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Top 5 Stair Climbing Hand Trucks and Dollies

Yes, dollies can climb stairs too!

Whether it’s a tall climb or a short one, a stair climbing dolly or climb cart will save you hours of hard work and probably a lot of back pain.  A good dolly will help you distribute the weight of heavy items while lifting them up the stairs with relative ease.

(FYI, If your building has an elevator, please consider using it before moving up and down anything more than 2 or 3 flights of stairs. Otherwise, your move will not be practical.)

The following list is our top recommendations all ranging from cost-efficient and lightweight all the up to heavy-duty and still cost manageable. Of course, with any list, other recommendations could be available. This list will give a better idea of what to expect with a stair climber dolly. We hope your search will lead you to the right fit for you.

Our Top Pick:

Best Stair Climbing Hand Truck for Your Money

UpCart The All-Terrain Folding Cart Stair Dolly

Our List of the Top 5 Stair Climbing Hand Trucks and Dollies:

How to use stair climbing hand trucks on the stairs:

1. UpCart The All-Terrain Stair Climbing Truck – Best Hand Truck for Stairs

If portability fits your stair master needs, then this is a great option for you. The UpCart All-Terrain stair climber, that’s right, all-terrain, “folding” cart. It can climb steps and fold for your storage convenience. The last thing we need is another big bulky piece of hardware filling our already crowded garage space.

This hand truck includes a foldable design with a 3-wheel chassis that provides more stability and confidence while moving up and down your steps. It comes fully assembled and is great for every day around the home’s needs.

While the design of this stair climber dolly lends itself to portability and versatility, it may not be the best choice for those who are moving multiple loads of heavy appliances or boxes. The same lightweight design that makes it ideal for frequent use, makes it a bit less solid than you’ll want for serious heavy lifting. That said, this dolly can cart lightweight boxes of books like a champ!

The wide base ensures that your load will be well stabilized, and strapping items to the cart is easy. The design of the base also makes it easy to relevel the load without sending items careening in all directions. There’s a nice stabilizer bar between the two front feet to keep the whole stack steady.

Best Compact Dollies for Stairs

Since it folds up neatly, it can easily be stored in your trunk or tucked into a closet. This model is the ideal choice for those who need a dolly at the office, around their home, and for a variety of purposes. It’s easy to keep handy for any occasion.

Upcart Stair Climbing Hand Truck Pros & Cons

PROS: Lightweight, portable, foldable, takes up less space, easy to use stair climber trolley dolly

CONS: lightweight, portability, and foldability make it suitable for less than 100lbs. (we recommend less for stair climbers just to be safe), not a sturdy handle design on this stair climber.

FINAL VERDICT: It’s one of our preferred hand trucks that will easily tackle stair climbing around the house for smaller items. Just like any foldable hardware tool, it has a lot of moving parts so it’s not as sturdy as a solid frame dolly. The 3-wheel design will provide a unique experience compared to a solid bar kit. The usability is much more user-friendly. Do not let children play with this if you have stairs in your house.  It’s too easily confused with a transformer or a makeshift sled, and while it would make for lots of fun, the ensuing bodily harm is best avoided. This cart is great for moving lightboxes, small furniture, and awkward items that aren’t too heavy.  We recommended this hand truck for lightweight household items.

2. Magline 86006 C5 Stair Climbing Kit – Heavy Duty Stair Climbing Hand Truck

IMPORTANT! This is a kit that attaches to a Magline Dolly it is not an actual stair climbing hand cart

Not only is this stair dolly famous for being the main featured dolly kit on our homepage but, this is the expectation of what a stair climbing hand truck should generally look like.

The overall setup includes two cast aluminum sliders with replaceable low friction polymer skid bars. It is designed for easy movement while climbing stairs and helps to avoid damage to stairs or curbs. It’s sleek, has solid wheels, and can easily be attached or removed for convenience.

This kit is the perfect choice for those who have already purchased the dolly but then realized that the ability to safely maneuver it up the stairs is an important feature they had previously overlooked. This won’t require purchasing a whole new dolly, nor will it require any extra storage space.

