Later today, at 3pm ET, there’s going to be an Amazon Lightning Deal on the Wesco Maxi Mover folding hand truck (normally $120 via Amazon). I took one look at it and scoffed at the price tag.
The price of the Wesco folding hand truck reflects its heavy duty construction and high load capacity of 250 pounds. Bosch’s is actually cheaper, at $99 via Amazon, and it has a higher load rating of 275 pounds. The Bosch is also eligible for the $25 off $100 holiday promo Amazon is running right now.
But do you need that high of a load rating?
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Magna Cart makes a small and kind of dinky-looking hand truck that sells for $25. But although it looks dinky, it’s not, it’s actually quite strong and sturdy. I’ve owned one for a couple of years now and can recommend it without any hesitation.
The Magna Cart is a seriously awesome little helper. It folds up into a nice and compact package that’s perfect for keeping in the car or near the front door. I pull it into service whenever I need to move heavy, bulky, or tall stacks of packages and want to save myself some trouble. Most of the time, it’s a huge convenience.
What I like most is how quickly and easily the Magna Cart hand truck can deploy. Squeeze the red handle and the handle rails fully extend. Fold down the platform with your foot, and you’re done. Do everything in reverse to fold it up for storage or transport.
The 5-inch rubber wheels are large enough to handle rough or uneven terrain, the handle extends to a pretty comfortable 39″, and the base is nice and wide.
The wheels can traverse loose gravel, snow, slush, rain, and dirt, or at least that’s what I’ve put mine through. After 3 years of occasional and sometimes frequent use, I have yet to see even a spot of rust or corrosion. I haven’t abused my Magna Cart too much, but I also don’t baby it at all either. I have definitely gotten my money’s worth from it, but I probably couldn’t destroy the hand cart unless I really put effort into it.
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I have yet to knowingly exceed the 150 pound weight capacity of this hand truck, but I might have come close a couple of times. For larger or bulkier loads, I use a Magna Cart platform cart ($83 via Amazon) or something similar but larger by Rubbermaid.
Price: $25
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I bought this back in 2011 from Sears, for the same price – $25. If I had to do it again, I would, except this time I would probably order from Amazon instead of Sears.
Looking at the Amazon user reviews, there are 1,097 4- and 5- star reviews, out of 1,213, with the 5-star reviews outnumbering the 4-star ones by about 4-to-1. It’s a little disappointing that this isn’t an awesome tool that only I know about but, but there’s confidence in numbers. If you’re ever in need of a light duty folding hand truck, check this one out.
Doug Powell
I have had a Magna Cart for years and years and have moved some seriously heavy and bulky stuff with it. It has always been up to the task.
Matt
Is there really anything special about Bosch one? Does it have brackets for the L-Boxxes to lock in? I could probably create the same type of thing on this hand truck.
Good thing you posted this… I was going to spend $10 more on it at Costco tonight. http://www.costco.com/Magna-Cart-Personal-Hand-Truck.product.11753765.html
Stuart
Not that I know of. There’s no positive latching mechanism that I have ever seen, but there looks to be stops that prevent side-to-side movement of stacked L-Boxxes.
Josh
The bosch cart has rubber stops on the sides of the platform that help keep the L-Boxxes in place. A stack can still fall off if it not well secured and you’re moving over bumpy ground.
The handtruck is a little bit hard to open but amazingly tough
adam
I own one as well. Picked up at K-mart through one of the points rewards programs for like $10-$15. Haven’t used it much, but is very convenient when needed & packs up small.
Scott Davis
I got mine at Kmart too when they closed the local store. I paid 10.00 for it.
Mike47
Lawyers seem to like these for hauling case files to and from court. I’ve seen a few at the local courthouse while i was on jury duty.
Jerrick
As a attorney, I can confirm these come in handy when dragging around boxes of documents. Thanks for the heads up – I just ordered another one!
Michael Quinlan
I paid $30 for mine at Sears years ago, and it’s pretty sturdy. The handle did slip out of my hand once while moving a heavy box (~60-75 lbs), and the handle smacked the ground. The extendable part of the handle is now bent slightly, making it more difficult to extend, but it still works fine.
