Trolley Ideas

[mrfunk]

I wasn't going for a trolley this year,  but looks like my back has decided to remind me,  that I really should.

I've tried various over the years,including sack trucks,  wheel Barrow, fishing etc. There are two of us carrying kit.  Interested in the 4 wheel garden trolleys.  

 

What are they like to pull over the ground? With kit for two people.  Gate D was really tricky for big trolleys last year.

  I've seen many broken last year,  with bent wheel supports etc they all look very flimbsy underneath. 

I welcome feedback. 

Yes I've looked at the link below,  it's a little dated,  with many dead links.  

 

Thanks funk 

 

Edited May 28, 2016 by mrfunk

[Cian T]

5 minutes ago, mrfunk said:

I wasn't going for a trolley this year,  but looks like my back has decided to remind me,  that I really should.

I've tried various over the years,including sack trucks,  wheel Barrow, fishing etc. There are two of us carrying kit.  Interested in the 4 wheel garden trolleys.  

 

What are they like to pull over the ground? With kit for two people.  Gate D was really tricky for big trolleys last year.

  I've seen many broken last year,  with bent wheel supports etc they all look very flimbsy underneath. 

I welcome feedback. 

Yes I've looked at the link below,  it's a little dated,  with many dead links.  

 

Thanks funk 

 

Might have been mine with the bent wheel support that you saw, I had to drag 4 peoples week worth of booze on a trolley that had no wheels in the end.. That paired up with queueing over night really took it out of me.

however they were little plastic wheels and I have learned my lesson, if you're going to get a trolley get one with actual tyres you can pump up

[Tim2006]

Have a read of this link. Gives a few thoughts on the subject which I'm sure will help...  

 

 

[mrfunk]

Thanks,  was looking for up to date links

 

[northernbro]

I recommend the one from the e-fests shop 

 

http://camping.efestivals.co.uk/off-roader-heavy-duty-festival-trolley-1035-p.asp

[irm96]

Would I get a trolley on a national express coach?

[musky]

1 hour ago, irm96 said:

Would I get a trolley on a national express coach?

Possibly. It's down to the driver and how much space is available in the hold. If you're planning on bringing a trolley laden with drinks plus a rucksack you might be pushing your luck but a case of beers with your rucksack perched on top might be overlooked, particularly if the trolley is one of the more compact types. 

I've seen someone with a trolley turned away from a NE coach before, but that was in London where coaches are being loaded constantly - they were just led off to try the next coach. 

[mr gumby]

9 hours ago, mrfunk said:

I wasn't going for a trolley this year,  but looks like my back has decided to remind me,  that I really should.

I've tried various over the years,including sack trucks,  wheel Barrow, fishing etc. There are two of us carrying kit.  Interested in the 4 wheel garden trolleys.  

 

What are they like to pull over the ground? With kit for two people.  Gate D was really tricky for big trolleys last year.

  I've seen many broken last year,  with bent wheel supports etc they all look very flimbsy underneath. 

I welcome feedback. 

Yes I've looked at the link below,  it's a little dated,  with many dead links.  

 

Thanks funk 

 

The garden trolleys can be great, but you do get what you pay for. If you see one that's cheap, check the load capacity. Some are only up to about 100 kg, which is fine for carting grass clippings to your compost heap, but will only cope with a family tent and a couple of crates at the most. If you overload it, the sides might give way, or the axles buckle. We got one that was for loads up to 350 kg, and it's done 3 glastonburys (so far), and multiple other camping trips. It cost a little more, but was worth it for peace of mind that it would do what we needed it to. Nothing worse than getting halfway from car to gate, and having a trolley fall apart on you. 

[mrfunk]

1 hour ago, mr gumby said:

The garden trolleys can be great, but you do get what you pay for. If you see one that's cheap, check the load capacity. Some are only up to about 100 kg, which is fine for carting grass clippings to your compost heap, but will only cope with a family tent and a couple of crates at the most. If you overload it, the sides might give way, or the axles buckle. We got one that was for loads up to 350 kg, and it's done 3 glastonburys (so far), and multiple other camping trips. It cost a little more, but was worth it for peace of mind that it would do what we needed it to. Nothing worse than getting halfway from car to gate, and having a trolley fall apart on you. 

Cool,  will look at this,  where did you get it from? 

[mr gumby]

7 hours ago, mrfunk said:

Cool,  will look at this,  where did you get it from? 

We got ours through eBay, I think. 

[stusandey]

We've just ordered one of these....

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/draper-garden-mesh-cart

 

with £10 off if you spend an extra 1p (promo code: DMNEW)

Looks pretty good! enough to hold a beer or two 

[Janaka]

I have used something very similar to the eFestivals one for the last 6-7 Glastonbury's.  It has just about survived with a few minor mods - where the handle bit connects to the main unit was too weak and would come off with a heavy pull (imagine stopping for a breather, loaded up with 2 crates and all your wife's stuff, then starting up again) but was fixed with some drilling and a couple of bolts.  The foam handle also disintegrated, and was replaced with some pipe foam stuff and gaffer tape.

As long as you pay attention to how it's loaded (smaller items can fall through the gap between the bars) and have secured everything properly with bungees, then I would say this is the best one to go for.

