I need a wheeled cart to make life around my home a little easier. After doing a great deal of research and comparing, despite some not-so-great reviews, I went with this item -- the Carlisle UC 403 1529 Knockdown Stainless Steel 3 Shelf Utility / Service Cart, 400 lb. Capacity. The packaging was a little on the flimsy side, but once I got the box open I saw there was no shipping damage. There was a tiny dent along the inside of one of the shelves' side supports, but I don't foresee it affecting the overall stability of the item. Everything I needed to assemble the cart was included, and I managed it in less than 30 minutes. It probably took an hour for my lovely and talented assistant and I to get the darn plastic off, and in hindsight I should have ignored the instructions and taken that off BEFORE I assembled the cart. GORGEOUS. PRISTINE (except for the tiny dent). No stains, no sign of previous use. Looks like it was made yesterday. The casters are huge, and move in all directions with ease. It's also NICE and quiet, both on carpet and hard flooring. If yours is loud, double check and make sure you've really tightened the screws, and screwed the casters completely into the base. What I did to make sure I had the latter sorted was to screw the casters halfway in, then tighten the nut to the washer before finishing the job. I can see how not getting the casters all the way in might contribute to noise and the feeling that the cart is wobbly. The brakes are quite stiff, but they work. After taking it for a test drive, I put it through a beat-down test by throwing some weight at it. Not sedately setting something on it, but dropping something heavy on it several times. It passed with flying colors. No dents, and it didn't collapse, so I'm pretty sure this thing will support all the weight I need it to. Don't let the delicate thinness of the metal fool you into thinking this won't be a workhorse cart. This is NOT a knockdown cart. The only way I can see to knock it down is to take it apart. If that's a priority for you, you might not want this cart. I admit the idea of knocking it down attracted me, but I could pretty much tell from the Amazon pic that it wouldn't be, and I bought it anyway. For my particular wheeled cart needs, I'll take solid structural integrity over space-saving any day of the week. There isn't a great deal of headroom between shelves, and I considered going with a 2-shelf model, but I didn't think such an item would offer the same strength and stability as this one. It's about 6" longer than I'd like it to be, but that's a small price to pay for how well I think this cart will serve me. I'm satisfied with the purchase, I look forward to getting years of use out of it, and I would recommend it to others. IF YOU GET THIS CART, TAKE THE PLASTIC OFF BEFORE YOU ASSEMBLE IT. I imagine I would have saved a great deal of time had I had the bright idea of doing that myself. Thanks for reading, and best of luck finding your perfect wheeled cart! Sue :D * * * * * * 6-month follow-up 8/5/17: This cart is WONDERFUL! I've put it through some serious paces the past several months, and I L-O-V-E it. It does absolutely everything I need it to do -- from transporting trays of food and drink to transporting cumbersome loads up to 100ish pounds. Stainless steel easy to clean and sterilize when needed. Super duper glad I bought this cart!
