Best “off-the-shelf” furni dolly?

gafftapegreenia

CBMod
CB Mods
What do you consider the most robust, yet fairly priced, off the shelf furni dolly? Cause the one pictured here sure ain’t it.

I don’t mind making them with good casters and two or three layers of 3/4” ply, but sometimes you just don’t have the time.
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The best one is the one that suits your needs. I would have a look around and then decide if they make one that suits or not. If not then build your own. Make it well make it once and it will be with you for years.
I once had to make one 8ft long to do the job I needed it to do but it is now long gone along with the set it was designed to transport on it.

Regards
Geoff
 
The best one is the one that suits your needs. I would have a look around and then decide if they make one that suits or not. If not then build your own. Make it well make it once and it will be with you for years.
I once had to make one 8ft long to do the job I needed it to do but it is now long gone along with the set it was designed to transport on it.

Regards
Geoff
@Crisp image Akin to good hand tools, well made dollies with great casters learn to escape at an early age.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
The best multi-purpose dolly I've ever encountered is this one from a company called Sandhill Quilting-
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The casters move like they are not from this planet. It's enough to make a grown man weep. Unfortunately they seem to have vanished from the internet.

I've got plenty of those other ones like the one you pictured. They work fine, the hardest part is always keeping them under whatever we're trying to push so we've also built a few random ones as well.


Edit- here's a picture of the casters, if anyone recognizes that logo-
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I had a couple of thoughts on brand but both were wrong....

For "real" dollies I suggest trying New Haven Moving Equipment or similar suppliers.
 
I had a couple of thoughts on brand but both were wrong....

For "real" dollies I suggest trying New Haven Moving Equipment or similar suppliers.
Yes, New Haven is great. The one @StradivariusBone posted is very similar if not identical to New Haven product. Those rubber bumpers are great.
The best I've seen are made by moving company suppliers. Never big box stores~
No doubt about that.
@Crisp image Akin to good hand tools, well made dollies with great casters learn to escape at an early age.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
No lie there. It’s why we generally buy Harbor Freight for shop owned hand tools. They typically go missing before they break or wear out.

The favorite furni dollies in our shop are the two of these purple guys. The casters are a dream and they are tough! Apparently they are the “Nansin Silentmaster”.
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Yesterday I put together four of these using slightly better casters from Harbor Freight. Two layers of glued 3/4” ply, 23”x23”. Probably about $25 in material costs. We’ll see how well they hold up.
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Edit- here's a picture of the casters, if anyone recognizes that logo-
View attachment 21354

Looks to me like it is a TrioPines caster based on a bit of web searching; the 5000 or 5200 series look the closest, perhaps, though figuring out the exact wheel type and tire material and bearings and so forth is more effort than I care to expend at the moment (and probably at least as important as the maker).

One good place to get casters (and wheels and some other bits and pieces) of most any description is SurplusCenter, with the caveat that you may not be able to get more of the exact same thing in the future. I've ordered some other stuff from them a couple of times, and have no complaints with the service or the products or their prices.
 
Harbor freight. Had too many disappear every time I loaded a truck. Buy 'em cheap, Buy 'em often.
 
Good Morning

Harbor Freight has upped its game lately
They still have a bunch of cheep stuff but Dollies and hand trucks are inexpensive and I've had mine for ages
 
The best multi-purpose dolly I've ever encountered is this one from a company called Sandhill Quilting-

The casters move like they are not from this planet. It's enough to make a grown man weep. Unfortunately they seem to have vanished from the internet.

I've got plenty of those other ones like the one you pictured. They work fine, the hardest part is always keeping them under whatever we're trying to push so we've also built a few random ones as well.


Edit- here's a picture of the casters, if anyone recognizes that logo-
View attachment 21354

The brand is TrioPines Casters: http://triopines.com/
 
I'll change it up a bit and say the best dollies are the ones that are all the same height. we bought a bunch from brand A then a few years later a bunch from brand B, and while the caster height is the same the wooden frame isn't. worst pain in the butt when you grab 2 different ones to move the big long thing and it doesn't sit level so one dolly is always trying to swivel away when you push the load.
 

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