These days, health and safety in the workplace is one of the most important considerations for any employer, no matter what their field. A modern workshop is no different, and wherever possible, it is important to minimize the exposure of staff and technicians to any potentially physically harmful experience. One key area where a workshop owner needs to concentrate on in making the environment safer for all staff is in the movement of unwieldy items like tires and wheels, where the correct tools, wheel dollies are an often overlooked part of any workshop's inventory of tools.

One reason why wheel dollies are so often overlooked by mechanics is that the conventional wisdom regarding wheels is that they can easily be rolled from one place to another as required. This means that the garage owner can save money on buying a specialized tool such as a wheel dolly in order to carry out the task.

Of course, the big problem with simply rolling a wheel from storage to the area where it is required on a vehicle is that the wheel on its own has no brakes. In saving time and money by not having a wheel dolly on hand to carry the wheel, a workshop operative can easily lose control of the wheel as they are rolling it, and have it either fall over, meaning that they could potentially strain themselves picking it back up, or worse, could lose control entirely, and send the wheel rolling into an important unfinished job in the workshop such as an expensive vehicle.

Any damage caused in a workshop costs money and time to put right, so avoiding this should be a priority. By emphasizing safety and care throughout the workplace, an environment where accidents do not happen can be fostered. Fewer accidents mean less unforeseen expense, which means a greater profit margin for the business.

Simply purchasing a wheel dolly could save you thousands of dollars in the long run when compared against sick days and lost productivity from staff injuring their backs picking up tires autel ds808, and incidents where a wheel has been accidentally rolled into the side of a car causing damage to the body work launch x431 v+.

Prices start from under $250 for a simple set of single wheel dollies that are perfect for small workshops. ALC Keysco produces the ALC77788 wheel dolly, which includes heavy duty framework and hard wearing 4 inch castors that are ideal for a regular workshop floor. The dollies can hold around 1200lbs each, meaning that they can easily be used to move a full set of wheels around the workshop and into a safe area for storage while you are working on the car.

The drawback of a basic model like the ALC77788 is that the wheels are not held in the most ergonomic position and getting them back onto the car can be a tricky and hard proposal, although this problem is well addressed by other models which hold wheels vertically rather than horizontally, making them much easier to load.

A device like the Mountain MTN5575 is designed to make removing a wheel from a truck a simple task, as well as being ideal for moving the wheel around the workshop once it has been freed from its original position.

Moving up to the top of the market, the OTC 1770A is designed for removing a two wheel assembly from a truck, and can hold up to 1500lbx, making it one of the most capable tools available.

If you are finding that you have a lot of work with trucks, the right kind of wheel dollies will make your job much easier, and allow you to get the job done right first time every time.

Jason has been in the construction equipment and industrial sales business for over 10 years. He owns and operates Red Hill Supply to better serve the automotive and industrial industries. - Automotive Tools
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