Trolleys Trolleys Trolleys You Could Not Believe The Variety!

When I tell people that I work with trolleys, the response is always one of disbelief, a trolley to most people is the things that the take around Sainsbury's on a Sunday morning.

But just stop and think for a minute and look at where these versatile little things are what they move and how they can help you, whether in you field of work, whether at home in the garden, or around the house.

Think of an household item, and there will be a trolley that has either been used in the manufacture, distribution or installation or even in the future repair.

Try to broaden your horizons when it comes to thinking about what trolley you need, don't just think elevated basket on wheels.

Just look around you, everything that has wheels on, and doesn't have an engine is a trolley, your printer on PC maybe sat on one right now!!!

So where do you start, when thinking of using or building a trolley..........

There are many different styles of trolley available to use, the one that you would know the best, is the standard 4 four wheeled shopping trolley, these are frequently known by there store names such as Asda Trolley, Sainsbury’s Trolley, Morrisons Trolley, Tescos Trolley or Marks and Spencers Trolley, Really they are just a grocery trolley. The most common complaint about this style of trolley is that they never seem to steer in the direction that you want them to go. The reason for this is due to the four swivel castor or spinning castors. If there is wear in the head bearing the wheels will try to fight against each other and disappear of in a direct in that you didn’t want it to go.  But many people automatically think when choosing a trolley that 4 swivel castors wont help them due to the experience that they have with them. When in truth as long as they are maintained correctly these are the most manoeuvrable  trolley wheel configuration that there is. They just must be maintained properly.

The next style of trolley that many of you will have used would be the Airport Trolley, also called the Nesting Airport Trolley, Baggage Trolley, stacking Airport Trolley or Aluminium Airport Trolley. These are fitted with three wheels, 2 which are fixed and one at the front which will spin. Even if there is wear on the head bearing of this castor as there is no other swivel castor for the wheel to fight against it will still travel in the direction that you want it to move. The disadvantage is that the over all loading capacity, the weight that the trolley will carry is substantially reduced as there are only 3 points of contact on the floor. With any trolley the weakest point is the wheels and this is with general trolleys where the capacity rating is work out. The more wheels or the bigger the wheels, inherently the larger the capacity.

If you are in the catering trade, hotelier, or publican, another trolley that you would be used to using would be the Sacking Cash and Carry Trolley, or nesting cash and carry trolley, again these are frequently know by there store names such as B&Q trolley, Wickes Trolley, Bookers Trolley. They are fitted with 2 fixed wheel and 2 spinning wheel, these would usually have a working capacity of 500kg, however the down side is when fully loaded they would need a lot of force to use the trolley. They are fitted with sprung loaded bases so that the back of the bed lifts upward so that they can be stored one inside the other very similar to a shopping trolley. These trollies are very hard wearing heavy duty trolleys which take a lot of punishment.

However the most common type of trolley used in UK industry is the Flatbed Trolley or Platform Truck, these are just a standard platform with 4 wheels, and a handle at one end. The wheels can be solid wheels, castors, air filled pneumatic tyres, they can be swivel or fixed castors, and the can have brakes fitted to them. There are also many different types of finish and in fills to them. The most common is the standard wood trolley, this is a wooden base in the steel frame to create the bed for you to load your goods. Then the can be filled with steel to give a steel trolley, or plastic to give a plastic trolley, or even in-filled with mesh, to give a mesh trolley. There can be side panels, that can be attached and removed. Again the are many different options for this. 2 sided trolleys, often called double sided trolley or Adjustable double sided trolley, offer the ability to carry long loads. Double end trolleys, allow you to move boxes without the load spilling over the front of the trolley. Or you can add three or four sides turning the trolley into a 3 sided trolley or 4 sided trolley. These are often called box trolleys, cage trolleys or box platform truck and cage platform trucks. Again the sides can be made from plastic, steel, mesh or wood.

Another very common type of trolley is known as the Turntable trolley, this is a steering trolley when the handle is moved the front wheels turn in the same direction, the handle is attached to the front axle and steering plates, allowing the front wheels to pivot in the direction that you wish to travel. These trolleys generally have larger wheels and will cope with more arduous ground conditions. The wheels can be solid, Air Filled Tyres / Pneumatic tyres, or even runflat tyres. These are a wheel the looks and rides like and air filled tyre but will not puncture. Again with the turntable trolley the or steering trolley is able to have trolley side panels and covers adapted for it. These are used in a variety of applications, from agricultural trolley, through to computer trolleys and everything in between.

