THE WIKI COMMUNITY

Saturday 21 August 2010

Hand Truck Safety 101

By Bob O'Donald

Hand Trucks are a great cart that can be used in many ways. Their L-shape design gives you the leverage to lift a heavy object. Grip the handles at the top to gently slide the nose under the box you want to move. Gently tilt the hand truck backwards and start moving it on the wheels. It will be easier than if you had 3 people moving the package together.

The hardest part of using a hand truck is getting the load on right. Even if you use a hand truck with a beveled nose care must still be taken to load the truck properly as to ensure that you don't hurt your back. Gently slip the nose under the load by pushing the handles forward and as easily as you can transfer the weight onto the wheels.

For personal use or for objects that need to be treated more delicately, a more expensive and sturdier hand truck would be best. In some commercial situations, hand trucks are made with fewer side rails and less support because the objects being moved need to be moved quickly. These light weight hand trucks are ideal for commercial use but for someone moving out of their home, they don't provide the necessary support. When moving objects into and out of houses, a mover may encounter sets of stairs.

Some hand trucks have special wheels called "stairclimber wheels" that are especially made for navigating objects up and down stairs. Instead of two wheels, the hand truck has two sets of wheels, allowing the base to be more stable. The wheels can be adjusted at different degrees, depending on the steepness of the climb. Though they are great for climbing up and down stairs, the stairclimber wheels pose a problem with flexibility. The four wheels on the base are fixed, which makes turning the hand truck around quite difficult.

When will stairclimbers not do the trick? If your incline is too steep! Don't be a cheapo in such cases invest in a ramp or improvise to use a strong piece of wood in those cases. Not taking the proper precautions can result in your cargo falling off the hand truck and worse yet personal injuries or death. Be smart and plan out your move making sure you have all the supplies you need beforehand.

Though they are simple machines, hand trucks are available with more complicated features, such as hydraulic lifts and winches. When purchasing a hand truck, the carrying capacity is the most important feature. Loading a hand truck beyond its carrying capacity is just as dangerous as trying to hoist a cart over curbs without a ramp. It is better to be safe than sorry.

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