• A good dolly cart helps you move loads weighing hundreds of pounds without back spasms or excessive swearing.
  • The Milwaukee Flow Back Dolly Cart is the best one you can buy thanks to the classic simplicity of its form and function and its lifetime durability of construction.

Call them hand trucks, dolly carts, box carts, or any other name, these plucky contraptions are minor miracle workers when it comes to hauling heavy objects from place to place. A hand truck lets an individual transport many times more weight than they would otherwise be able, and with certain specialized options, a load can even be moved upstairs, over rough terrain, or over long distances. I use a hand truck around my home at least once or twice a month, and in previous periods of life, I used them weekly in offices or daily when working on TV sets.

Whether your job calls for moving hundreds of boxes a week or your move calls for transporting all your furniture, appliances, and stuff in one weekend, a good hand truck is a great thing to have on hand. Save yourself from the backache and get the work done faster with the latest versions of this centuries-old type of hardware.

Here are the best hand trucks:

Prices and links are current as of 8/18/20. We removed our pick for the best stair-climbing dolly cart because of stock issues. We could not find a replacement that we were confident in at this time. We also added a selection of related buying guides.

The best overall

Milwaukee Flow Back Hand Truck arrives fully assembled and ready to roll, and thanks to its simple, sturdy design, it will remain in service for decades, if not for life.

There’s nothing fancy about the Milwaukee Flow Back Hand Truck. But hand trucks are not supposed to be fancy, they’re supposed to be functional. And this hardy hand truck is certainly that.

It’s rated for a 600-pound load with a safe stacking height up to 42 inches, so you can load a number of boxes or a larger, heavier appliance onto this tubular steel beast and start to roll.

The Flow Back's 14-inch by eight-inch toe plate is ample enough for easy balancing but not so large as to take up extra space while you're storing or transporting the hand truck, while its eight-inch tires are made of a solid rubber that never needs air and can easily handle the rough terrain of parking lots, sidewalks, and even a bit of off-road hauling.

And I can tell you from personal experience that this type of tall, sturdy hand truck is hard to beat for all basic load-bearing needs and is exceptional for stacked boxes.

Pros: Built to last, large weight capacity, corrosion-resistant finish

Cons: Emits chemical odor when new

The best collapsible hand truck

Foto: Source: Welcom

The Magna Cart Personal Hand Truck folds down small enough to fit in the trunk of any car or into a small closet, but it can move 150 pounds around with ease.

When fully opened and extended, the Magna Cart Personal Hand Truck features a 39-inch handle and a wide 15-inch base. It allows you to easily transport loads weighing up to 150 pounds.

It's ideal for the person moving into an apartment or dorm room or for use in smaller offices thanks to its dimensions when collapsed. With the base plate folded up and the wheels tucked in, the Magna Cart Personal Hand Truck is only 2.5 inches deep can easily tuck away under a bed, on a shelf, in a closet, or in the trunk of your car.

Another thing that's compact about this hand truck is the price. It's a highly affordable piece of equipment and a justifiable expense even if you'll only use it for one move or for setting up a new office. However, do note that its 150-pound weight capacity is also pretty small, especially compared to other units on our list, so don't try to move a fridge with this thing.

Pros: Compact when folded, low price point, easy to use

Cons: Modest weight capacity

The best high-capacity hand truck

Foto: Source: Harper Trucks

If you need to move a fridge, washing machine, or a safe, then the Harper Trucks 800 Pound Appliance Truck is ready to serve.

Any way you look at it, this is one serious hand truck. And yes, that starts with the hefty price tag, but if you're moving appliances or furniture that weigh many hundreds of pounds (and may cost thousands of dollars) it's worth the investment.

The Harper Trucks 800 Pound Appliance Truck stands 60 inches tall, allowing for plenty of contact area with the load being moved and making the best use of the physics of the fulcrum and lever. Its extra-wide 24-inch base plate helps spread the weight as you roll, while a pair of ingenious belt stair crawlers - picture tank tracks, basically - set above the wheels help you ease up or down stairs or curbs.

But, of course, the ultimate metric with hand trucks is the weight capacity, and here the Harper Trucks 800 Pound Appliance Truck shines. It can handle loads as heavy as 800 pounds, so few appliances, pieces of furniture, or other items you'll ever have cause to move are beyond its capabilities.

Just make sure you make use of the built-in belt and belt tightener to secure the load to the hand truck because even the best hand truck in the world can't help you if its cargo falls off of it.

One notable drawback is the shallow four-inch base plate, which makes it less suited to moving anything that's not solid and square. But for boxes, appliances, and the like, it really excels.

Pros: Amazing weight capacity, built-in securing belt, stair crawlers help on stairs or curbs

Cons: Quite expensive, shallow base plate not suitable for oddly-shaped objects

The best convertible hand truck

Foto: Source: Cosco

In a matter of seconds, the Cosco Shifter Hand Truck and Cart converts from a two-wheeled hand truck to a four-wheeled cart or packs down for easy storage.

There are times when a hand truck wheeled along at an angle just isn't the right burden-bearing assistant for the job. Sometimes, a flat cart is a better choice. On the other hand, sometimes the leverage of a hand truck is just what you need to move a single larger item.

With the Cosco Shifter Hand Truck and Cart, you don't have to choose. This device can be oriented as a twin-wheeled hand truck ideal for moving heavy boxes or other items using the leverage that comes with angled transport or it can be set up as a four-wheeled cart on which you can pile up to 300 pounds of goods.

Converting from hand truck to cart mode requires no tools and takes mere seconds, as does folding the whole thing flat for storage when the job is done for the day. Just don't try to go off-road in the four-wheel cart position, because two of the wheels are rather small and only suitable for use on hard surfaces.

Pros: Multiple position options, folds down for storage, lightweight but capable

Cons: Wheels can snap shut on fingers when folding

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Foto: Source: Porter-Cable

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