Does no one know how to work a wheelbarrow now?

[Henry and Wanda]

Hello,
I still use a wheelbarrow all the time to bring firewood from my racks to the back porch. I do use my skid steer as ""the world's most expensive wheelbarrow" from time to time, but the regular wheelbarrow is still getting heavy use. I have (2) 6 cu. ft. one-wheeled wheelbarrows and (1) 10 cu. ft. 2 wheeled wheelbarrow. I was a little confused by your post because the 6 cu. ft. wheelbarrow is the largest capacity wheelbarrow with 1 wheel that I have ever seen or have ever seen listed anywhere for sale. Most of the 2 wheeled wheelbarrows for sale like at Lowe's are only 8 cu. ft. and you'll be able to find a 10 cu. ft. 2-wheeled one if you look real hard. You can find the 10 cu. ft. ones online but they are a crazy price...like in the 300 dollar range....I found mine at a local farm supply store for a little over a 100 bucks !!!!! This was probably 5 years ago !!!!!!


Henry and Wanda

 

[stihl sawing]

Always use a one wheeled barrow to move it from the pile to the back porch.

 

[blacklocst]

You know when your loading wood or what ever on uneven ground and you toss that last log or last shovel full of dirt in the one wheeler and over it goes, well that never happens with the two wheeler.

 

[Truck4]

I have been able to find replacement "parts" for mine at Lowes. Replaced the handles a few yrs ago, then last yr. had to replace the "barrow / tub" part after the boy hit it with the tractor:msp_biggrin:

Roy

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Saw a three wheeled one at a local fleet store......next time I'm there I'll snap a pic. One wheel in front and two smaller ones in back. Could be used as a cart.

 

[D&B Mack]

Saw a three wheeled one at a local fleet store......next time I'm there I'll snap a pic. One wheel in front and two smaller ones in back. Could be used as a cart.

That could really suck. I know I have had many times where I am taking a heavy load down hill and I just drop the rear of the barrow to let it skid to a hault. Sometimes, this is out of necessity. 3 wheels and that sucker is one big bowling ball.

 

[uglydukwling]

There are reasons the wheelbarrow was designed with one wheel.

One that has already been mentioned is that you can pick your way between obstacles more easily if you only need a 4" wide path rather than a couple of feet, and on soft ground you can run a single wheel over a single plank rather than trying to space two planks the right distance apart.

The other one that hasn't been mentioned yet is that you can dump it to either side as well as straight ahead. I know, that can also happpen unintentionally, but it really doesn't take much practice to avoid it. After all, the title of this thread is "does no one know how to work a wheelbarrow now ?"

The other thing that bugs me about wheel barrows is that it's getting hard to find one with a steel tub. The plastic tub won't rust, and if you pay enough, you can get one almost as rigid as a steel one, but there are some things you just can't carry in a plastic tub, like hot ashes.

 

[johncinco]

H&W, my old one is a 10 cf and it has only one wheel. I'd buy another that way, but can't seem to find one for sale like that any longer.
Yeah, you can build one from parts, but it gets a lot more expensive.
The fact that no one can operate a one wheeled barrow, and they replaced em with the two wheeler is the problem. Go find a strong work force, that does a lot of manual labor (usually done by Manuel) and you will find a lot of one wheel barrows!
Yeah metal ones dont melt from ashes. The yalso dont split open from dropping heavy stuff into them like my plastic one is doing now.

 

[gtsawyer]

I love my one-wheeler, but wish it held more than it does. It's about right-sized for green wood, but I can't get enough of the seasoned wood into it.

One benefit of the one-wheeler not yet mentioned is the entertainment of watching someone trying to learn to use it. I got a good laugh watching my kid do a dance behind it a couple of weeks ago, just trying to keep it upright and pointed straight. Keeps the young'uns humble.

 

[D&B Mack]

As a side note, does anyone else have one of the blue Jacksons. I hate the no flat tire. Everytime I weigh it down heavy the tire does not roll nearly as nice as one with air. :taped:

 

[Wood Doctor]

Single Wheel

Buy and use a single wheel. You do not want to even try to move over 6 cu ft of wet concrete, sand, or gravel. Believe me. :bang:

Make sure the handles are big and strong.