If this kit is of interest to you, it’s likely that you are familiar with the bumping and jostling that comes with trying to drag the un-kitted dolly up the stairs. Perhaps you’ve even experienced the joy of collecting all of the pieces when a load becomes unstable and gets knocked askew just as you near the top of the flight of steps.

The Magline kit is designed to eliminate that nonsense by allowing you to easily glide the dolly up the stairs on these rails. They are designed to protect both the steps themselves and your cargo. Since you won’t send the bump of each step jolting through your load, it will stay neatly arranged and balanced all of the way to the top.

Utility Cart Kit Pros & Cons (This is a Kit, not a Cart)

PROS: easy attachment, aluminum build makes it strong enough for small or medium size jobs, helps protect stairs

CONS: the kit does not come with the dolly, will require the physical strength of at least someone beyond puberty to use correctly, polymer skid bars may wear and tear over time but are replaceable

FINAL VERDICT: The kit with the dolly has an lb capacity of 500 lbs. However, you do not want to use this dolly to lift 500 lbs items up and down the stairs. We suggest anything less than 100lbs to be safe up to 200lbs if you have the strength to handle it.  Rember this is a kit, not an actual stair climber, however, it is a great product and that is why it was added to our list.

Since this kit attaches to a solid frame dolly, it can handle a bit more heft than a portable, folding model. It’s a great addition to a dolly that you already love.

Recommended for boxes with heavier items to move up and down the stairs at home. For businesses, it’s a great goto stair climber dolly for packages and deliveries.

3. Haul Master 600 lb capacity Appliance Hand Truck for Stairs

If you’re moving appliances and looking for the best stair climbing dolly, that’s long-lasting and won’t let you down then this is right for you.

This stair climber hand truck features a heavy-duty gauge steel frame with double-stitched webbed straps to keep your larger items in place and balanced. The 6″ rubber wheels are designed for long-term use and prevent puncture wounds or going flat. It has a 600 lbs load capacity and the rubberized traction wheels help to assist with heavy loads.

This isn’t just a dolly; it’s called a hand truck for a reason. The capacity of this model will give you the freedom to lug a small washing machine up to your convenient second-floor laundry room and the control to carefully lower your new deep freezer down to your basement.

It’s got a small base that tucks easily under these medium-sized appliances and is designed to give you the control that you need to safely navigate the stairs with them. While it will not lighten the load, the rubberized traction wheels will make it easier to smoothly transition up or down one step at a time.

The same small base that makes this hand truck a great choice for moving appliances also gives it a slim profile that makes storage easier. Unfortunately, it can make balancing a stack of boxes a bit trickier. Multi-piece loads are more likely to become unbalanced with this hand truck, so you’ll want to strap them down very well.

Heavy Duty Climbing Hand Trucks Pros & Cons

PROS: this stair climber is great for small to medium-sized appliances, secure fit for added stability with straps, balancing larger items assisted by secure straps, thin design for less storage place.  The frame is heavy-duty and will last you for a very long time, possibly a lifetime!  That is money well spent if you ask me.

CONS: not motorized, not recommended for the total load capacity of 600 lbs, requires user knowledge to use this stair climber properly, whoever is using needs to know what they are doing, straps must be secure otherwise the wife gets a new frig or washing machine

FINAL VERDICT: This stair climber will save your back when moving larger objects and appliances. The straps need to be double-checked before operating so the user must be knowledgeable of the product before use. It says 600 lbs but, not recommended for the total limit. We always suggest taking a third off the total capacity for safety reasons. The whole assembly does not take up much space and is a heavy gauge frame that can support a large load capacity.

This hand truck is the perfect choice for those who plan to move many large items. It’s ideal for strapping a single, bulky item too. If your focus is on moving stacks of boxes or packages, you might be happier with a dolly that has a wider base at the bottom.

This hand truck is recommended for medium to heavy loads. Extra safety precautions should be taken when moving new appliances.

