Skip links

The Hand Truck Safety Tips You Need to Know

Do you remember when you were moving some luggage around, and you had to carry the heavy boxes? We bet you’d have loved to have a piece of equipment to move the load instead of labouring over such a mundane task. Well, it turns out you could have used a hand truck if you knew about it and a couple of safety tips for good measure.

Okay, maybe the story above doesn’t apply to you, and you’ve been using hand trucks for as long as you can remember. That’s nice, but have you ever encountered any hazard while using this seemingly harmless tool? Are you aware that there are safety tips to follow so you can handle the hand trucks better? If you aren’t, then you’re about to be.

Anyway, a hand truck/cart is a user-friendly device for moving loads. The manufacturers primarily design them safe enough for even kids to use. Needless to say, using a hand truck is one of the most efficient ways to transport bulky items from place to place. However, as with all equipment, hand trucks also have risks and can sometimes cause nasty injuries. So, you need to be aware of standards you should follow to handle hand trucks safely and efficiently.

What is a Hand Truck?

The average person may have no idea what a hand truck is; you probably didn’t until a little while ago. So, permit us to delve into basic knowledge about hand trucks before discussing safety tips for using them.

A hand truck is a piece of equipment people use for moving bulky items instead of just carrying them around. A typical hand truck has a flat L-shaped structure with two wheels underneath and two handles.

To use a hand truck, you’ll stack the luggage on the small ledge at the bottom end of the truck. Then you’ll have to incline the equipment at about 60 degrees to your body and push it around using its handles.

The purpose of the design of hand trucks is to eliminate the strain of carrying heavy objects. You can use them for everything from basic transportation to stocking, organizing and supplies deliveries. They’re perfect for establishments that move items frequently, such as delivery services, restaurants, hospitals, retail outlets and industrial facilities.

How To Use a Hand Truck Safely

Like we said earlier, a hand truck is a user-friendly device, and it’s straightforward to use. However, you need to use it properly to avoid any risk of hazard or injury when moving items. Note that injuries are not limited to your person alone; you also want to avoid damaging the things you’re transporting. So, no matter how heavy or light the load is, it’s essential to use the truck correctly.

Loading

When loading items on the truck, you want to slightly incline the stack of boxes, equipment or whatever you’re carrying. This way, you’ll be able to slide the hand truck’s ledge underneath luggage easily.

Also, use your foot to push behind the truck’s ledge and guide it right under the bottom of the package. Once you’re sure the ledge is well beneath the items you want to move, pull back the handle of the truck. Ensure the carriage is resting on its wheels and incline the structure towards your body. Then you can push it along.

Unloading

You will want to use a similar procedure to the one stated above when offloading your items off the hand truck. However, before dropping the hand truck, you should ensure you’re at the exact position you want to place the items. Once you’re sure, proceed to tip the load down. Then, slide the ledge of the truck out from underneath it. You may cushion the items down with your hands to avoid damaging them.

Related Article: What Are Tire Chains and When Do You Need Them?

Safety Considerations For Hand truck Users

While looking at safety tips for hand trucks, it’s crucial to identify the potential hazards associated with using the equipment. You need to know the threats before you can proffer solutions to them. And when applying your solutions or counteractions, ensure you’re taking the right approach. Below are three of the commonest hand truck hazards.

Under-inflated tires

Hand trucks use inflatable tires, which are ideal for balancing and efficient movement. However, most people usually forget or neglect to take proper care of the wheels. Then, with constant use, the tires will eventually deflate and begin to lose form.

Carrying heavy items on hand trucks with underinflated tires will put a strain on your muscular and skeletal system. Most particularly, it’ll place more stress on your back, shoulder, arms and legs muscles. The reason is that trucks with under-inflated wheels take more effort and exertion to move.

You may observe the cart to be lower on one side or both sides if one or both wheels are under-inflated. So, instead of simply sliding along, it’s making you apply a lot of force to get and keep the truck moving.

It’ll even get riskier when you need to turn or shift lanes, especially if only one of the wheels is under-inflated. When one of the tires is not in optimum condition, it distorts the center of gravity of the carriage. And it’ll cause the load to shift to one side of the truck instead of sitting securely in the center. So, the precariously positioned luggage may fall off when you make a turning movement.

Unequal Weight Distribution

Unequal weight distribution is often not the fault of the cart but the fault of whoever loaded it. And you’ll most probably stack the cart without balancing the weight if you don’t know how to balance gravity.

However, not balancing the weight is not the problem, at least not the significant one. The main problem is you’ll have to put extra effort into balancing the carriage when pushing it along. Initially, when you balance the setup, the carriage will pretty much slide along without needing much effort, provided the floor is even. However, the carriage will be shaky at best when there’s no balance.

