Hand Trucks, Hand Carts and Dollies: What’s the Difference?

There is a difference between a hand truck, a hand cart and a dolly.

Some think it’s just language thing – like the English calling a cracker a biscuit.

But there are separate definitions for each word, as well as unique functions particular to each type of material handling or moving equipment.

But like with all things, there are some blurring of the lines and the mixing of capabilities. It has all become so confusing. We want to help sort this out.

~ What a Hand Truck Actually Is ~

A hand truck has two wheels.

It is designed to move vertically stacked boxes or vertically oriented equipment, furniture and “stuff” so that the load can be balanced on those two wheels.

The “hand” part of hand truck has to do with handles and hands that perform a critical function in moving things.

Hands and handles provide the balance of loads on two wheels.

Some refer to hand trucks as “L-shaped material handling equipment”. The L-shape comes from its vertical positioning.

But what if you put an extra set of wheels on a hand truck and set it horizontally?

Then it ceases to be a hand truck and it converts to a hand cart.

We call these transformer-like hand trucks convertibles.

~ The Traditional Hand Cart ~

Hand carts are reminiscent of ox carts of antiquity or even pioneer-era carts that were human powered.

They are rolling platforms not really even in the same league as traditional two-wheeled hand trucks. But, like hand trucks, they are meant primarily to move stuff.

Hand carts are more diversified than hand trucks, usually.

They can have their platforms down low or up high, depending upon their intended purpose.

For example, our stocking hand cart is meant for retail environments to move large quantities of product without offloading that product to a floor.

One just “carts” it away from location to location.

Anyone who has worked a retail sales floor before understands the purpose of this.

That is why hand carts tend to be specialized. They are crafted for the environments they serve and they rarely leave those environments or are used for other work.

A hand cart, like a hand truck, is powered by the hands.

That is why it should never be confused with another material mover known as a dolly.

~ What is a Dolly? ~

Some people think a dolly is a multipurpose word for “hand truck” or “trolley”.

Not quite.

A dolly is a platform with wheels but without handles.

It can move things on the strength of multiple casters.

A drum dolly, for example, is fitted for standard size drums. The dolly effectively puts wheels under the drum, allowing it to be freely moved by just pushing on the drum.

Dollies make sense for very heavy and very large loads.

Our piano dollies, for example, are engineered to hold great weight via a small footprint device. The frame of the dolly distributes the weight, the wheels allow that great weight to be steered.

A dolly could never be confused for a hand truck. But it could be confused with a hand cart.

For example, our platform dollies have the option to add a handle to them. Technically this transforms it from a dolly to a hand cart.

As you shop for various material handling products keep these three rules in mind:

1. A hand truck has two wheels
2. A hand cart has four wheels, a platform and a handle
3. A dolly has four wheels and no handle.

And that’s it.

Everything is hybrid, meaning you can add a handle to a dolly to make it a cart or you can add wheels to a hand truck to make it a dolly.

But they are not the same. Ever.