Husky Folding Utility Cart
Husky Folding Utility Cart
The Husky Folding Utility Cart (model #00069) is something I’ve been waiting for for years. To my knowledge, it’s the first trades-capable, reasonably-priced, widely and easily available folding utility cart on the market. There have been other folding utility carts that were suitable for construction work, but they were quite expensive and not widely available.
Utility Carts are Awesome!
The humble utility cart is a tool used everywhere from the food service industry to high-tech genetics research labs, and by everyone from hairdressers to tradespeople. In the trades, they are used in numbers on large construction jobsites and in every industrial facility by the licensed trades practitioners employed there. So if tradespeople in these environments make extensive use of utility carts, why don’t they get much love in smaller residential and commercial projects (both new construction and remodeling)?
The answer is that unlike large projects or fixed industrial locations, the carts for use in smaller jobs have to be hauled around in a truck or trailer, where of course space is at a premium. Traditional bolted-together utility carts simply take up too much space for the benefit they provide.
The shame of it all is that utility carts are as useful on smaller jobs as they are on big projects. Particularly in a finished living or office space, carts are less prone to accidentally damaging something than are worn tool belts. Many remodeling contractors even prohibit their crews from wearing tool belts in living spaces for that reason. When tools, parts, and supplies have to be at hand’s reach, a utility cart beats carrying around a tool bag for the tools and fumbling with the parts and supplies with your other hand.
Another frequent use for a utility cart is as a side table to a workstation. For example, when we’re using something like a circular saw, table saw, router, or the like, it’s handy to have a table next to the workstation to hold tools, supplies, and workpieces. Sure, we can slap a piece of plywood over saw horses, but a quickly set-up cart with three shelves is often going to be more useful.
Husky Folding Utility Cart – Specs
- Powder-coated 21 gauge steel trays
- Weight capacity of 300 lbs. — 100 lbs. per shelf
- 1, 2, or 3 working shelf configurations
- 14” x 28.5” shelves (excluding handle)
- 33” open height
- Four 3” wheels on swiveling castors (2 locking)
- 40 pounds
- Closed dimensions approximately 16” x 9” x 33”
- $149 exclusively at Home Depot
Husky Folding Utility Cart – In Use
With regard to opening this cart and folding it closed, there’s a 58-second video on the Home Depot product page showing how it’s done. Actual folding or unfolding takes about 15 seconds. Assembly is easy: just attach the castors and handle with the supplied bolts.
The cart feels sturdy and solid and is not flimsy feeling. As the pictures show, you can configure this cart with one, two, or all three shelves in use. With all three in place the distance between the shelves is approximately 12½-inches.
The unfolding and locking into place of the shelves is smooth. Some pieces need to be pushed a little into final position rather than simply drop crisply into place. At first I thought that this was just one of the small prices you pay for the low cost of the cart, but then I realized that a slight tightness in the lock-up was a good thing in that there’s no slop to it.
I don’t see 100 pounds per shelf as any kind of real-world limitation. I mean, it’s a pretty rare day when I’m using a portable tool that weighs more than 100 pounds, and any workpiece or item you’re installing that weighs more than 100 pounds is probably not one that you’ll be carrying on a cart anyway. Likewise, not many tradies will be wheeling around 300 pounds. Even in something like an auto/truck repair facility that kind of weight calls for a hoist.
I like having three shelves rather than just two. Given the way a cart is used, having tools or supplies on a second easy-to-reach middle shelf as well as the top shelf is extremely useful.
The castors incorporate 3-inch heavy wheels, the bearings of which are not sealed — a little dry lube now and then is a good idea. The castors are attached to the cart’s bottom with a thick 2¾ x 3 ½ –inch plate held in place by four M8x16 bolts. If you ever want to replace the castors – perhaps with larger diameter wheels – it’s easy-peasy.
I loaded up the cart with all the heavy tools I had at hand and it wheeled smoothly across the concrete shop floor. The closed cart is carried easily vertically with one hand or horizontally with two. It doesn’t feel particularly clumsy or off-balance when so doing.
Of course, modding utility carts is as common as customizing vans and trailers. The Husky Folding Utility Cart is more restricted in this capability than a fixed cart because it has to be able to fold, but many mods are still possible. This is really the only limitation of this cart over traditional fixed carts.
Bottom Line
Bear in mind that I can’t predict how long this cart will hold up, but there’s very little to go wrong. However, I feel confident in predicting that the Husky Folding Utility Cart will see adoption in the trades, particularly with local shops specializing in residential and commercial construction. For $149, it’s as close as your nearest Home Depot or, if you order online, as close as your front door.