Moving an unbalanced cart will exert a compressive force on your back. It’ll strain your spine and stretch your back muscles in a bad way.

Uneven Terrain

Stairs and rugged terrains such as cracked concrete floors can also be dangerous for hand trucks. Fortunately, there are electric hand trucks with mechanisms that can enable you to climb and descend stairs with greater ease. Nonetheless, they also have some level of risk.

Primarily, you’ll agree with us that pushing a hand truck up or down a set of stairs will be pretty inconvenient. Also, dragging a loaded carriage over terrain with bumps and dips can be dangerous.

How Can You Prevent Hand Truck Accidents?

prevent hand truck accidents

If your work requires you to use a hand truck frequently, workplace safety precautions should be already in place. However, if there are no such arrangements or you’re generally new to using the hand truck, you can apply the following safety tips when using a hand truck or cart.

Check the Condition of the Truck

When you buy a hand truck, it’s crucial to ascertain its condition before putting it to the task. I.e., do a proper inspection of all the cart parts before putting the load on it and moving it out. Most accidents occur when the cart is not in the best shape. So, you can avoid many accidents if you discover a fault in the cart before you load it up.

Check the tires and the handles. Also, ensure the ledge is still firm, and the support frames are in good condition. Pay particular attention to the wheels. Make sure to properly inflate the tires before usage. If they feel wobbly, tighten their screws and ensure they’re firm again. Leave no part unchecked before rolling out the cart.

Control the Load and Balance the Weight

When stacking up the items you intend to move on the hand truck, always follow loading precautions. First, make sure to distribute the weight of the load over the ledge evenly. The best way to do this is by placing the largest and heaviest loads at the bottom. Then, stack the rest of the items on top, ensuring to arrange them in order of size and weight. Put them down from the biggest to the smallest.

Also, make sure the left and right sides of the ledge have the same amount of weight. That’ll ensure that the weights get sufficient balance on both sides of the carriage; you’ll find it easier to push or pull the truck with this loading system.

Hold On to The Carriage and Watch Your Pace

Under excellent conditions, you won’t experience any difficulties moving the truck and luggage. As a result, you may feel the cart gliding along smoothly and then have a temptation to ease your grip and let it slide. Or, you may want to pick up the pace and get things done quickly. Don’t fall for either of the two traps.

When trying to ease your grip, you may mistakenly let go of the truck, and that’ll be disastrous. Something similar happens when you decide to speed up. You’ll most probably lose control of the hand truck and have an accident. So, hold on to the carriage and don’t run if you want to avoid accidents.

Avoid Obstacle Courses and Rough Terrains As Much A Possible

Taking the path with the least obstacles is common knowledge, especially when moving heavy items. However, there are times you’ll want to take such paths because they offer the shortest route to your destination. Nevertheless, we’ll advise against doing that. While the obstacle course may allow you to deliver the items faster, they’re more dangerous, and you’ll need to do more maneuvering to get there.

Instead, take the free route and move conveniently without needing to dodge blockages. The same applies to uneven terrains. Avoid taking uneven surfaces if you have the choice. Also, use ramps when climbing or descending stairs. So, you’ll be able to move quickly and avoid unnecessary hazards while pushing the carriage along.

However, you want to exercise caution while driving the truck over ramps. Especially if you’re descending stairs, you can quite quickly lose control of the truck on slippery surfaces. You want to tighten your grip on the handles.

Use The Right Truck For The Right Load

You have to use the right truck to carry loads of different volumes to be safe. It’s easy to assume the small hand truck will take the oversized luggage if you stack the items well enough. You may be able to pull it off, or you may fail terribly and end up in an accident.

It’s not safe to use small trucks for large loads. If you must use a small truck, try breaking the loads into smaller units if possible. Ensure the width of the items you’re carrying doesn’t exceed the width of the truck’s ledge. In the same vein, don’t stack the objects beyond the handle level. And if you must stack the items high, it must not obstruct your view in any way.

Secure Your Load

Many people neglect this simple yet important safety standard; you may never have considered it before. However, securing the load with safety belts can prevent mishaps. A ratchet strap is enough to keep the luggage from slipping or moving around in transit.

Related Article: The Flatbed Hauling Tips You Must Know

Final Take

There you have some of the safe ways to use a hand truck. Tools like the hand truck make it easier to move heavy items around. You don’t have to break your back over heavy loads anymore when moving. However, due to the ease of this transport mode, it’s easy to neglect safety standards and measures when using it. Always keep these safety tips in mind when using hand trucks to avoid mishaps.

Contact us at Toronto Trailers if you need help deciding which hand trucks will be best for you or have questions. You can also check out our online store for freight loading and unloading equipment. We’ll also be glad to answer all your questions regarding our products and services.

Leave a comment