Wheelbarrows For Tall People

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Just about every home has one while every construction site has more than you can count, finding wheelbarrows for tall people seems like an impossible task. For whatever reason, us people taller than 6 foot seem to have put up with it or simply get out.

Its either break your back or let the load slip out the front while digging the nose into the ground when using most wheelbarrows. Being tall certainly has its advantages, but when it comes to outdoor equipment like a wheelbarrow, lawn mower or even the string trimmer, we are highly disadvantaged.

However, we have coped for many years and will continue to cope. Whether that be through improvising or pure grit and determination. That is, until a manufacturer hears our need for longer handled wheelbarrows with greater carrying heights.

A Wheelbarrow For A Tall Person

Until such companies start developing wheelbarrows with height extensions and longer handles, the next best option is a contractor or construction wheelbarrow. They are generally bigger, taller and have longer handles than your regular garden wheelbarrows.

These types of wheelbarrows like the Jackson Contractor Wheelbarrow are better for the more heavy duty jobs like mixing concrete and transporting heavier loads.

This particular wheelbarrow by Jackson utilizes ball bearings and is designed for heavy duty professional use. So don’t expect a lightweight barrow that’s going to break on you in a matter of months. These things are built tough.

Whats good about this wheelbarrow is the 27 inch height and the full 60 inch length timber handles. The extra height of the barrow means that you can still carry a decent size load (6ft3), while not to the top, and leverage the handles up higher. This means the load won’t spill out as much for a tall person compared to a lower height wheelbarrow.

However the biggest flaw to this barrow is that its not ideal for rough terrain. The feature that is designed to help you stabilize the barrow easier can be a hindrance on rough terrain. It can get caught on uneven surfaces like a raised large rock for example. Which brings the motion you had to a complete stop. Which can result in you hitting your shins into the back of the frame. Not pleasant.

However, Jackson has various models of this wheelbarrow on amazon to cater to rougher terrains, whereas the M6T22 is better suited to flatter and harder surfaces.

But in general the design is quite good. Decent capacity, solid steel bucked with rolled edges to prevent cuts while loading up the bucket and nice thick wooden handles. In regards to the handle, be sure to apply an exterior varnish or epoxy paint periodically to keep them splinter free and lasting a life time.

For the tall person, the 60 inch long handles mean extra leverage while the 27 inch height of the barrow makes nose dosing less frequent.

 

Handle Extension For Your Wheelbarrow

How would adding an extra 6 inches in height to your wheelbarrows handles help out?. As a tall person even just an extra inch can prove highly rewarding. Especially on the back.

By adding the ‘Simply Dump It Wheelbarrow Handles’ to your existing wheelbarrow, or the Jackson above, you can gain extra leverage from a simple handle adjustment.

While these handles don’t give you extra length to a wheelbarrows handles, what they do is add a few inches extra height. Which may not sound like much, but what it means is you don’t have to bend as low and hunch over as low to push the barrow.

How they work is simple. Just slide them over your wheelbarrow handles and they are good to go. The pivoting handles make light work up pushing up hills as you can change the angle of the handles to better suit your posture. So as a tall person your hands don’t need to be straight and stiff. You can leverage the handles to a better position releasing tension in your back.

However for a full time solution, if you use the barrow on a weekly basis, I’d recommend screwing them into your handle as a permanent feature.

 

Heavy Duty Garden Cart Is Ideal For Tall People

For around the home I use this Gorilla heavy duty garden cart. While I say around the home, its quite a tank and can handle a fair bit of heavy duty load. Whats good for tall people is that it has a long handle that makes it easy for our tall torsos to drag the cart behind us.

While not your conventional wheelbarrow, if you don’t need to be mixing cement, grout, slurry etc then the Gorilla cart is a great solution to having to bend over as much for a regular barrow.

The tray itself can carry 10 cubic feet or a maximum of 1500 pounds. Which is quite impressive for a handy cart like this. Its got such a sturdy design I’ve felt comfortable dragging my kids around in the cart just for fun.

The huge 15 inch tires are great for getting around uneven terrain. However, because its a 4 wheel barrow, its not designed to be pushed, but rather pulled behind you. But the times you do need to move it forward, you can push it forward depending on how heavy your load is.

When pushing it forward rather than pulling, the wheels do tend to turn making it more hassle than its worth for long trips. You’re better off pulling the cart. With the handy handle, your turn the cart on a dime. The turning is phenomenal and will increase your accuracy of dumping your loads quite dramatically.

Quick Release & Convertible Handle

Speaking of dumping the load, to do this you just pull back on a locking clip at the bottom of the tray. This releases the tray and then the load can be raised and dumped out. Similar to a tip truck.

Lastly there’s a feature on the Gorilla heavy duty cart that I have not personally used, but I find will be very convenient to farmers and people on large properties. That is the ability to be towed. The handle you normally pull the cart with is convertible. It can be used to connect up to tractors and ride on mowers. To do this you just pull out a pin and switch the handle around, leaving you with the connection for your tractor, atv’s etc.

Overall while its not your conventional wheelbarrow and may not be ideal for every purpose, the Gorilla heavy duty cart is a tall person friendly wheelbarrow alternative.

 

How To Make A Wheelbarrow Suitable For Taller People

The last option and probably the cheapest option if you currently own a wheelbarrow is to simply add some extensions to the handle. This can be done using an firm material like PVC pipe which is then screwed into the existing handle.

For the more advanced DIYer one could even attach a painters extension hallway pole using the thread connections. This will enable you to take off the pole extensions when need be as well.

Adding extra length to the wheelbarrow handles will allow greater leverage for the tall person. This will allow you to lift up the wheelbarrow via the extensions at a lower angle. So the nose of the wheelbarrow doesn’t dig into the ground and any load in the bucket doesn’t tip out as easy compared to having the wheelbarrow on a greater angle.

Until such companies produce a wheelbarrow for tall people, the options are limited for us. But with some improvisation the burden can be reduced slightly. Do you have any further tips for making a wheelbarrow suitable for a taller person?. Leave your comments below so other tall people can utilize these ideas.