About Service Carts

A service cart is a rolling deck with a scissor lift under it. That combination solves two problems at once: getting a heavy item across the shop, and getting it up to a working height once it arrives. Without one, the same job usually means a pallet jack to move it and then either a crane, a forklift, or several people to raise it. A hydraulic service cart does both jobs and stays with the work while it is being done.

Foot Pump Service Carts

Manual foot pump models are the simplest and most common choice. You pump the deck up with your foot, which keeps both hands free, and there is no battery to charge or motor to service. We stock foot pump service carts at 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500, and 4,000 lb capacities. These suit shops where the cart gets raised a handful of times a shift rather than continuously.

DC Powered and Traction Drive Service Carts

DC powered carts raise the deck from a push button on a rechargeable battery, which matters when the cart cycles up and down all day or when the load is at the top of its capacity range. Traction drive models go a step further and power their own travel, so the operator steers rather than pushes. If your cart runs long distances across a plant floor or carries near its rated load repeatedly, a powered service cart pays for itself in fatigue alone.

Stainless Steel, Low Profile, and Specialty Carts

Stainless steel and stainless platform service carts are built for washdown environments and for food, pharmaceutical, and laboratory work where painted steel is not acceptable. Low profile models sit closer to the ground so you can load them by hand or slide a load across from a low surface. We also carry a lift and tilt cart that angles the deck for discharge, a model with a scale built into the platform so you can weigh as you move, and a pneumatic tire version for rough or uneven floors.

Choosing a Service Cart

Start with the heaviest thing you will put on it and give yourself margin above that number. Next, size the deck to the footprint of the load, not to the weight, since an awkward long part may need the 24 inch by 60 inch deck even if it is light. Then decide manual versus powered based on cycle frequency. Finally, check the lowered and raised heights against how you load the cart and the height you want to work at. Every listing states the capacity, the deck dimensions, and the lift type.

Related Categories

Service carts sit in the middle of a material handling setup. For fixed station lifting rather than rolling lifting, see our lift tables. To move loads without raising them, look at platform and stock trucks or pallet jacks. For emptying scrap and swarf rather than transporting parts, see self-dumping hoppers. And to give the work a permanent home once it comes off the cart, see our industrial workbenches.