How to Choose the 5 Best Wheelbarrow: Buying Guide & Reviews of Top Rated Wheelbarrows

From shifting soil or bricks to moving plants to harvesting crops, a wheelbarrow is essential for so many different gardening tasks.

Whether you’re looking for something basic and lightweight, or require a stronger, heavy-duty design for both gardening and DIY tasks, this guide will walk you through all of the steps involved in choosing the best wheelbarrow for your needs.

The Best Wheelbarrow on the Market is…

The Gorilla Carts GCR-4 Poly Yard Cart comes out on top when compared to other wheelbarrows.

This two-wheeled barrow’s unique design has it sitting quite low to the ground. This may put people off at first, but it makes loading and unloading surprisingly easy, since you don’t need to lift material quite so high each time.

It’s also easy to both push and pull this wheelbarrow, making it much more versatile than many of the other barrows out there.

Best Wheelbarrow Reviews

Marathon Yard Rover

Features:

• A two-tire wheelbarrow
• Made from polypropylene
• 5-cubic foot tray and 300 pound load capacity
• Tires are pneumatic and filled with air
• Has a convenient loop handle for easy pushing, pulling, and tipping
• Only weighs 25 pounds

What We Like

This wheelbarrow was quick and easy to assemble, and has no problem handling all types of terrain. The fact that it weighs noticeably less than most other barrows out there is a big bonus too, something that also makes this wheelbarrow easy to store away up high.

What Could Be Improved?

This model would be considered a lightweight wheelbarrow – it’s fine for general gardening tasks but won’t be strong enough for heavy work, such as carting around bricks or a full tray of dense soil.

Gorilla Carts GCR-4 Poly Yard Cart

Features:

• A two-wheel barrow with a 300 pound load capacity
• A unique design that makes it just as easy to pull as it is to push
• Pneumatic tires with fantastic tread
• Unique, impact resistant tray
• Foldable handle for easy storage

What We Like

This wheelbarrow sits quite low to the ground, which makes things surprisingly convenient when loading and tipping. The square-shaped tray adds to this barrow’s stability, enabling it to cope with both heavy loads and uneven terrain.

What Could Be Improved?

This wheelbarrow is made from painted steel, meaning that corrosion is inevitable, even if you store it indoors as much as possible.

You may also struggle on very rough ground, such as if you were trying to wheel it over rocks or tree stumps, due to the low ground clearance that this barrow has.

Landworks 2103Q Heavy Duty Lawn/Garden Utility Cart/Wagon

Features:

• A strong, heavy duty cart with a 400-pound capacity load
• Has strong steel sides that are also removable
• Heat-treated and has a rust-resistant coating
• 10-inch pneumatic tires

What We Like

While small enough to fit through tight gateways, this cart is also quite heavy, which therefore allows it to carry heavy loads. It’s easy to steer and its removable sides make loading and unloading much faster – a feature that many wheelbarrows don’t have.

What Could Be Improved?

There’s definitely room for improvement in the instructions that accompany this product – assembly can take quite a while, and you will need a good range of tools to help you.

Although the heavy weight of the product is great for adding strength and stability, this can make the cart feel especially heavy when carrying a full load.

Gorilla Carts GOR4PS Poly Garden Dump Cart

Features:

• Large 10-inch pneumatic tires
• 600-pound load capacity
• Padded handle for comfort and grip
• Has a special patented quick-release feature that makes dumping very easy
• Comes with a one year warranty

What We Like

This multi-purpose heavy duty wheelbarrow is extremely strong and sturdy. Unlike many other garden carts out there, this one is surprisingly easy to manoeuvre – sharp turns aren’t a problem, even when carrying a heavy load.

What Could Be Improved?

If you’ve got the right tools and are good at putting things together, assembling this wheelbarrow won’t take long. However, for everyone else, the process can be frustrating, and may also require a second person for assistance.

Polar Trailer #8449 Cub Cart

Features:

• Can carry 7 cubic feet of material with a load capacity of 400-pounds
• Tub is made from high-impact polyethylene, making it lightweight
• Frame made from steel with a rust-resistant coating
• Wide, 16-inch pneumatic tires with a wide track to provide good grip on every type of terrain

What We Like

This wheelbarrow has quite a high load capacity for its size, but its unique design enables it to carry heavy loads with no problems, keeping everything stable and well-balanced.

The tub and the frame are well-made and of a high quality, and Polar Trailer’s reputation for good customer service provides added reassurance.

What Could Be Improved?

The pneumatic tires are not the best quality – they deflate more than other wheelbarrows. However, this is the only main downside, so if you’re willing to swap the tires out for something of a higher quality, then you’ll have yourself a sturdy and reliable barrow.

Wheelbarrow Buying Guide

The Different Types of Wheelbarrows

Before you choose a wheelbarrow to buy, you need to decide between the different types available:

Basic Garden Wheelbarrows

These are well-suited to the average home gardener. They’re lightweight, easy to manoeuvre, and usually have either one or two wheels.

However, since most are made from plastic, they tend to be better-suited to lighter loads, and may not be sturdy enough if you’ve got a big and heavy job ahead.

Heavy Duty Wheelbarrows

These are similar to basic garden wheelbarrows when it comes to size.

The difference is that they are usually made from steel instead of plastic. This makes them sturdier and more stable, making them great for heavier loads.

Garden Carts

These have 4 wheels and are designed to be pulled horizontally rather than lifted and pushed like a traditional wheelbarrow. Some carts will also have adjustable sides, making them easy to load and unload.

Although very stable, and usually larger than a wheelbarrow too, garden carts can be tricky to maneuver around the average garden.

