What is a hand truck?
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The simple hand truck has wheels and a frame for holding heavy or bulky objects. It is incredibly useful for moving just about anything. For drummers, hand trucks are essential for getting us to the gig with ease.
A hand truck also called a “dolly” or “hand cart,” comes in a wide range of sizes and prices. In this article, I’m going to share my first-hand use of two trouble-free carts for transporting my drumming gear. I’ll also share why I think drummers everywhere will love these hand trucks!
My first folding dolly for drumming
Let’s talk about drum gear schlepping. It’s no joke. We drummers have to transport heavy gear to and from our gigs. Our hand truck can really make or break our backs, arms and hands.
Over the years, I’ve owned numerous drum set carts. When I was at Berklee in the early 1990’s, I had a folding dolly the local hardware store sold. Most of the drummers at the school had the same cart.
It had one flaw that soon made it impossible to use. The small wheels in the front were made of plastic. As you can imagine, wheeling my drums around the Berklee campus, inside and outside of buildings quickly tore up those wheels.
An upgraded hand truck for drumming
Fast forward to my time in Hawaii in the early 2000’s. I bought the Rock N’ Roller Multi-Cart from a local drum shop. All of my musician friends were using it and the large rear wheels were fantastic. The front wheels were stronger than my Berklee cart and covered with rubber. Even so, they too wore out and needed to be replaced.
Another problem with this hand truck folding design was steering the cart. Your handles were (and still are) essentially metal bars with no comfort grips. Aside from being uncomfortable moving up and down street curbs, the cart was also difficult and painful to make tight turns.
Along came the Magna Cart, the lightweight folding cart
One day I was heading to a gig in Osaka and spotted another drummer with a two-wheeled hand truck made of metal. I asked him about it. He told me it was the Magna Cart and said he really liked it.
At that time I was using another two-wheeled hand truck with a plastic handle that broke easily. I actually went through 2 of those hand trucks in less than a year! Seeing the other drummer’s sturdy metal hand truck got me excited to check out the Magna Cart’s hand truck folding design.
That night when I got home after my gig, I looked it up on Amazon. I could see that it was not only a lightweight folding cart, it was also sturdy and could fit into tight spaces. I ordered it.
When it arrived, I was impressed with its lightweight design. I immediately began using it to carry my cymbals, snare drum, kick pedal and stick bag to gigs.
The two-wheeled hand truck worked so great, I soon bought the four-wheeled platform model to carry my entire compact drum set to gigs. Like the two-wheeled model, the larger hand truck has a very sturdy, lightweight and compact hand truck folding design.
The nice thing about both of these models is the durability of the wheels. In the 3-4 years since I’ve purchased them, the wheels are still as good as new. I take them by train all over Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto without any issues whatsoever.
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The Magna Cart dolly is easy on the hands
The gum rubber grip covering on both the two-wheeled and platform models is comfortable. They make both hand trucks easy to maneuver.
I have to push my carts through train stations, on sidewalks, through malls and on roads. Sometimes I have to walk long distances with my carts too. Anywhere for any amount of time, my Magna Cart hand trucks don’t wear out my hands or arms.
Store your small hand cart anywhere
When I get my drums set up, I then look for a place to store my drum set cases and Magna Cart. Both the two-wheeled and platform versions fold up flat. They can literally slide into tight spaces for storage while you’re on the gig.
This is very convenient in smaller clubs that don’t really have a green room or a dedicated space for instrument cases. When it’s collapsed it also gives me more storage options at home.
Magna carts are a drummer’s friend
Having the right hand truck won’t wear out your arms before your gig. As drummers, we need all of our arm strength for playing. If our arms get tired transporting our drums it can really affect our playing.
Magna Cart wheels are consistently smooth and very easy to turn. For this reason, my arms never get tired moving my drums to the gig. The wheels are also incredibly durable and haven’t shown any signs of wear or tear after going to 100’s of gigs.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a drummer, keyboard player, guitarist, bassist or sound tech, Magna Carts are a great investment for your music business. They’re sturdy, reliable, well-built, compact and not too expensive. Magna Carts also have great hand truck folding designs for drums.
If you are looking for a cart that will last you a long time and get your gear to the gig with ease, I highly recommend the Magna Cart folding hand truck and the Magna Cart folding platform hand truck. Your arms and your back will thank you.
Always wishing you good gigs! Keep swinging!
What kind of hand truck do you use to move your drum and music gear?
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