TCH provides a large variety of durable caster wheels and accessories. Online, we stock corner and edge mount casters, swivel casters, and quick release caster plates. We carry sizes ranging from 2" to 8" and a variety of wheel materials including steel, rubber and polyurethane. If you’re looking for a caster with unique requirements, contact our customer service team and we will see if we can source product to fit your needs.
Casters are devices typically attached to the base of objects, such as chairs, tables, and carts. They swivel and rotate, allowing one to move heavy items with less effort. Casters usually consist of a wheel, stem, and frame made from materials such as nylon, zinc, or steel.
Casters are industrially designed to mount onto the bottom side of objects or furniture for easy movement, allowing them to be rolled from one place to another with minimal effort. There are a variety of types of casters with differing capabilities. Some examples are:
Side mount casters provide durable side attachments for lighter-duty items such as toolboxes and small carts. Stainless steel casters offer corrosion resistance in harsher environments and are ideal for food service applications. Rubber caster wheels reduce noise and vibration in hospitals and clean rooms, and casters with brakes are perfect to prevent the caster from rolling.
Casters are incredibly versatile and can be used in many applications, ranging from rubber tire casters to large wheel casters and metal caster wheels. Caster manufacturers offer an impressive array of different caster sizes, styles, materials, and capacities, making them ideal for transporting heavy loads that traditional wheels sometimes cannot. Their unique mobility allows objects to move quickly and efficiently without having to be picked up or carried. Whether it's for indoor or outdoor use, casters provide increased safety for items and personnel, reducing slips, trips, and falls.
TCH stocks a wide range of caster types for a wide range of industrial, commercial, and equipment applications. Corner and edge mount casters for toolboxes and equipment cases, swivel casters (polyurethane, TPR, Performa, rubber, and steel wheel models) for general material handling, swivel casters with brakes for workstations requiring positional lock, quick-release caster plates for fast caster removal, and plug-in caster sockets for tubing-frame equipment. Wheel materials and sizes vary by product. Refer to the individual product page for specifications.
Add the total weight of the equipment plus the heaviest anticipated load it will carry, then divide by the number of casters (typically 4). Add a 25–30% safety margin on top of that number to account for uneven floors, shock loading, and dynamic forces during movement. For example, a 400 lb cart on 4 casters requires each caster to support at least 100 lbs, so selecting 150 lb-rated casters per wheel provides an appropriate safety margin.
A swivel caster rotates 360° on a vertical axis, allowing the object to be steered in any direction, essential for maneuverability in tight spaces like warehouses, kitchens, and hospital corridors. A rigid (fixed) caster only moves in a straight line and provides straight-line tracking and stability. Most caster setups use a combination: two rigid casters at the back for straight-line tracking and two swivel casters at the front for steering.
Choose casters with brakes any time the equipment must stay stationary while in use; workstations, medical equipment, welding carts, lab benches, and food service prep tables all benefit from braking casters. TCH offers swivel casters with a side-actuated brake that locks the wheel. For equipment that is always in motion or that uses other means of stabilization, standard non-brake swivel casters are sufficient.
The appropriate wheel material depends on your floor surface, load, and noise requirements. Rubber/polyurethane wheels (like TCH's blue swivel casters and Performa wheels) are non-marking, quiet, floor-protective, and ideal for warehouses, offices, and medical environments. Steel wheels are commonly selected for high-load applications on hard surfaces. Polyurethane wheels combine durability, smooth rolling, and floor protection for many industrial applications.
A quick-release caster plate is a mounting system that lets you attach and detach a caster without tools, typically by pressing a button or pulling a pin. TCH offers small, medium, and large aluminum quick-release plates. They are ideal for equipment that needs to be moved at times but remains stationary at others, such as portable workbenches, road cases, and mobile tool storage. The plates eliminate the need to unscrew casters each time the equipment is used in a stationary configuration.
TCH offers non-marking rubber, polyurethane, TPR, and Performa wheel options that are suitable for many food service, healthcare, laboratory, and commercial applications. Refer to the individual product page for material and application details.
A plug-in caster socket (also called a stem socket or tube insert) is a metal sleeve that is pressed or welded into the end of a hollow tube or square leg. It creates a receptacle that accepts a stem-mount caster. This is a common attachment method for equipment and tubular frames. TCH carries a 2" plug-in caster socket compatible with standard stem casters. The caster stem presses or locks into the socket, making installation and replacement fast.
Yes, caster replacement is straightforward in most cases. You need to match three specifications from your existing caster: mounting type (top plate, side mount, stem, or corner mount), wheel diameter (e.g., 2", 3", or 4"), and load rating. Take a photo of your existing caster and note the mounting hole pattern or stem dimensions before ordering. TCH carries a broad range of replacement casters and can assist via the ‘Request a Quote’ feature or by calling our customer service team.
Yes. For outdoor environments, uneven surfaces, and rough terrain, larger diameter wheels with rubber tires provide the best performance. Large-diameter rubber tire casters roll over thresholds, cracks, and uneven floors and thresholds more easily than small-wheel casters, improving mobility on uneven surfaces. TCH stocks options, including rubber tire swivel casters. Submit a ‘Request a Quote’ through the TCH website for more information or contact our customer service team to speak with a rep.