Electric Wheelbarrows

While they may be more of an initial investment, electric wheelbarrows can carry loads heavier than 300kg, saving you from having to manually push these around.

They usually either have 2 or 4 wheels, or tracks, making them suitable for all types of terrain.

In addition to their cost, as well as the regular maintenance required, the other downside to electric wheelbarrows is that you lose a certain level of control, which can make it cumbersome to navigate small areas or tight corners.

However, the ease at which you can cart around heavy loads makes an electric barrow more than worth it.

How Many Wheels Do You Need?

Traditional wheelbarrows have a single wheel, but you will also find 2 and 4-wheel barrows out there.

The single-wheel barrows are the most lightweight, and are also the easiest to move around the garden. The main downside to having just one wheel is that some wheelbarrows can end up tipping if they’re overloaded, which can easily happen.

Two wheels are steadier and more stable when it comes to heavy loads, but they’re also more difficult to manoeuvre, especially around corners.

Four-wheel barrows are basically a garden cart. The four wheels make the barrow strong and sturdy, but they also pose a challenge when it comes to moving around small spaces.

Pneumatic vs. Non-Pneumatic Tires

Wheelbarrow tires will either be pneumatic or non-pneumatic. Here’s the difference between the two:

• Pneumatic – these are tires that need to be pumped up, with air being pumped either into a tube, similar to a bicycle, or into the tire itself. They’re great for smoothly gliding over bumpy landscapes, but regular pumping, along with fixing punctures, are the downsides.
• Non-pneumatic – these are made from solid rubber, meaning that they don’t contain any air. This also means that you won’t need to pump them up or deal with punctures, but without any air to provide cushioning, they’ll make your wheelbarrow much bumpier.

Another hybrid option, although one that isn’t commonly available, is semi-pneumatic tires. Just like non-pneumatic, they are made from rubber and don’t need to be pumped up. However, they do also contain small pockets of air that give the barrow smoother movements.

If you spot tires made from plastic, steer clear of that wheelbarrow, as plastic tires break down very quickly.

How Large Do You Need Your Wheelbarrow to Be?

Wheelbarrows are available in a variety of sizes, so you need to pick one that not only suits you, but also your garden.

The larger the wheelbarrow, the heavier and more difficult it will be to move around, especially through narrow doorways and gates. However, a large wheelbarrow can save so much time when working in the garden, as it will be able to carry a greater volume of material.

Usually, the average lightweight wheelbarrow will be able to carry about 10 cubic feet of garden material, but this may be too small a load for those with big gardens.

Don’t forget to think about storage space either – to prolong the life of your wheelbarrow, you should be storing it under cover, especially in the winter. Do you have enough space to store a very large wheelbarrow?

Plastic vs. Steel vs. Fabric

Most wheelbarrows are made from either steel or plastic, and there are pros and cons to each.

Plastic wheelbarrows are the most lightweight, meaning that they’re the easiest to move around tight corners and small spaces. You will also find that there’s a lot more choice out there when it comes to plastic barrows, with many suitable for even the smallest of budgets.

However, plastic wheelbarrows struggle with heavy loads, which is where steel comes out on top. Steel is also much stronger than plastic, and you won’t need to worry about it cracking during a cold winter.

The downside is that steel wheelbarrows are much heavier to lift.

If you don’t mind this, look into powder-coated steel – this prevents the metal from rusting over the years, and gives the wheelbarrow better visual appeal.

There are also a few fabric wheelbarrows out there – these are the ultimate when it comes to lightweight barrows, especially since you can simply fold them away for storage when you’re done using them.

However, as you can imagine, fabric wheelbarrows are not capable of holding heavy loads or navigating rough terrain, and can usually only cope with the lightest of garden tasks.

Are the Ball Bearings High Quality?

This is something that many don’t think about when looking for a new wheelbarrow, but your barrow’s ball bearings will have a direct impact on:

• How heavy a weight your barrow can carry
• How smoothly the wheelbarrow runs
• Lifespan of tires

Make sure that the wheelbarrow you’re considering has high quality ball bearings, otherwise be prepared to replace them at some point in the near future.

Are the Handles Comfortable to Hold?

Comfortable handles not only enable you to use a wheelbarrow for extended periods of time, but it will also make it easier for you to turn and manoeuvre that barrow around a garden.

The handles also need to be long enough – if they’re too short, you will end up hitting your legs against the wheelbarrow with every step you take.

Ideally, the handles will also have a well-fitted plastic or rubber grip around them, which is especially useful when you’re moving a heavy load.

Additional Features and Accessories

There are a few other things that may sway your decision when it comes to choosing one wheelbarrow over another:

• A wheelbarrow that has storage racks either along the middle or on each side is super-convenient, as you can fill these up with your other gardening tools while making your way around a garden.
• Look for rust-resistant coatings on steel wheelbarrows, which will help to prolong their lifespan.
• The tipping bar at the front of a single-wheeled barrow is usually U-shaped (this is the bar that works like a break and holds your barrow stable when you’re tipping it). Square-tipping bars tend to be sturdier, and they also make it easier to stand a wheelbarrow up when not in use.
• While most basic garden wheelbarrows won’t come with a warranty, this is something that you should seek if you’re investing in a costly heavy duty or electric wheelbarrow.

This video is showing how to choose the right wheelbarrow for landscaping:

Conclusion

The ideal wheelbarrow for you will depend on what you are going to be using it for. A lightweight barrow might be perfect for those only planning some light gardening work, whereas a sturdy garden cart could be the better option for those who want to use their barrow for DIY.

Either way, pick the best wheelbarrow that you can afford to buy – this is a tool that you will really come to depend on over the years.

Last update on 2024-06-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API