they are suitable for being stacked without damage. 

Hand trucks are mostly recommended for moving light loads and for shorter distances. However, some new models come with two extra wheels, or with attachments for climbing stairs and can support a greater amount of weight. 

Platform Trolleys

This type of trolley is made of a flat platform that is mounted on a four-wheel chassis and it can either have one handle at one end or two handles at both ends. A platform trolley can carry up to 250kg-500kg, depending on the model. It comes in large or small sizes and can either be completely open on the sides or be caged in. A heavy-duty platform trolley is usually made from quality steel, while the lighter models are made of aluminium.

Cage Trolleys

Cage trolleys are very similar to platform trolleys. They have a platform base with meshed walls to prevent items from falling off during transport. They come in different shapes and capacities and significantly increase worker safety. Some of them feature shelving rails for better organisation. Their durability depends on the materials they are made from. Most cage trolleys are made from steel and come with sturdy wheels and that makes the transporting of items much easier and safer.

Custom Trolleys

If you can’t find the product or solution you’re looking for, I recommend that you go for custom made trolleys. There are companies that produce customs trolleys for decades. Nowadays with the help of detailed workshop drawings and 3D modelling, it is easier to create a realistically rendered model prior to placing an order.