The most-stocked industrial plate size in U.S. material handling — 4″ × 4-1/2″ with 2-5/8″ × 3-5/8″ bolt pattern. 1,788 SKUs across 12 wheel materials, capacities from 400 to 6,000 lb per caster, every brake configuration. Drop-in fit for Colson 4 Series, Durable 27/28, Albion 16/18, Trio Pines 6600, Hamilton Champion, Faultless 13G, Blickle LK/LH, and most U.S. pre-fab industrial carts. Same or next-day ship from our Mansfield, TX facility.
Twelve wheel materials available on the same 4 x 4-1/2 plate. Capacity, floor compatibility, and chemical resistance drive the choice.
| Wheel Material | Wheel Diameter | Per-Caster Capacity | Floor Marks? | Best Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-Steel / Gray Iron | 4"–8" | 700–1,250 lb | Slight | Heavy industrial assembly, steel mills |
| Mold-On Rubber | 4"–8" | 400–600 lb | No | NSF food service, dairy, hospital washdown |
| Polyurethane on Iron | 4"–8" | 550–1,500 lb | No | Quiet heavy-duty (red, green, blue colors) |
| Polyurethane on Aluminum | 5"–6" | 1,000–1,250 lb | No | SIRIUS HD lightweight high-capacity (orange) |
| Polyurethane on Polyolefin | 4"–6" | 350–750 lb | No | Mid-capacity workhorse, lowest cost poly |
| Phenolic | 4"–8" | 800–1,200 lb | Brown marks on light floor | Autoclave, oven trolleys, high-temp service |
| Polyolefin (Solid Plastic) | 4"–8" | 500–800 lb | No | Washdown food, dairy, mild chemical |
| Nylon (Solid) | 3"–8" | 600–1,100 lb | No | Aggressive chemical, food acid resistance |
| Thermo Rubber (TPR) | 4"–8" | 350–600 lb | No | Finished commercial floors, quiet rolling |
| Blue Solid Polyurethane | 4"–8" | 500–800 lb | No | Greasy floors, chemical contact |
The 4″ x 4-1/2″ top plate uses a 2-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ bolt-hole center-to-center pattern with 4 holes for 3/8″ mounting bolts. This is the U.S. medium-duty industry standard, but European and Asian imports often use a 100mm metric pattern that looks similar but is offset 1-2mm. Measure bolt-hole-to-bolt-hole center distances with calipers before ordering. If your existing cart has a 4″ x 4-1/2″ printed dimension AND a 2-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ bolt pattern, this collection fits.
Heavy industrial concrete (warehouses, machine shops): semi-steel / cast iron up to 1,250 lb. Finished commercial floors (retail, hospital): non-marking TPR, polyurethane, or polyolefin. High-temperature service (bakery, autoclave, oven): phenolic. Food service washdown: NSF mold-on rubber or polyolefin. Greasy floors and chemical contact: blue solid polyurethane. Pick by the harshest environment your cart sees, not the average.
A single 4-caster cart with 1,000 lb per-caster casters carries 4,000 lb total — but only with all 4 casters fully loaded evenly. In practice, dynamic loads (acceleration, deceleration, hitting expansion joints) put 60-70% of cart weight on a single caster momentarily. Size the single-caster capacity at 1.5x cart-weight-per-caster for safety. Our heaviest 4 x 4-1/2 single caster is the SIRIUS HD polyurethane on aluminum at 1,250 lb.
4 x 4-1/2 plate casters are available in 4 lock configurations: plain swivel (no brake), top-lock brake (wheel only), total-lock (wheel + swivel raceway), and side-lock foot brake. Mix 2 swivel-with-brake + 2 rigid for stable straight-line travel with positive stop. All-4-locking for industrial safety on slopes. Plain swivel for level-floor cart shuffling.
2-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ center-to-center, 4 bolt holes for 3/8″ mounting bolts. This is the U.S. medium-duty industry standard, identical across Hamilton, Albion, Colson, Faultless, DuraStar, and most legacy U.S. manufacturers (Bassick, Darnell). Confirm bolt-hole center distances with calipers before ordering — the plate outer dimensions are less critical than the bolt-hole alignment.
Up to 1,500 lb per single caster on heavy polyurethane-on-iron with 8″ wheel. Our SIRIUS HD orange polyurethane on aluminum at 6″ tops out at 1,250 lb with lighter overall caster weight. For capacities above 1,500 lb per caster, step up to a heavier plate size (4-1/2″ x 6-1/4″ or 5-1/4″ x 7-1/4″) and matching heavy-duty casters — the 4 x 4-1/2 plate is mechanically limited at that load tier.
NSF approval is at the assembled equipment level, not the caster. Our mold-on rubber and polyolefin wheels are NSF-compatible materials (non-marking, food-safe, easy clean). If your prep table or food service cart holds an NSF rating with the original 4 x 4-1/2 casters, replacing with equivalent NSF-compatible wheels preserves the rating. Confirm with your NSF auditor for documentation-sensitive installations.
Probably not without re-drilling. 100mm x 100mm metric plates have a slightly different bolt pattern than the U.S. 2-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ standard. The 1-2mm difference is enough that mounting bolts won't align. Measure your cart's existing bolt-hole center distances with calipers before ordering. If you have an imported European or Asian cart, look for the European 100mm or 105mm caster instead.
Yes, almost certainly. Hamilton Champion 4″-8″ medium-duty, Albion 16-series, Colson 4 series, Faultless 13G, and DuraStar 30/34/35 series all use the 4 x 4-1/2 plate as standard for medium-duty applications. Our 1,788 SKUs cover all the common wheel materials and capacities — you can cross-reference your existing caster's wheel material, diameter, and capacity to find a direct fit replacement.
Cart capacity = per-caster capacity x 4 x 0.65 (safety factor for dynamic loading). Example: 4 casters rated 1,000 lb each = 4,000 lb static, but realistic cart payload is 2,600 lb after safety margin. The 0.65 factor accounts for momentary overload during acceleration, deceleration, and floor seam crossings. Don't plan loads at 100% of the math — you'll exceed capacity intermittently and shorten caster life.
The 4 holes sit in a rectangle: 2-5/8″ on the short side (between two holes), 3-5/8″ on the long side. Total plate outer dimension is 4″ x 4-1/2″ with a 5/16″ or 3/8″ bolt hole at each of the 4 corners. Bolt holes accommodate 3/8″ through-bolts or 5/16″ if your cart deck is thinner. Use grade-5 hex bolts and lock washers for industrial applications.
Yes — top-lock brakes, total-lock brakes (lock wheel AND swivel raceway), and side-lock foot brakes are stocked across the polyurethane, mold-on rubber, and semi-steel wheel options. Specify lock type when ordering. Most industrial carts use 2 swivel-with-brake + 2 rigid for stable travel + positive stop. All-4-locking is required for industrial safety on sloped floors or carts that operators climb onto.
Mix of US and imported depending on series. Hamilton, Albion 16-series, and Faultless 13G casters in this collection are U.S.-manufactured. Some Colson and lower-cost imports are sourced internationally. Call us at 844-439-4335 for country-of-origin certification on specific SKUs — required for some federal, defense, and Buy America Act procurement.
Drill 4 holes in your cart deck matching the 2-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ bolt pattern (or use existing holes from prior casters). Bolt the caster top plate to the underside of the cart deck using grade-5 hex bolts, lock washers, and self-locking nuts. Tighten to 25-30 ft-lb. Install all 4 casters before loading. Re-check torque after 8 hours of use — cart deck wood and thin steel can compress under initial load.
