The life of a caster is a tricky thing to predict. When trying to answer this question, the first thing we look at is understanding why the current caster you are using isn’t lasting as long as you want. We need to determine where the failure is coming from. Does the poly come off? Do the bearings in the wheel fail? Do your swivel sections stop working?

Many variables affect caster life. Understanding your application is probably the most important. And knowing exactly what the load parameters are is critical.

One of the first things to know is the weight of the actual cart or dolly and then how much weight will be going on it. Next would be the speed. How fast will that load be towed? Higher speeds need a caster that can stand up to the additional abuse. Also, the duty cycle. How often will it be towed throughout the day or shifts, and how far?

As you can see, there are many reasons why a caster can fail. Most are related to the application. A typical caster warranty is a year. However, most failures are caused by the application and having the wrong caster spec’d into it.