Dollies are flat-platformed and wheeled transportation units or load mover, ideal for moving around bulky or heavy objects. Dollies are especially useful to transport items over longer distances within a large building or up multiple floors and takes the effort away for an individual having to carry large or heavy items like boxes, equipment or crates.

A dolly consists of a flat platform and four casters with plastic or rubber wheels. The frame is often made with steel and the platform from wood, plastic, steel or aluminium. Most commonly the wheels are on swivel castors which swivel 360 degrees to enable the load to be moved in any direction.

There are many different variations of dollies with different mm sizes and load capacities from 35 kg up to 5 tonnes, so it is important to ensure that the correct one is selected depending on what is being transported to ensure that the load weight is not too heavy. Some plastic dollies have a built-in handle to allow portability and easy carrying when not in use. Dollies are a versatile piece of equipment to have available and can generally be used in most environments. Dollies with a handle are known as platform trucks.

Types of Dolly

• Plastic dollies – are often made of sturdy ABS plastic or polypropylene which is easy to clean and lightweight for easy manoeuvring. Some of these have interconnecting points so that multiple dollies can be linked together to create a larger platform.
• Plywood dollies – an often support a larger load capacity or kg of weight than their plastic counterparts and often have a non-slip coating to prevent slipping.
• Metal dollies – are the most heavy-duty transport dolly but are still easy to handle and can be used for moving a range of containers, pallets, bins and drums. Corner dollies made of steel are available to fit under each corner of a load meaning these can be used for handling various sized and shaped items.

Dollies can be used in a range of environments whether a furniture dolly is required for home and office use, or a wooden dolly or plastic dolly is needed for use in a distribution centre or warehouse, lifting and moving heavy loads in a safe way is made easy with these wheeled dollies.