Six-wheel harp dollies

[Christopher]

Can anyone share experience with using these dollies with three wheels on each side, rather than the usual two-wheel type? Do they really work significantly better on a staircase? I have 46 steps to negotiate every time I take my pedal harp in or out.

[Alison]

Yes they do and they are more stable generally even if they are stiff round corners – use your back carefully without twisting or straining & if you do accept help upstairs, the simple instruction to pull works better than a novice doing what they always do from below tipping it sideways & off balance…… by lifting and pushing. You can let it down carefully too.

[ellen-beckerman]

Yes, I have one. My harp room is on the second floor of my house, so like you I always have to navigate stairs (but I only have 18!) I can get it up and down the stairs by myself, and love how the wheels make it easy to lower the harp down to the next lower step. Does it turn on a dime? No. But I’ve never had any problem negotiating corners or tight places… it’s always been fine. The one I have is made by Harp Caddy. It has a nice wide shelf for the harp that keeps everything very secure. Hope this helps.

[Christopher]

Thanks for your replies, Ellen and Alison. Good to know that it’s a good design—looks like it’s what I need.

[emma-graham]

Sorry, but I have the complete opposite opinion. I recently tried one for the first time and honestly, I wouldn’t go near one again if you paid me. They are a nightmare to manoeuvre as they don’t go round corners easily and they do not help with stairs. Your arms get jolted on the way down and they give no help at all going up. Big, pneumatic wheels are the best answer for stairs. I live alone and don’t require help when moving my harp. I go up and down flights of stairs with no trouble. The air in the wheels gives some cushioning and controllability as you go over a step and takes the weight on the way down acting as a shock absorber for your arms. Contrary to what some manufactures of the three wheeled version will tell you, the harp does not bounce off the trolley due to the air in the tyres!

[erin-wood]

I have a harp caddy too and I love it. I have used some 6 wheeled dolley that were hard to manuever but the harp caddy is great. I also like the handles that come out on the side much more than the traditional style that has no handles. It works well on stairs but I would not want to do 46 stairs. That is insane. I would definitely try to see if you can try one out.

[Harprenee]

Absolutely! I had a regular cart and then got a 6 wheeled cart with a new harp I purchased. It took a little getting used to, and there is a major flaw with turn radius BUT the maneuverability and stability that you get from it is well worth it! I do a lot of events in older houses (Victorian era) and the narrow lipped staircases are so much easier with the 6 wheeled cart. In fact, after about 10 years of use, my old one broke about a month back and I had to rush order one across the country to get it here on time for another event I was doing over the weekend. I like the new one because the wheels are a little smaller and so the turning is easier on it. They also used a lighter wood for the frame so the weight is down a little bit. The thing I don’t like is that it seems to want to fall over when there isn’t a harp on it. This may be a problem with my cart or it might be across the board. My older cart never did this.

Positives: Stability, moving up and down stairs, nice platform that is not too big/small

Negatives: unable to navigate very sharp turns (although the new design has improved on this!), a little on the heavier side for carts, might be top heavy when unoccupied.

PS I have the Salvi 6-wheeled cart. There was a 6-wheeled harp cart that had smaller wheels and a metal frame that I used once and LOVED but never found the company/brand name to get it.

[Juan Riveros]

I have used one of the 6 wheeled carts from my high school. It’s a good cart to use, but it kind of scares me when I’m going up a step and one of the 3 wheel units comes up wrong, and the whole harp is leaning to one side. And if you make a turn too fast the harp will just lean to one side. But overall a great cart.

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