Another point is that it folds down well to go in the boot of your car and your tent.

By comparison, I just bought one of those of those garden carts (for the garden, with an eye on festival use).  My initial thinking is it's very sturdy, but requires more effort to pull, doesn't collapse down as well and the narrow axle means you are likely to experience some tipping over - though that judgement comes from just moving a few things (and children) round a flat garden, not a full festival trek.  However, I've decided that Old Faithful will come to Somerset next week, not the new one.

Either way, have some gloves, as it means your hands won't be in so much pain when you finally get to your destination (you look and feel a bit of an idiot in the queue, but loads of people came up to say they wished they'd thought of that).

Also to add that Gate D is my usual entry point too - usually just get ushered to the wider bit to come in with no issues.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Janaka

[Dave_c]

37 minutes ago, stusandey said:

We've just ordered one of these....

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/draper-garden-mesh-cart

 

with £10 off if you spend an extra 1p (promo code: DMNEW)

Looks pretty good! enough to hold a beer or two 

Bought the same one last year and it was fab. Coming with me again this year.

[bekimo]

Those garden trolleys are great. We have three of them between us and the oldest one has seen a good 8/9 festivals in total. 

Tjey are great over all terrain. Take the tools you need to remove the wheels if you have a small car. They are either small bolts or screws or the alan bolt thingys I can't remember which but it means you can fold it down flat to travel. 

I could never go back to any other trolley now. They carry all of our kit - there are about 15 or so of us so we have a lot and do multiple trips. But when my friend and I went alone to Leeds one year we took one between us. It rained all weekend and the mud was knee deep at some points. The trolley did us proud.  It was fully loaded with two rucksacks, a 6 man tent, gazebo, chairs and god knows what else, we managed to get it back to the car in one piece. Which is more than could be said for us!!!

[funkyuk]

Generally all the garden trolleys and sack trucks use the same crappy wheels.  Make sure the wheel hub halves are bolted together tightly, and consider taking a spare or 2.  If you have a fully overloaded trolley, can you carry all that gear between you if your wheels give up 500 yards from the gate and you still have to find a pitch inside the festival?

[kaytee...]

I've just bought the off roader trolley from Funky Leisure. Still showing out of stock through thr eFestivals shop but on the Funky Leisure website.

I'll be taking mine on a coach so keeping it folded until I get off then I'll load it. Never took a trolley before so hoping it makes the trip to camp easier.

[offmytrolley]

Mine is one of these, this year will be it's fourth Glastonbury:

No folding, so it's bulky - but there are fewer moving parts to break and fewer points of weakness. Proper wheels too which you inflate with a bike pump.

I think mine was around £40, but someone is selling the same design on eBay for £23 at the moment:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/600LB-HEAVY-DUTY-SACK-TRUCK-INDUSTRIAL-HAND-TROLLEY-WITH-PNEUMATIC-TYRE-WHEEL-/190403507962?hash=item2c54eef6fa:g:sHcAAOxy9eVRUyw-

 

[HalfAnIdiot]

1 hour ago, funkyuk said:

Generally all the garden trolleys and sack trucks use the same crappy wheels.  Make sure the wheel hub halves are bolted together tightly, and consider taking a spare or 2.  If you have a fully overloaded trolley, can you carry all that gear between you if your wheels give up 500 yards from the gate and you still have to find a pitch inside the festival?

This!

I've just replaced the nuts with nylock nuts after experiencing one of my wheels splitting in two at a festival recently.

 

[offmytrolley]

3 minutes ago, HalfAnIdiot said:

This!

I've just replaced the nuts with nylock nuts after experiencing one of my wheels splitting in two at a festival recently.

 

Nylock nuts are a great idea, I'll go check my wheels in a bit but I don't suppose you can remember what size the nuts were off the top of your head?

[funkyuk]

3 hours ago, offmytrolley said:

Nylock nuts are a great idea, I'll go check my wheels in a bit but I don't suppose you can remember what size the nuts were off the top of your head?

They will be  m8 14mm on one side and 13mm on the other.  They are that shit.  Buy fresh bolts and nylocks 

[funkyuk]

6 hours ago, Janaka said:

Either way, have some gloves, as it means your hands won't be in so much pain when you finally get to your destination (you look and feel a bit of an idiot in the queue, but loads of people came up to say they wished they'd thought of that).

This, and strap everything to the trolley so the load does not move.  2 bungees will not cut it.

Edited June 12, 2016 by funkyuk

[Sack truck]

Pallet wrap, lots and lots of pallet wrap

Edited June 12, 2016 by Sack truck

[funkyuk]

2 minutes ago, Sack truck said:

Pallet wrap, lots and lots of pallet wrap

excellent call

[offmytrolley]

+1 for pallet wrap, way easier than faffing with bungee cords or string or tape or anything like that.

[HalfAnIdiot]

5 hours ago, offmytrolley said:

Nylock nuts are a great idea, I'll go check my wheels in a bit but I don't suppose you can remember what size the nuts were off the top of your head?

I actualy replaced the nut, bolt and washer with stainless steel items. I used M8, the ones they replaced were imperial which is a little unusual these days.

This was a B&Q sack truck, others may vary.

I suggest you take one off and measure up to be sure.