When to replace industrial wheels: 5 key signs
How to spot in time that a wheel or a bracket is at the end of its service life, before it affects safety or damages the floor.
An industrial wheel rarely fails all of a sudden: it almost always gives warning. Checking trolleys and equipment regularly prevents downtime, damage to the floor and unnecessary strain for operators. These are the five most common signs that it is time to replace them.
1. Uneven wear or flat spots on the tread
If the tread shows flattened areas, steps or more wear on one side, the wheel no longer bears evenly. It is usually caused by dragging with the brake on, occasional overloads or a misaligned bracket. A wheel with flat spots vibrates, makes noise and passes impacts on to the load.
2. Cracks, chunks missing or a tread coming away from the centre
On polyurethane or rubber wheels with a metal centre, any crack in the tread or separation between tread and centre means immediate replacement: the material can come off while the wheel is moving.
3. Play in the axle or in the swivel
If you can feel play in the axle when you move the wheel by hand, or the swivel bracket wobbles, the bearings or the ball race are worn. As well as making the trolley unstable, it speeds up wear on the other components.
4. More effort than usual to push
When a trolley that used to move easily becomes hard to start or to turn, the bearings are usually dirty, dry or damaged, or the tread has hardened. Operators notice this before anyone else: it pays to listen to them.
5. Noise, marks on the floor or a brake that does not lock
Squeaking, knocking, black marks on the floor or a brake that no longer holds the equipment are signs that the wheel is not working properly. In the case of the brake, it is also a safety risk.
How to choose the replacement wheel
The simplest way is to look up the Tellure Rôta code of the current wheel in our wheel finder. If you cannot find it, measure the diameter, the tread width and the fixing plate and contact us: we will suggest the equivalent reference or a better alternative for your load and your floor.