4. Best Heavy Duty Stair Climbing Hand Truck/Climbing Dolly for Home & Garden Home 200 kg

A very good mid-range hand truck for both the home and garden. It features a durable tubular steel frame with a barrow-style design. It is meant for heavy-duty projects and the 3-wheels on either side of this stair climber are ideal for supporting heavier loads up and down the stairs. It can also be stored with the front plate folded up.

If you want a stair climbing dolly that offers the versatility to perform a range of jobs, this might be exactly what you are looking for. It offers strength and durability that is closer to a hand truck, so you can maneuver larger and heavier loads. Its steel frame won’t easily bend or break, so it can handle these tougher jobs.

It’s doesn’t have a slim base, though. This can be very beneficial for those who want the flexibility to better balance stacked loads. This dolly will still store neatly since the wider base does fold up. It also has a more realistic weight limit than many other stair climbing dolly options.

PROS: best bang for the buck with this heavy-duty hand truck/ stair climber combo, protruding handles give a solid grip with added weight support on the front plate and sides, max weight 200 KG or 440 lbs.

CONS: on the heavy side itself about 36 lbs or 16.5 kg, it can lift up to 440 lbs, however, will require physical exertion for max weight

FINAL VERDICT: It can handle anything comfortably recommended up to 300 lbs. The added stair climbing wheels are a plus over different floor surfaces. We recommend this hand truck for medium to heavy loads. The front plate is not a solid piece and also foldable which will come into consideration with different weight options. It works well as long as the weight of the load is properly distributed with most of the weight shifted as close to the handles as possible.  All in all, the best deal for the price for a well-rounded dolly truck with a handsome color combo.

This Cart Below Also Won – Best Stair Climbing Shopping Cart:

5. Foldable Stair Climber Trolley Dolly with Seat – Stair Walking Hand Truck

Sometimes you may not need a stair climber just for moving. This 3-in-1 shopping/storage dolly can climb stairs and doubles as a utility cart. It has an all-weatherproof large bag compartment, 3-wheel stair climbers, and a fold-down seat. Its frame is made from durable steel and the max weight capacity can hold up to 110 lbs. One of the best features is that it is a lightweight dolly coming in at 4 lbs.

Every tool serves a purpose, and this one does its job exceptionally well. It is important, however, to understand the purpose of this dolly. This is not one to help you move or lug stacks of packages. This is the stair climber you need when you are trying to transport more than you can carry.

This dolly is the perfect choice for someone who wants to be able to walk to the grocery store without having to carry all of the bags back home. It’s a great choice for teachers who need to haul large amounts of stuff across big parking lots. The stair climbing capability means that you’ll be able to clear curbs and indoor or outdoor flights of stairs without losing your load.

Shopping Cart Pros & Cons

PROS: lightweight, foldable, compact, great for tailgating, all-steel design for durability, easy to use. This is a great cart to carry groceries upstairs!

CONS: Stair climbing hand trucks are not meant for heavy lifting.

FINAL VERDICT: It works as a great travel dolly if stairs are an issue. Dbest offers reliable stair climbing hand trucks that give an extra option for routine shopping needs and live sporting events. The fact that it can climb stairs is a plus for all those moments when an elevator is not accessible. It comes in a well-built design with good materials for waterproofing and durable construction. Not bad for only 4 lbs, which is another reason why we like this stair climber. Recommended for shopping and lightweight errands. A head-turner and great value if you are on a budget or just want to try it out without spending too much money.

The Best Stair Climbing Hand Trucks

man walking up the stairs carrying a large boxAt the end of the day, the best dolly for you is the one designed to do the job that you need help with. If you’re looking to move large and heavy items, you’ll need a solid steel frame. Consider a hand truck.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to frequently transport large quantities of smaller items, consider the convenience of a foldable option that will be easier to take with you.

Thank you for reading, I hope we have helped you get a better understanding of stair climbers and remember the best dolly is waiting for you!

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