How much can a mobile tool cabinet carry?

A: Between 150 and 500 kilograms loaded on common models. Add cabinet, tools and liner, then leave twenty percent; quoting tool weight alone underestimates by a third.

Do all four castors need brakes?

A: On heavy units or any slope, yes. With only two braked the cabinet pivots about the free castors, most visibly with a drawer open.

Will polyurethane castors mark an epoxy floor?

A: Not under normal load; contact pressure is low and it leaves no black marks. Cast iron or nylon under heavy static load is what dents the floor.

Does a mobile cabinet need anchoring?

A: If it moves often, no — but require a drawer interlock and anti-tip bracket. If it stays at one station, add a floor anchor so it cannot be knocked out of place.

Are bigger castors always easier?

A: They clear obstacles better but raise the centre of gravity and slow steering. Flat floors suit 75 to 100 mm; thresholds and ducts need 125 mm or more. ---

Choosing a Mobile Tool Cabinet: Castors, Brakes and Balance

Quick answer: Select a mobile tool cabinet in the order of load, castors, brakes and balance — not drawer count. Total loaded weight sets castor diameter and material, castor mix decides whether it pushes, the brake decides whether it stays on a slope, and balance decides whether it tips with a drawer open. Estimate any of the four on an empty cabinet and the first loaded week exposes it.

Choosing a mobile tool cabinet: start from loaded weight
Castors: diameter is only one of four variables
Brakes: stopping matters more than pushing
Balance: the real condition is a drawer wide open
The route: thresholds, ramps and cable ducts
FAQ

1. Choosing a mobile tool cabinet: start from loaded weight

The first number is total loaded weight, not drawer count: cabinet, tools, liner and accessories together are what the castors carry. An eighty-kilogram six-drawer unit often passes three hundred kilograms loaded, and sizing castors on the empty weight is the usual mistake.

A gloved hand pushing a loaded mobile tool cabinet across a floor, the cabinet leaning with motion

That weight also needs distributing. Concentrated in the bottom two drawers it pushes stably; concentrated at the top it behaves like an inverted pendulum and sways on any acceleration. Ask for per-drawer limits and plan heavy low, light high.

Loaded weight	Castor size	Material	Feel
under 150 kg	75 mm	polyurethane	light, smooth over joints
150 to 300 kg	100 mm	PU or nylon	needs steady push
300 to 500 kg	125 mm	nylon core PU	hard to start, slow to steer
above 500 kg	150 mm plus	cast iron core	two people or a tug

2. Castors: diameter is only one of four variables

A castor has four variables: diameter, material, bearing and the swivel-to-fixed mix. Diameter sets obstacle clearance, material sets rolling resistance and floor damage, the bearing sets push effort, and the mix sets whether it tracks straight — four swivel castors wander, two fixed plus two swivel track.

Close-up of a large castor and a smaller swivel castor under a mobile tool cabinet, one brake engaged

The floor is a variable too. Epoxy floors suit polyurethane; concrete tolerates nylon at the cost of noise; oily floors need oil-resistant material, since standard PU softens and delaminates in oil. Tell the supplier the floor, not just the load.

3. Brakes: stopping matters more than pushing

Two brake types exist: tread brakes pressing the tyre, simple but liable to slip on oily floors, and hub brakes locking the axle, more reliable and more costly. Heavy cabinets — especially on any slope — should use hub brakes.

A mobile tool cabinet on a slight floor gradient with the brake pedal engaged, wheels locked

Stopped is not the same as stable. With all four braked the body can still pivot about one castor, and a fully open drawer amplifies it. Test loaded and braked with the heaviest drawer open: movement beyond a finger's width means more brakes or a floor anchor.

4. Balance: the real condition is a drawer wide open

A mobile cabinet tips more easily than a fixed one: it has no anchor, and only its own weight and wheelbase resist. With a drawer open the centre of gravity moves forward, and a loaded top drawer can push the combined point past the front axle; smaller castors and a narrower base make it worse.

Close-up of the anti-tip bracket and floor fixing point at the base of a mobile tool cabinet

Three remedies: heaviest tools in the bottom drawer, a limit on drawers open at once, and an anti-tip bracket or floor anchor. The third does not suit a unit that moves daily, so the first two carry the load. Check for a drawer interlock — one open at a time is the most effective measure on a mobile unit.

5. The route: thresholds, ramps and cable ducts

Walk the route before choosing. Threshold height sets the minimum castor: a 20 mm lip is marginal on 75 mm and easy on 100 mm. Gradient decides whether a tug is needed — above five percent, a 300 kg cabinet is hard for one person. Cable ducts and gratings decide whether castors jam.

Turning radius matters too. Four swivel castors turn on the spot but load the fork sideways, and the forks distort first. Two fixed plus two swivel, lifting one end to turn, is steadier — which requires a push handle, not just a pull grip.

Conclusion

Selection compresses to four steps: loaded weight sets castor size, the floor sets material and mix, the gradient sets brake type, and drawer usage sets the anti-tip measure. Drawer count comes last — choose it first and the castors turn out undersized the moment the cabinet is loaded.

This article covers container-side specifications and design implications only, not the handling, loading or use of the contents.