Harper hand truck
Posted on February 6, 2009 by admin
I was raised hearing the expression; “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Although these are good words to live by, certain tools cause such frustration they warrant an expressly negative remark. The Rigid MS-UV was motivation for this website..
In brief; Don’t buy this economy model hand truck with pneumatic tires even if, like me, you just need to move something once and the price is right for the job. It’s not worth it if a tire runs flat and you won’t be able to repair it on site.
Rating: 
The Tool: Harper Dual Handle Hand Truck
Experience: I purchased my Harper Hand Truck for a moving job. Atypical to my daily grind I was offered furniture in exchange for my truck and manpower one weekend. I ran down to Home Depot and picked up this Harper hand truck, a Workforce 1000lb. dolly and four moving blankets. Using a tie-down strap from my truck bed we fastened larger items to this 600lb rated hand truck and started the move. I say “started” because it wasn’t an hour later that this hand truck was out of commission due to a flat tire.
Comments:
There is one major problem with this economy hand truck; the pneumatic wheels will be flat when you need to use it. Fixing that flat will be more of a challenge than you’re thinking now. A simple tire on a rim should be easy to give a quick shot from your jobsite compressor but it’s not. Even with 120lbs of air blasting through the nozzle, getting the bead of these tires to hold on the cheap plastic rims is a nightmare. I have kept my Harper hand truck for use another day. Each time I go to use it, one or both tires are flat! The problem is not that a tire goes flat, it’s that you can’t refill them.
Short of buying solid wheels, I have tried to remedy the problem with dish soap, fix-a-flat, even a bead of silicon but these tires won’t hold air long enough to get a box downstairs. Don’t buy it with pneumatic wheels, you are throwing your money away.
There is nothing more frustrating than relying on a tool for your living and having one of the most fundamental of technologies fail. Ancient as ‘the wheel’ is, the tires on the Harper hand truck make this a big – Don’t buy!
Note: The Harper website displays some quality products which are Made in America!
Filed under: Moving and Reaching Tools | Tagged: Hand Truck, U.S.A.
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