Choosing the right brand for you Deciding on the best hand trucks for your needs can be difficult, so it helps to know your options. Below are descriptions of the products offered by four major brands: Wesco hand trucks, Milwaukee hand trucks, Magliner hand trucks, and Townsteel hand trucks. Wesco hand trucks feature an industrial-strength 40-pipe frame construction, as well as ribbed cross braces for added durability. Each of the joints is double-welded, and the nose of a Wesco hand truck is a seven-gauge-thick plate with machine-beveled edges and radiused corners for extra safety. The frame can handle various wheel sizes, and zinc-plated Auto-Loc axles ensure smooth wheel rotation. Most frames come standard with vinyl hand grips. Milwaukee hand truck frames come in steel, aluminum, and nylon, and each frame has a powder-coated paint finish. Selected models come with wheel guards. Milwaukee offers a variety of handle styles, including P handles, D handles, flow-back handles, dual handles, pin handles, twin-pin handles, pig-tail handles, and dual-loop handles. Several hand truck wheel styles are also available, including pneumatic wheels, semi-pneumatic wheels, solid rubber wheels, blended polyolefin wheels, cast-iron wheels, and cast-aluminum wheels. All models come with hand truck stair climbers, heavy-duty ball or roller bearings, and a range of removable hand truck accessories. Toe plate sizes include 18, 14, and 10 inches. |  |
Magliner hand trucks feature modular designs for easy component replacement and extended life. Most offer a lightweight aluminum hand truck or a magnesium hand truck. These come with an aluminum-channel nose and a die-cast magnesium hand truck nose plate with a recessed heel. A magliner hand truck may also include moldon rubber wheels and tires that come with a die-cast magnesium hub and double-groove ball bearings. The hand truck stair climbers feature replaceable low-friction polymer skid bars.
Townsteel offers durable, lightweight aluminum hand trucks that come standard with rubber wheels and stair climbers. Most frames are rustproof, with hand truck wheel guards built into the nose plate to protect the load from wheel friction. Some models feature a folding extended nose plate for larger loads.