The fully extended handle is a bit short for my taste, but overall compact size makes up for it.
The reason for my post though – I could swear I’ve seen these at Costco (Old Bridge, NJ) many times at $20, though they’re listed on Costco’s web site at $35.
Also, what appears to be the same Magna Cart platform is available at Costco (web site) for $64, including delivery.
Jim Felt
We’ve got like three of these and as Costco has offered them in various colors over the years we tend to keep/store and use them based on these colors. Kinda like permanent labeling.
They’re dorky but have never failed. Through airports and all.
ktash
Got mine at costco, too. Less than $35, though I don’t remember the price it was on sale. It really is a great little thing to have and folds up small. I do have problems getting it open because one wheel sticks when I try to do that.
RX9
I have moved a washing machine with this thing. It’s worth every penny.
firefly
I got this one at Costco as well. I have had it for a few years now, still going strong. In fact we used it to move a cargo box at the park just last week.
Torgo
Looks more like $78.67 than $25. What am I missing?
Watts
Got mine at Costco a few years ago for about $20. One of the more useful items I’ve bought there. Have been using it for 2 or 3 years with no issues so far, I always bring it when I help a friend move or think I might need it. Folds up small and takes up almost zero space.
Torgo
Apologies, I was confused by the Lightning deal on the Wesco 220649.
Ray
I’ve had one for a few years and moved over 150 pounds with it a few times. I haven’t had a problem with it supporting the weight yet.
it can be a little more difficult to get it started tipping back towards you if you are on the taller side than a traditional hand truck but I would still recommend it as a buy.
Richard
Like many others here, I picked mine up at Costco.
ONE IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THESE (and likely the rest of them):
The load rating is only for load down at the bottom. I bent the “arms” on mine by having too much weight that far up when moving something large with it and they would no longer retract/collapse.
It was certainly still usable, but Costco being Costco let me swap it out no questions asked.
Speaking of Costco, Stuart: ever think about doing a write-up on some of Costco’s in-store offerings? Would be curious to hear your thoughts on some of their tool chest offerings as well as things like the SnapOn magnetic LED work light (which was recently just upgraded to higher power LED’s).
Stuart
There’s a Costco somewhere around here, but I’ve never been. Maybe eventually I’ll check out their garage bench and storage offerings hands-on. Those products are generally well regarded.
The Snap-on stuff I might look into, but they’re Snap-on only in name. They’re licensed products, so they’re not really Snap-on designs.
Michael Quinlan
Confirming my earlier post… my local Costco (Old Bridge, NJ) has them in store for $18.99.
Erik Potter
If you are looking for something beefier Costco often has a 3-1 convertible hand truck in stock for under $100 (and sometimes about $80 with instant rebates). http://www.coscoproducts.com/eng/Products/Handtrucks/Convertible/Details/2995-12302ABL1-3-in-1-Aluminum-Hand-Truck-Assisted-Hand-Truck-Cart-w-flat-free-wheels
I just bought one for my last move and used it to help move a 258 lb 14″ bandsaw and a stacked washer/dryer amongst other things. It is rated at 800 lbs in 2-wheel truck and and assisted 4-wheel truck modes, and 1000 lbs in 4-wheel cart mode.
I’m a very satisfied buyer.
Erik
Bruce
I’ve used the folding hand trucks in the past. You should know that no matter how much you pay or what name is on the side, they are all really only 150lb units. You can put more on them and treat them gently, but they will fail in normal use above that weight.
Things I don’t like about them:
No way to ‘skid under’ a stack.
The wheels suck compared to a pneumatic tire.
They are a little short.
They break when you try to do real hand truck things with them
They suck on stairs.
Things I like about them:
They fold up in the car trunk super easy
They weigh nothing
They cost nothing to replace when you break them
If it’ll fit in your truck, the HF 600lb hand truck with slimed tires and maybe some welded on wheel flaps makes short work of any moving task for barely more money. You’ll break before it does, even in you are using it to lever an ATM onto it’s mounting studs. No really… onto, not off of…. I swear!
John
I paid 19.99 for one years ago at Costco here in Canada… last visit there I saw them offered for 13.99.
I also have a larger sturdier version which cost me in the 30-40 dollar range.