Larger Wheels on US General Tool Cart

[YoshiMoshi3]

I have a 5 drawer US General Tool Cart. It came with 4 inch casters. Has anyone tried bolting on larger casters? I see Harbor Freight sells 8 inch casters. They also have 10 inch, but they aren't in stock most cases. I would like larger wheels.

 

[whateg01]

On my 4 drawer the casters just bolt through the floor, iirc. You should be able to bolt on whatever casters you want but you might have to drill new holes.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

On my 4 drawer the casters just bolt through the floor, iirc. You should be able to bolt on whatever casters you want but you might have to drill new holes.

I should use two rigid and two swivel casters?

I should use solid non air filled tires or are air filled tires ok?

I've seen on YouTube. Someone used four swivel casters l, 10 inches, air filled tires from HF. When rolling, the tired flexed a little, making movement impossible. But I'm not sure if this is because the tires were to big or if it was because they were air filled or if because it should really be two swivel two rigid

 

[Retroman]

I changed out the 2 rigid with swivel on my US general 44" box and on my welding cart.
I have tight access and prefer the maneuverability of the 4 swivels.
But yes they were solid tires.

 

[whateg01]

It all depends.

Fixed plus rigid is nicer if you have to push the cart long distances. All swivel is good for right quarters where you need to spin the cart or move it laterally.

Solid will roll easier on smooth surfaces. If you are going over gravel, pneumatic rolls over obstacles better. They might not have had the tires aired up enough in the video. Or they might have had the cart heavily loaded. How will you have yours loaded? Think about hand trucks. They often have pneumatic tires. If they are nearly flat, they don't roll so nice and turn even worse. But air up to almost solid and they behave almost like a solid tire. Bigger tires go over stuff better. But bigger swivel casters will let the tires swivel back under the cart farther. If the cart is too heavy, it might want to tip because of that. Just a bunch of considerations...

 

[Hakeem]

I did it and it made it a fair bit less maneuverable. I did the 8inch pneumatic casters for ease of passage on my crunchy garage slab. They bolted right up. In theory it would be more tippy due to the higher center of gravity but I haven’t noticed that.

 

[RTM]

. But bigger swivel casters will let the tires swivel back under the cart farther. If the cart is to heavy, it might want to tip because of if that.

This is a Big fear w oversized casters. Coupled with the bottom of the cart might start to flex more as you get away from the support of the edges, you can easily get unstable.

Edit: implied but not said previously. Moving the pivot points of swivel casters inboard reduces stability footprint, especially as the wheels pivot so the larger portion is inboard.

I’d resist the urge to get too huge, unless you can put a beefy frame underneath it, and only go with pneumatic if you need it for rough surfaces. Nice thick urethane works well for a slightly rough floor.

 

[F-22]

I'd avoid pneumatic. Solid are more than fine and give 4 less tires in the garage to worry about inflating.

If it is a wide and long cart, bigger casters are a great idea. Makes it roll so much easier. But as others noted, they do go further inwards and it can make it tip over quicker if the cart is small or narrow. Having two fixed ones is better in that case.