It is summer, the season of ice candies, scorching heat, pool parties and big water slides.

If you own an inflatable rental business, the peak of your season has started. The coming months are going to be busy and that will require you to work more efficiently to meet the demand. By working efficiently we mean, among other things, getting to the party venues on time. You don't want to show up late to the party and get yourself a reputation.

Hand trucks and dollies are absolutely critical equipments that you must, most certainly, own to save yourself a lot of time and perhaps physical duress.

The dolly, cart or a hand truck eases the transportation of heavy inflatable water slides, bounce houses and party tents. In addition to that, it is much safer for the equipment and helps reduce the risk of tearing due to stress. The time you save in between moving the product from the warehouse to the venue and back again is an added bonus.

What is a dolly? What is a hand truck?

The two are often confused for each other. And while they are both used for moving the load around, there is a difference between the two.

A dolly has four wheels either on two axels or as casters. They are horizontal and flat. Dollies are meant for pushing and pulling the load instead of pivoting on the axis which is how a hand truck moves. Dollies are often seen as hand carts or simply carts.

Meanwhile, a hand truck is an L-shaped unit that has two wheels. It can be used for moving something even heavier and bigger than a commercial water slide, an appliance hand truck to transport a stove or a refrigerator, for example. Hand trucks mostly have simple designs, although much advanced models now exist in the market. Powered hand trucks, for instance.

Is there really a need for a hand truck or a dolly?

As an inflatable business owner, you are constantly required to move the equipment from place to place. Inflatables often weigh 125 pounds or more. In case your client has a requirement for two inflatables, a blow up water slide and an obstacle course, for instance, that could together weigh more than 300 pounds. You will need to move the equipment from the storage to the truck and then from the truck to the party venue and the whole thing back again.

Without a dolly or a hand truck, two or three people will be needed to move the units safely. Grabbing hold of it safely to move is cumbersome and tricky. This also involves a risk of seriously hurting someone.

If you own a hand truck or a dolly, two people can easily load the equipment and one person can move it to the venue from the truck and unload it. Other than saving time, the risk of hurting someone in the process can be substantially minimised.