How To Safely Use A Hand Truck
August 21, 2010 by Freddy Fried
Filed under Business
Hand trucks are a great tool to help you move a package that you would never be able to move on your own. The leverage they provide because of the way it is shaped-like an L is a simple yet effective invention. They allow you to move objects that you would never be able to move on your own. This will ensure that you don’t hurt your back.
To get the object onto the hand truck gently lift the box and slip the nose underneath. Some noses have beveled edges to help with this process. Push the handles slightly forward and slant the nose under the box. This will ensure that the truck is taking the brunt of the stress and not your back. Now you will be able to move the load comfortably.
If you have heavier items that are more delicate make sure you get a sturdy hand truck and use wraps to secure it. While lightweight hand trucks are ideal for commercial use you don’t want to use that for items heavier than 500 lbs. For that use a heavier steel hand truck especially if you have steps you have to maneuver ensure your hand truck has stairclimbers.
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 appear to be simple machines hand truck actually come with a plethora of options such as lifts and winches-hydraulic and not. The common denominator in all hand trucks is to make sure you are not exceeding the weight limit and you art using it in the way the manufacturer intended. An ounce of cure is worth more than a pound of prevention!
Magliner Hand trucks are the most widely used Hand trucks in the commercial delivery field, Make sure to stop by Handtrucks2go.com where you will find great prices on these and on all Rock n Roller Carts as well!!
