Caster questions

[fred d]

I am getting ready to build some wheel dollies. I want to build them for multiple uses
I'm looking for casters that will be able to support the weight of the vehicle. Basically looking for about 1400 pounds per wheel dolly. Which means about 350 pounds per caster. Probably go 400-450# casters to be safe.

Don't think steel will work for me because going from garage to driveway, driveway is to rough to roll on.

I already have a bunch of casters for shopping carts, but afraid the wheel is a bit too tall and too narrow. also not sure what weight they are rated for.

I have read about 2-2.5 hours of post about casters, but they didn't talk much about different materials.

I bought 16 poly casters from NT and had them in the tool box awaiting time to build the project. I pulled them out and the red poly was all cracked on a bunch of the casters and was falling off the black inner part of the wheel

I really like the way my poly casters on my creeper roll on the garage floor/driveway, but not sure why the NT ones disenegrated they way they did

Thoughts?
Suggestions?
Thanks

 

[LG63]

Steel or phenolic are the only two materials I would consider for wheel dollies. Bigger diameter, less rolling resistance but obviously bigger wheels require jacking the vehicle higher.

 

[fred d]

Please tell me how the phenolic material Is so superior

 

[dewalt378g]

Get casters that have good plates. You'll see loads and loads of casters to choose from, but heavy plates with a stout kingpin make for a durable caster assembly. Take note of the HF casters...look good, spin good, great price, but the plates are like tin foil. Once they get deformed all the bearings fall out or become so "loose" (think sagging caster angle) that they no longer rotate well and start favoring direction.

Oh yeah, and a heavier plate is much nicer to weld on if you are going that route.

 

[BFBOB]

Take the weight rating with a large grain of salt. I had my 900 lb lathe on casters rated 1500 lbs/set of 4. It never moved what I considered acceptably. I finally replaced them with casters rated twice that, and what a difference! The tires are just ordinary hard rubber, and even the old ones didn't wear or sag appreciably. As dewalt said, look for stout plates. Weld or bolt on, they're much less prone to bending when you try to roll over the inevitable obstruction.

 

[purplezr2]

What's the driveway concrete or gravel?

 

[LG63]

Please tell me how the phenolic material Is so superior

Maybe not superior but it's hard so no flat spots, easier on floors than steel, and relatively economical. Phenolic is standard issue in many industrial applications for it's low cost and durability.

 

[tool_scrounge]

At 1400 lbs per 4 wheel dollies, I would use casters with 700 lb capacity each. I would also use quality casters and not the HF stuff. Colson make nice casters. When I replaces the stock 4" casters on my tool box with 5x1.25" Colsons, the difference was amazing. I suddenly realized the floor was not as flat as it looked as the tool box would roll away if the caster wheels were not locked.

 

[FMC1959]

Had a cart with 3" Phenolic casters (Colson) worked great and very smooth. After a couple of months the Phenolic cracked and just came off, still works fine, rolling on the metal.

Not sure if it was defective, I suspect someone over oiled the castors with Petroleum product. I believe Phenolic breaks down with petroleum products and should be lubricated with something synthetic like silicone.

Anyway. I have some of the heavy duty all steel that work great, although not as smooth. The best way to overcome this is to go with the largest diameter your budget, and the clearance needed, you can afford. To be used for a car dolly, I don't think phenolic or steel would "feel" that much different.

 

[LG63]

Had a cart with 3" Phenolic casters (Colson) worked great and very smooth. After a couple of months the Phenolic cracked and just came off, still works fine, rolling on the metal.

Not sure if it was defective, I suspect someone over oiled the castors with Petroleum product. I believe Phenolic breaks down with petroleum products and should be lubricated with something synthetic like silicone.

Anyway. I have some of the heavy duty all steel that work great, although not as smooth. The best way to overcome this is to go with the largest diameter your budget, and the clearance needed, you can afford. To be used for a car dolly, I don't think phenolic or steel would "feel" that much different.

Are you sure they were phenolic? Usually phenolic wheels are one solid chunk and phenolic is pretty much impervious to oils and most other industrial chemicals.

 

[purplezr2]

I know that the casters on my Epiq are rated for a large amount of weight. The box alone weights something like 1000 pounds.

 

[FMC1959]

Are you sure they were phenolic? Usually phenolic wheels are one solid chunk and phenolic is pretty much impervious to oils and most other industrial chemicals.

You are right, you got me to thinking and checked on Colson's website, the ones that cracked were Moldon Polyurethane (Cast Iron Core)

 

[tarbellb]

I would start looking on Ebay, there are some really good deals to be had on quality casters. Like others have stated, Colson makes very good casters, as does Albion.

Me, I love a good 5" rubber/TPE soft wheel with a "full lock" feature. That lock feature not only locks the wheel from rolling but also spinning, effectively leaving it nowhere to go.

I would personally go with a taller wheel (4-6") and build the wheel dollies with a dropped bed. This would allow for a much lower height for jacking.

 

[FMC1959]

I would personally go with a taller wheel (4-6") and build the wheel dollies with a dropped bed. This would allow for a much lower height for jacking.

What he says, larger wheels are smoother, support more weight, overcome obstacles easier, aside from the price, the bigger the better.

 

[mstewart]

http://www.greatlakescaster.com/index.php[/url

 

[catalytic]

^^ great lakes caster is a great source. Also, call EZ-Roll Caster. I called over 30 caster places last time I built a run of mobile bases, and EZ-Roll set me up with 4" Poly-On Steel double locking casters w/1200lb capacity each for around $12 each -- about a third of the price of the next cheapest quote. The ones they sent me are nice casters with grease zerks and everything galvalized.

I highly recommend steel or iron, or poly-on-steel (makes them roll easier, won't get flat spots from sitting, and is non-marking).

Also, buy higher weight capacities than you think you need...weight is never evenly distributed on all 4 casters. This is a mistake nearly everyone makes...and it leaves you with a dangerous cart that risks failure every time you hit a bump and the weight shifts onto the front one or two casters. These days I buy casters where each individual caster is rated for the full load on the cart... it doesn't cost much more, and things don't wobble or break.