 

[Guido Salvage]

As a side note, does anyone else have one of the blue Jacksons. I hate the no flat tire. Everytime I weigh it down heavy the tire does not roll nearly as nice as one with air. :taped:

I have a blue M-5 (with yellow handles) that I gave $10.00 for at an auction. Has a regular pneumatic tire on it.

 

[mountainmandan]

I would just fix the handle on your old one. As a firewood gatherer, you could come up with a good piece of hickory, elm, ash, or hedge pretty easy, and just use a 4" angle grinder with a 36 grit sanding pad to remove all of the wood that doesn't look like a handle. You will end up with one muck stronger than it came with. You are looking at 30 minutes tops.

Dan

 

[no tree to big]

As a side note, does anyone else have one of the blue Jacksons. I hate the no flat tire. Everytime I weigh it down heavy the tire does not roll nearly as nice as one with air. :taped:

yep I have one at the house and that's what we use where I work too nice setups as long as the spreader kit for the legs is still intact for mine I just welded a 1/4"thick x2" piece of steel to the legs to keep um spread and mine has a pneumatic tire but i think its time for a new one she wont hold air for more then a couple days

I would just fix the handle on your old one. As a firewood gatherer, you could come up with a good piece of hickory, elm, ash, or hedge pretty easy, and just use a 4" angle grinder with a 36 grit sanding pad to remove all of the wood that doesn't look like a handle. You will end up with one muck stronger than it came with. You are looking at 30 minutes tops.

Dan

or just get a 2x4 and rip it down a bit and shape the end for your hand mine took a hit from a truck and needed a field repair asap good as new

 

[blacklocst]

Buy and use a single wheel. You do not want to even try to move over 6 cu ft of wet concrete, sand, or gravel. Believe me. :bang:

Make sure the handles are big and strong.

Actually I did a concrete job this past summer and we had 2-8 cu ft 2 wheelers didn't fill them to the top but I bet it was pretty close to 6 cu ft. and oh yea, it was a snap going up and over small ramps and making tight turns. We also had a one wheeler on site and tried it and my neck and back started aching after one load.

 

[Fuzly]

I really didn't want to learn how to work a wheelbarrow, but I had this Dad guy that convinced me it was a good idea to learn when I was a kid if I enjoyed riding my bike and going fishing with my friends.:wink2: He also told me it would get me in shape for football and impress girls. (that's the old Tom Sawyer trick)

I'm happy he did. I know some kids now that really need to get off the video games and build a little upper body strength for goodness sakes.

 

[Chris-PA]

I don't usually haul firewood with a wheelbarrow, but I do use one a lot. There's precious little flat ground on our property, so a 2 wheel unit would be useless. The last one got crushed last fall (I had to propped up on the back a of the stump of a big oak that came down at Halloween, and the road crew came by and did me a favor and pulled it out of there...) and I'm going to have to buy a new one - not looking forward to that now after reading this thread!

 

[SPDRMNKY]

yes...that Dad guy someone else mentioned found an old metal one (including the wheel) at a VFW...turned a couple 3" handles out of some 4x4 #1 larch, and put me to work...I'll never understand why the handles had to be 3" dia??

that said, I prefer one wheel in only a few situations...chicken dancing competitions come to mind :msp_wink:

cheers!

 

[Bushmans]

I have spent the better half of my adult working life with a wheelbarrow in my grip. (much of my young life as well at my Fathers beckon call) There is magic in a wheelbarrow that most can't see. if you know how to use it then it becomes a tool not a weight. We tried the 2 wheelers in the landscape business but when a wheelbarrow master gets a hold of a 2 wheeler he always breaks the handles by overloading it. Plastic is for soda bottles not wheel barrows. What good is it if you can't chuck a piece of wood or a rock at it from 5 yard without breaking it. Give me steel and give me one wheel. The time it takes you to load the xtra cubic feet on the big junkers is all it takes me to get back and forth on a one wheel. (obviously that depends on distance and material and ...)

 

[Gologit]

I would just fix the handle on your old one. As a firewood gatherer, you could come up with a good piece of hickory, elm, ash, or hedge pretty easy, and just use a 4" angle grinder with a 36 grit sanding pad to remove all of the wood that doesn't look like a handle. You will end up with one muck stronger than it came with. You are looking at 30 minutes tops.

Dan

That works. I used a piece of 4x4 Doug Fir and carved it down to fit. It's ugly as sin but it sure beats the price of a new one.