6 Best Platform Trucks For Moving Beehive Components That Save Your Back
Ease the strain of beekeeping. Discover the 6 best platform trucks for moving heavy hive components, protecting your back and increasing efficiency.
That first lift of a full honey super is a moment of truth for every beekeeper. You feel the surprising weight, the strain in your lower back, and you realize this job is more physical than you imagined. Trying to carry two of those supers across a lumpy yard is a recipe for a pulled muscle or a dropped box of precious honey and bees. This is where the right tool doesn’t just make the job easier—it makes it possible to continue doing it for years to come.
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Why a Platform Truck is a Beekeeper’s Best Friend
A wheelbarrow seems like a good idea until you try to balance three stacked hive bodies on it. The high center of gravity and single wheel make it incredibly tippy, especially on uneven ground. One wrong move and you’ve dumped your harvest, angered a colony, and potentially broken equipment.
A platform truck, also known as a push cart or dolly, solves this problem with its low, stable base. You can stack supers, nuc boxes, or even full hive bodies securely. The flat deck provides a solid foundation that a wheelbarrow simply can’t match, drastically reducing the risk of spills and drops.
Beyond safety, it’s about efficiency. Instead of making four trips carrying one heavy super at a time, you can load up the cart and move everything in a single, smooth trip. This saves an incredible amount of time and energy during inspections, honey harvesting, or when rearranging your apiary. It turns a major chore into a manageable task.
Cosco Shifter XL: The Ultimate Versatile Cart
The Cosco Shifter is the multi-tool of apiary carts. Its biggest advantage is its ability to convert from a standard two-wheel hand truck to a four-wheel platform cart in seconds. This dual functionality is perfect for the hobby farmer with varied needs and limited storage space.
Use it as a hand truck to move a single, tall stack of boxes or a heavy bucket of sugar syrup. Then, with a quick fold, transform it into a platform cart to haul multiple nucs or a wide, stable load of frames and tools out to the yard. It bridges the gap between two different pieces of equipment.
The main tradeoff is its lighter-duty construction compared to dedicated industrial carts. While its capacity is more than enough for most hobbyist needs—like moving a few medium supers at a time—it might struggle with multiple, fully-laden deep boxes. Think of it as the perfect tool for a beekeeper with two to ten hives.
Magliner Gemini Sr.: Heavy-Duty Apiary Workhorse
When you move past a few backyard hives and start managing a larger apiary, the Magliner Gemini Sr. becomes a serious contender. This is a commercial-grade tool built for constant, heavy use. Like the Cosco, it converts between a two-wheel and four-wheel configuration, but it’s built on a much more robust aluminum frame.
Its key feature for beekeepers is the large, pneumatic tires. These air-filled tires act as shock absorbers, making it far easier to roll heavy loads over bumpy, uneven pasture or dirt paths. Solid plastic wheels get stuck on every rock and root; these glide right over.
The downside is obvious: it’s a significant investment. This isn’t the cart for a beekeeper with two hives on a suburban patio. But if you’re regularly moving dozens of heavy supers or entire colonies across rough terrain, the Gemini Sr. pays for itself in saved labor and back pain. It’s a lifetime purchase for a serious operation.
Milwaukee 4-in-1: For All Your Hive Moving Needs
The Milwaukee 4-in-1 Hand Truck occupies a sweet spot between lighter-duty convertible carts and expensive commercial models. It’s tougher and more capable than typical consumer models, offering several configurations that are genuinely useful for beekeeping tasks.
Besides the standard two-wheel and four-wheel platform modes, it offers a 45-degree angled position. This is surprisingly helpful for securing a tall, wobbly stack of hive boxes with a ratchet strap. The slight incline helps keep the load pinned against the back of the truck, increasing stability as you move.
This cart often comes with both solid, puncture-proof tires and smaller casters, offering a good balance of durability and maneuverability. It’s a solid, mid-range choice for someone who needs more capacity and ruggedness than a basic folding cart but doesn’t want to jump to the price point of a Magliner.
Wellmax Push Cart: Compact and Easy to Store
Sometimes, the simplest tool is the right one. The Wellmax Push Cart is a straightforward, no-frills platform truck. Its primary strengths are its simplicity and how compactly it folds down for storage. The handle folds flat against the deck, allowing you to slide it under a workbench or stand it in a narrow corner of the garage.
This cart is ideal for beekeepers with smooth, level paths in their apiary—think concrete, pavers, or very hard-packed dirt. The small, solid casters are not designed for rough grass or muddy ground. They will dig in and get stuck, making your job harder, not easier.
Think of the Wellmax as a specialized tool. It excels at moving supers from your truck to the honey house or wheeling heavy buckets of honey around the garage during extraction. For those specific tasks on smooth surfaces, its compact storage and ease of use are hard to beat.
Rubbermaid FG440300BLA: Honey House Essential
While many carts try to be useful both indoors and out, the Rubbermaid Triple Trolley is unapologetically an indoor specialist. Made of a durable structural foam plastic, it won’t rust, chip, or dent, and it’s incredibly easy to clean—a huge plus in any space where you’re handling food.
This isn’t your yard cart. Its smooth, non-marring casters are designed for concrete, linoleum, or wood floors. Trying to take it out into the grass would be an exercise in frustration. But inside the honey house or garage, it’s perfect.
Use it to stage supers waiting for extraction, move 5-gallon buckets of honey without lifting, or transport cases of finished jars. Its true value is in creating an efficient, clean, and back-friendly workflow during the busiest part of the beekeeping season: the harvest.
Goplus Folding Cart: A Solid Budget-Friendly Pick
For the new beekeeper or someone with just a couple of hives, a high-end cart can feel like overkill. The Goplus Folding Cart is an excellent entry-level option that provides most of the core benefits of a platform truck at a very accessible price point.
It does the fundamental job well: it gives you a stable, wheeled platform to move a couple of heavy supers without straining your back. It folds up compactly, making it easy to store in a crowded shed or transport in the trunk of a car. It’s a massive step up from carrying everything by hand.
The compromise, as expected, is in durability and terrain capability. The wheels are small and best suited for patios, decks, or short trips over dry, flat lawn. It won’t stand up to years of heavy abuse like a Magliner, but for the price, it provides immense value and can save a beekeeper a world of hurt.
Choosing the Right Cart for Your Apiary’s Terrain
There is no single "best" cart; there is only the best cart for your specific situation. The most important factor is a realistic assessment of the ground you’ll be covering. Everything else flows from that.
First, consider your terrain. If your hives are on a paved patio or you only need a cart for the garage, small, solid casters are fine. If you have to cross a bumpy lawn, a gravel driveway, or a lumpy pasture, you absolutely need large, air-filled (pneumatic) tires. This is the most critical decision point.
Next, think about your typical load. Are you moving two medium supers or four deeps? Check the weight capacity, but also look at the deck size. You need a platform large enough to hold your hive components without them precariously hanging off the edges.
Finally, evaluate versatility and storage. A convertible cart like the Cosco or Milwaukee is fantastic if you need a hand truck for other farm tasks. If storage space is your biggest constraint, a simple folding model like the Wellmax or Goplus might be the most practical choice, even if it limits where you can use it.
Ultimately, a platform truck is an investment in your own physical well-being. It allows you to work smarter, not harder, reducing the strain that can take the joy out of beekeeping. By matching the cart’s features—especially its wheels—to your apiary’s terrain, you’ll get a tool that serves you reliably for many seasons to come.
