You’ve got burning questions. We’ve got answers. Here are some of the more frequent ones asked of our Inside Sales team to get you the help you need.
Q: I need casters and wheels. Where do I start?
A: A great place to help narrow down your choices is our website. Begin with a mouseover of Casters or Wheels to view our Product Finder with 18 filterable attributes to help you focus your selection (we recommend applying as many attributes as necessary to yield a goal of 10 or less product results). If you need help, you can always contact our inside sales staff via chat, text or email. Once you narrow your search, click on a specific model number to find everything from spec data and performance metrics to 3D CAD renderings. There’s also plenty of helpful caster tips and wheel tips for choosing the right product. You might also consider testing out a prototype of your application first before buying a large order of casters. Need more? Reach out to our engineering and inside sales teams to make recommendations. We’re happy to help you find whatever you need.
Q: Do you furnish tires for “over the road” and other high-speed applications?
A: The load ratings of our casters and wheels follow the Institute of Caster & Wheel Manufacturers guidelines of 3 mph. However, we often design for higher speeds such as 5 mph or 10 mph. Since we specialize in moving large, heavy loads, our applications rarely exceed 10 mph, due to safety concerns. Over the road transportation is a whole other world that we’re happy to leave to companies like Caterpillar, Michelin and Goodyear.
Q: Why do you publish MSRP prices on your website? And why is your price higher than prices from your distributors?
A: For us, listing our MSRP is all about transparency for our distributors and end customers. Think of our MSRP as the sticker price on cars—it’s a rough order of magnitude (ROM) or budgetary price for small quantity convenience buys. Typically, our distributors offer a lower price than MSRP and significantly lower when making volume-based purchases. Distributors are provided reseller discounts and use a tiered system based on prior sales volumes. Essentially, the more a distributor sells, the deeper the discount from MSRP. Knowing the price of our MSRP is also valuable to our end users. We list our MSRP so people can make comparisons to other products. If cost is an issue, it’s especially valuable to know our MSRP. For example, you might not otherwise know that our Ultralast™ Wheels cost two to three times our Duralast® Wheels.
Q: Do you provide the rail for flanged track and/or v-grooved wheels?
A: No, however we can make some recommendations to point you in the right direction.
Flanged Track Wheels
We offer both single flanged and double flanged track wheels. As a general rule for single flanged track wheels, we recommend that the face width (see “S” in the diagram below) be 1/4” wider than the head width of the rail. For double flanged track wheels, we recommend 3/8” wider than the head width of the rail.
To make rail selection, use the chart below that lists recommended rail sizes for our standard flanged track wheels.
V-Grooved Wheels
V-grooved wheels are designed to run on inverted angle iron. The diagrams below show you the groove width and matching running distance from the floor of two of our most popular angle iron sizes (2” x 2” and 1-1/2” x 1’-1/2”). We’re happy to calculate the depths for other common angle sizes upon request.
Finally, the following diagrams provide two options to help you configure your v-groove wheels to work with other casters that run on a standard floor surface. Keeping a cart level means paying extra attention to heights. Use the Groove Dimensions shown above to calculate the extra height from the wheel groove size and the angle iron track, add to the published overall height, and select casters to either match the new height or add an appropriately thick spacer. Sound too complicated? Contact our Sales Department for help!
