Industrial casters move carts, racks, fixtures, and towable loads on plant and warehouse floors. This hub is the broad plate and stem catalog: swivel and rigid, kingpin and kingpinless, light stem mounts through Hamilton ultra-maxi dual wheels. Brands include Hamilton, Albion, Colson, CasterHQ, Durastar, Shepherd, and Blickle.
Listings run from about 50 lb on small stem and plate models up to 40,000 lb on Hamilton UMD dual-wheel nylon and polyurethane casters, including 18 x 5 and 28 x 12 in sizes. Most plant carts sit in the hundreds to a few thousand pounds per caster on 4 to 8 in polyurethane, nylon, or phenolic wheels.
Start with load, floor, and mount, then filter. Heavy shortlist: heavy duty casters. Poly tread focus: polyurethane casters. Swivel-only: swivel casters.
The catalog by load
| Rated load per caster |
Listings |
Typical wheels |
Main makers |
| Under 300 lb |
About 400 |
2 to 5 in TPR, polyurethane, polyolefin, nylon |
Colson, CasterHQ, Shepherd |
| 300 to 999 lb |
About 1,500 |
4 to 8 in polyurethane, TPR, rubber, polyolefin |
CasterHQ, Colson, Albion |
| 1,000 to 2,999 lb |
About 1,900 |
4 to 10 in polyurethane, nylon, cast iron, phenolic |
Albion, Hamilton, Colson |
| 3,000 to 9,999 lb |
About 600 |
6 to 18 in polyurethane, nylon, phenolic, ductile iron |
Hamilton, Albion |
| 10,000 to 40,000 lb |
About 130 |
8 to 36 in polyurethane, nylon, forged steel, single and dual wheel |
Hamilton, Albion |
Active products on this page, Admin product fields; counts rounded [S1]. Set listings excluded.
Mounts
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Top plate: about 4,100 of the listings. The 4 x 4-1/2 in plate is by far the most common, followed by 4-1/2 x 6-1/4, 5-1/4 x 7-1/4, 4-1/2 x 6-1/2 and 8-1/2 x 8-1/2 in. Light casters use 2-3/8 x 3-5/8 and 2-1/2 x 3-5/8 in plates.
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Stems: expanding rubber stems for tube legs, 1/2-13 and 3/8-16 threaded stems, and 7/16 in grip ring stems. See stem casters.
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Kingpinless: the swivel turns on a raceway instead of a kingpin, which holds up better to shock and impact on heavy carts.
Choosing a wheel
| Wheel |
Good for |
Watch for |
| Polyurethane on iron or aluminum |
Most plant floors, quiet, non-marking |
Heat above about 180°F on standard grades |
| Nylon |
High capacity, low rolling effort on smooth floors |
Noisy, can slip on wet floors |
| Phenolic |
Heat and oily floors, low cost per pound |
Can chip on rough floors |
| Cast iron, ductile iron, semi-steel, forged steel |
Heat to 600 or 800°F on many listings, debris, heavy impact |
Marks and wears finished floors |
| TPR and rubber |
Quiet and soft on tile and wood |
Lower capacity, more rolling effort |
Temperature ranges from product fields [S1]; wheel use notes [S2].
Sizing
Add the cart weight and its heaviest load, then divide by one less than the number of casters, so a four-caster cart sizes each caster for a third of the total [S3]. Go up in diameter for rough floors, dock plates and long pushes, since a larger wheel rolls over cracks and needs less force to start.
Brakes
Total lock, top lock, side lock and face contact brakes are all listed. A total lock stops both the wheel and the swivel; see total lock casters.
By material: polyurethane casters. Replacement wheels: caster wheels.
Industrial caster questions
How much weight can industrial casters hold?
On this page, from 50 lb per caster on small stem casters to 40,000 lb on the largest Hamilton and Albion single and dual wheel casters.
What is the most common plate size?
4 x 4-1/2 in. Other common plates are 4-1/2 x 6-1/4, 5-1/4 x 7-1/4, 4-1/2 x 6-1/2 and 8-1/2 x 8-1/2 in.
Which wheel material should I choose?
Polyurethane for most indoor plant floors, nylon or phenolic for high loads on smooth floors, metal wheels for heat and debris, and TPR or rubber for quiet floors.
How do I size a caster for my cart?
Divide the total weight of the cart and load by one less than the number of casters, then pick a caster rated at least that much.
Which brands are listed?
Hamilton, Albion, Colson, CasterHQ, Durastar, Shepherd and Blickle.
How long do industrial casters take to ship?
Lead time on industrial casters depends on brand and model: Hamilton builds many of its models here to order, typically 4 to 6 weeks, and Hamilton models stocked for Pronto Ship go out faster.
Jordan Wilson, CasterHQ · reviewed October 26, 2026 · 844-439-4335 · info@casterhq.com
Sources
- [S1] CasterHQ product fields (rated load, diameter, width, wheel and core material, temperature range, mount) and product descriptions for the items on this page, pulled October 26, 2026.
- [S2] Hamilton Caster, Industrial Caster Wheels overview and Phenolic & Polyolefin page (hamiltoncaster.com/Wheels): capacity range and use notes for each wheel family; phenolic is resin with macerated canvas, polyolefin is blended polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
- [S3] Preferred Equipment casters and wheels quick guide PDF (prefeq.com): load sizing on one less caster, wheel types and floor notes.
- [S4] Hamilton Caster catalog, PRONTO star marks for stocked models (hamiltoncaster.com/catalog.pdf), checked October 26, 2026.