how to buy a hand truck..the best hand truck is here

Whether you are moving furniture, appliances, or outdoor equipment, having a hand truck around can not only save you time but it will keep your back in good shape too. Moving companies have been using hand trucks, dollies, and platform carts for decades so they can load and unload their trucks fast. Hand trucks also will eliminate lower back injuries that are common from lifting too much weight. Just ask anyone who has ever helped a buddy move across town without using a dollie or hand truck for the heavier items and they will tell you how sore their bodies were the next day. When I recently did a move up from California to Oregon, I not only rented a moving truck, but I bought a hand truck and a dollie so I could minimize the lifting I would have to do. It was perhaps the easiest moving experience I have ever had. We moved dozens of heavy boxes, a refrigerator, washer/dryer, television sets, and large bedroom furniture in no time at all. The next day we were out celebrating our new home and not laid up in bed with aches and pains. What a relief. Just what type of hand truck or dollie is best? Keep reading below for our buying guide and reviews. 


This guide will help you find the right hand truck, dollie, pallet jacks, or platform cart whether using it for your home or at work. There are 2 basic categories of hand trucks - heavy duty and standard. Standard hand trucks are great for homeowners and small business owners who need to move objects that are 600 pounds or less. The heavy duty hand trucks are capable of carrying items over 600 lbs. When it comes to materials, hand trucks are typically made from steel, aluminum, magnesium, or heavy duty pipe frames. If you want the most durable and strongest material, go with steel. Steel hand trucks are heavy, but they are reinforced with double welded joints for the highest durability and strength where it counts. Aluminum made hand trucks are not as strong as their steel counterparts, but they are cheaper in price and lighter so maneuverability is better. The one drawback to aluminum hand trucks is that their load capacity is not that great. Magnesium is even lighter than aluminum, but it's stronger. Hand trucks come in all shapes and sizes - folding hand trucks, 2 in 1 convertible hand trucks, drum hand trucks, appliance hand trucks, speciality hand trucks, and heavy duty hand trucks with third and fourth wheel options. The convertible hand trucks are the most versatile with the ability to carry loads in an upright or vertical position using just 2 wheels or folding out the hand truck into a 4 wheel platform that rides horizontal to the ground. Having optional 'kick out' wheels allows you to quickly maneuver the hand truck into the most useful position for your move. Dollies are another form of moving equipment that makes heavy items seem like nothing. Dollies are usually square/rectangular in shape with 4 wheels on the bottom so once an item is place on the dollie, movement is as simple as pushing it along and letting the wheels do all the work. If you plan on moving items up and down stairs, then dollies will not work. For stair climing, a hand truck is the best choice since you can balance the weight as you move up the stairs. If you will be moving large items across flat surfaces, then getting a platform cart or pallet jack is a good idea. They can hold much more weight than standard hand trucks or dollies and the electric pallet jacks allow you to move items up and down with ease. Pallet jacks and platform carts are probably best suited for warehouse and business use rather than in a home. Dollies cost about $30 to $40, platform carts are $65 to $100, quality hand trucks are $100 to $170, and pallet jacks are $350 to $900. Some of the top brands are magna,Wesco, Milwaukee, Magliner, Little Giant, Tuff Stuff, Harper, Clipper, and B&P. magna-carts.blogspot.com has customer reviews which were very informative in helping us to find the "best of" in several categories below. Traditional retail stores like Home Depot, Sears, and Lowes carry hand trucks, dollies, platform carts, and pallet jacks as well