Trolley and carts come in many version as I am sure you are becoming aware. When you are travelling around your local shops you may well see merchandizing trolleys, these are also called order picking trolleys, table trolleys, tier trolleys or shelf trolleys. The are ideal pieces of equipment to ensure that you work at an ergonomic height. This will ensure that you maintain good posture as well as keep lifting sensible weights at sensible heights as a good lifting guide. These again can come in many variations, 2 tier or 2 shelf trolleys, 3 tier or 3 shelf trolleys, 5 tier or 5 shelf trolley, in fact with a trolley specialist you can have as many shelves as you need to do the job.

If the trays or shelves don’t have to be fixed in place, the you could look toward have rack trolleys, these are often described as bakery racks, mobile racks. They are used with removable tray, or plastic boxes, this gives the ability to stack product higher that you would not normally be able to stack. If the goods for instance are soft or fragile, if the need to cool down, hence the name bakery racks.

If you were to put a cage or doors around a table or shelf trolley then it would become a Parcel Cage or distribution trolley. Frequently these are used by courier companies, where the products that they carry change in size and shape every night. The trolley and roll cage start to act as a retained pallet so that awkward item are stackable. Increasing the amount that can be moved in a lorry by maximising the use of head room in the lorries.  

Garden centre trolleys and balance trolley, generally have just the two wheels, these aren't to be confused with a sack truck or barrow. the garden centre trolley have two wheels in the centre on the trolleys and would usually have a basket on the top to be able to store plants and compost, these are frequently seen at you local garden centres. The two wheel configuration makes the manoeuvrability superb.

The most important thing is to look at the item or items that you want to move, if it's fragile, what shape is it, how much does it weigh. If the item that you are moving is long but thin, for instance a panel such as a door, picture or a mirror, is it best to lay this flat across the base of the trolley and then stack other items on top of it...... Certainly not if the item is fragile in any way. Look again see if you can lay the item on its side therefore taking up less space, making it also easier to retrieve from the trolley. Furthermore it will reduce the likely hood of damage, Look at using window trolleys, plaster board trolleys or panel trolleys. If the product boxed, it becomes very easy to stack this will make you job so much easier and reduce the costs of transport, on a standard flatbed trolley you can store and transport a large bulk of goods, and the more you can transport in one movement the cheaper your costs of transit will become. You can increase this still further, by adding sides to the trolley, the higher the sides the more stable the load, the more you can move the cheaper it becomes.

Please remember to always take into account the abilities of the person that will be using the equipment. Don't make the trolley so heavy the they won't move it, you can find guidance from your local HSE with regards to the loads that you can move. To be honest its a little hit and miss, so use as much common sense as possible.

Next take ito account the ground conditions that the trolley or cart needs to operate over. Are the ground conditions even, flat, bumpy, has pot hole, is it grassy or muddy, are you driving along hills, or up and down hills. If so these factors will make a lot of difference to the equipment that you would need.

The surface - If the ground is lovely and flat, try to use a solid wheel or Castor, this will take less initial force to start the trolleys motion, as soon as the trolley is moving the only force you should need to apply is the steering and stopping of the trolley. The harder the wheel the easier this is. If the surface is loose, or a grassed area, or muddy you will need to use a pneumatic tyre this will cope with conditions a lot better, the wheels wont sink into the ground, the wider the foot print of the tyre the better it will react. The are some other choices of tyres available, such as foam filled or polyurethane tyres, which look and behave as a pneumatic, but will not puncture. These are excellent offering the very best of both worlds.

Also look at the options of materials that can be used, steel and wood are the most common materials, however ABS, PVC and Polypropylene are also available, these can offer the same strengths as the steel and the wood, but can be remarkably lighter, allowing the operator easier usage.

When it comes to a starting point of what you are going to want from your trolley, then always start with looking at the wheels. Where are you going to be using the trolley will determine the type of wheels that you will want. If you are going to be travelling over rough ground always ensure that the compound of rubber is fairly soft so that it make the ride of the trolley a lot smoother. This way it will ensure less damage to the trolley as well as the goods that you are carrying on the trolley. Whereas if you are working on a really smooth ground then you can work with something that is a lot harder and will wear for a lot longer, i.e. a nylon castor or something of that ilk.

Powered Trolleys and Platform Trucks are a fairly new phenomenon in industry, with the need to constantly increase productivity, reduce cost, and increase health and safety, these tools are becoming increasingly common place. There are a huge amount of safety features built into this type of equipment, including automatic braking, emergency stop functions, and audio alarms. Generally these battery powered trolleys although there are some companies in the UK that will make these trollys to order for you so that you acheive the exact sizes that you need.

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