At Douglas Equipment, we are distributors of casters and material handling equipment. The products we sell go to customers who work in an extremely broad range of industries. Many of our casters perform in the harshest environment imaginable. They must reliably roll across floors strewn with sharp, abrasive metal shavings, or covered in oil. Some of the casters we sell are subject to harsh chemical wash downs, must splash through puddles of corrosive solvents, and keep rolling smoothly. If our customers need casters that hold up well under the punishing loads and corrosive salt air of a marine shipping dock, the experts in our customer service department will recommend casters that do the job.
At the opposite end of the scale, some products we sell perform their duties in hotels and resorts – as wheels and casters for bellman luggage carts. This may seem like a much easier environment (and for the humans on vacation, it often is!), yet for the casters that support their luggage there are still substantial challenges in performing their duties – even at a posh resort.
You may be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), designing a luggage cart for a hotel chain. Or perhaps you’re the facilities manager at a hotel faced with the challenge of replacing the corroded casters on luggage carts that are otherwise in perfectly good shape. You could simply look for an exact replacement for those rusty bolt on casters – or you might decide that it’s time for an upgrade, and choose casters that will last much longer than the original ones.
In either case, you’ll be faced with many decisions when it comes to choosing casters and wheels. In the rest of this article, we will help you with those decisions.
Casters and Wheels for Maneuverability
Bellman luggage carts come in a variety of styles. There are four wheel carts, finished in fancy polished brass or utilitarian steel; two wheel bellman hand trucks, perfect for moving a tall stack of suitcases piled on their sides; three wheel self-service carts; and many more.
To meet the need for maneuvering in tight spaces, small elevators or cramped hallways, most four-wheel luggage carts use two swivel casters at one end, and two rigid casters at the other end. Three wheel self-service carts usually have two fixed wheels below the handles, and a wheel that swivels under the nose of the cart. Bellman hand trucks, perhaps the most maneuverable of all bellman’s equipment, are equipped with two fixed wheels.
From Snow and Sleet to Plush Pile Carpets
Your particular environment will help determine many of the choices you make for finishes, wheels and treads.
- Weather – Perhaps your hotel has an awning or covered entryway and your luggage carts are never subject to rain or snow. In this case, you will have the broadest range of options for materials and finishes. But if your carts are exposed to rain or sleet, have to splash through puddles, or stand up to the corrosive salt air of a seaside hotel, then you may want to look for casters and wheels made of metal with finishes that can stand up to tough weather and still look good, even with a minimum of maintenance.
- Surfaces – What will your casters roll upon? Smooth, even floors and carpets? Or will they have to contend with cobblestone entryways, storm drains and sewer grates, curbs separating driveways from sidewalks – and still roll smoothly across marble floors and deep pile carpets? You’ll want to take the surface into account when you select casters and wheels. And you’ll want to choose tread materials that won’t mar floors or track debris through the lobby when the cart comes in from outdoors.
- Sound – Hotels can be busy, bustling places. Lobbies can be filled with people coming and going, and with much distracting noise. One way to minimize noise, keep hallways quiet and guests sleeping peacefully in their rooms is to make sure you choose casters that roll quietly over any type of surface.
Let’s look at how these factors influence your choice of finish, wheels and treads.
Metal Finishes, Caster Wheels and Tread Styles
If your goal is to find exact replacements for casters on a bellman luggage cart made from polished brass, then your choices will already be determined for the type of metal, finish, wheel material and tread style. But if you’re designing a new cart, or upgrading casters on existing carts, you can specify each of these components to suit your needs.
- Types of Metal and Finishes – Polished brass is a popular choice for hotels that want to convey an elegant image. Casters are available in this material. If a luggage cart is exposed to the weather, polished brass may not hold up well. A good substitute is stainless steel, available in polished or brushed surfaces. It can also convey an elegant image – and stand up to the great outdoors! It won’t tarnish and does not need polishing. Satin aluminum is another material that does well outdoors; it’s not quite as durable as stainless steel, but it is less expensive.
- Caster Wheels – Wheels are available in a variety of materials, ranging from durable plastics through the metals described in the paragraph above.
- Treads and Tires – The choice here is between solid or air filled pneumatic tires. For a smooth ride and excellent noise reduction on any type of surface, a tire filled with air gives great results. But to avoid maintenance issues, such as flat tires or having to fill the tires periodically, solid tread options are available as well. Whichever type of tread or tire you choose, make sure it’s made from a non-marking material so that your floors are protected.
We’ve covered a lot of choices. Now let’s talk about how to get some answers!
Call Douglas Equipment – We’ve Got Cart Wheels for You!
At Douglas Equipment, we carry thousands of casters and wheels. Which ones would be perfect for your bellman luggage cart? The quickest way to find the answer to that question is to give our customer service department a call and let our experts guide you to the best choice. You can reach us at 800-451-0030, or at 305-888-3700 if you’re in South Florida. You can also contact us online. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
