The Best Wheelbarrows & Garden Carts: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

Gorilla Carts 7 Cu. Ft. Heavy-Duty Poly Yard Dump Cart (GCG-7)

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For most homeowners moving real volume across a yard, the Gorilla dump cart wins because four wheels carry the load and a single pin unloads it without lifting. If your work is dense material in tight quarters, the Jackson steel barrow is the tougher, more maneuverable pick.

"Wheelbarrow" now covers everything from a one-wheel steel tub you tip by hand to a four-wheel poly cart that dumps a heavy load at the pull of a release. We looked at how independent testing and years of owner reports line up across four very different designs. Two are easy recommendations, one is a genuinely great tool for a specific person, and one is the classic trap: a barrow that looks like it does everything and ends up doing the heavy stuff badly.

Jackson

Jackson M6T22 6 Cu. Ft. Steel Contractor Wheelbarrow

Buy it

The steel-tray workhorse for wet concrete, gravel, and the loads you would not trust to plastic.

Best for: Anyone hauling heavy, dense material through tight spaces who wants a barrow built for hard use.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Deep 6 cu ft steel tray suited to dense loads such as soil, gravel and concrete
• Single pneumatic wheel pivots on the spot, so it threads gates and garden beds a wide cart can't

Know before buying

• One wheel means the load balances on your arms and wrists on uneven ground
• A pneumatic tire can go flat and needs the occasional top-up

Amazon had no buyable listing for this when we last checked. The link still works if it returns.

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RBE top pick

Gorilla Carts

Gorilla Carts 7 Cu. Ft. Heavy-Duty Poly Yard Dump Cart (GCG-7)

Buy it

Four wheels, a 1,200 lb rating, and a quick-release bed that dumps the load so your back never has to.

Best for: Homeowners and gardeners who move a lot of volume across open yards and want to stop lifting to unload.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Rated to a manufacturer-stated 1,200 lb and holds a big 7 cu ft poly bed, so you make fewer trips
• Four wheels carry the weight for you — no balancing act — and the front axle turns tight
• A quick-release dumping system tilts the bed to empty it; owners consistently call this the feature they can't give up

Know before buying

• Bulky footprint and a wide wheelbase don't fit through narrow gates or crowded beds
• Heavier to get moving on soft lawn or up a slope than a single-wheel barrow

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WORX

WORX Aerocart WG050 8-in-1 Yard Cart

It depends

A clever convertible that dumps, dollies, and moves plants — as long as you don't ask it to haul like a real barrow.

Best for: Small-property owners short on storage who value versatility and low-lift dumping over raw load capacity.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Flat-free tires, so there is no inflating and no tube to patch
• Converts between wheelbarrow, dolly, plant mover, cylinder carrier and more — genuinely space-saving in a small shed
• Two-wheel front geometry lets it dump forward with almost no lifting, which owners with back issues single out

Know before buying

• A shallow tray, so it is a mover rather than a heavy hauler
• Sits in the premium tier, and the folding parts can add rattle over time

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We'd skip it

True Temper

True Temper RP810 8 Cu. Ft. Dual-Wheel Poly Wheelbarrow

Skip it

The dual-wheel poly barrow promises the best of both worlds and lands awkwardly between them.

Best for: Almost no one over a steel single-wheel barrow (for heavy work) or a four-wheel dump cart (for volume).

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Two front wheels stop it tipping side-to-side, which helps on slopes and while loading
• Big 8 cu ft poly tray is light, rust-proof, and rinses clean
• Fine for bulky-but-light loads like leaves, mulch, and prunings

Know before buying

• Poly tray flexes and can crack under dense loads (wet soil, gravel, concrete) — the exact jobs steel handles
• You still have to lift and tip 8 cu ft to unload, and two wheels make that tip clumsier than one
• Owners report the roomy tray tempts overloading, which strains the frame and defeats the point

See our pick instead Find it on Amazon anyway Read our detailed assessment ↓

How we judged the field

We don’t run our own test track. Instead we synthesize independent testing, long-term owner reports, and the published specs each maker stands behind, then weigh them against how these tools actually get used in a yard. “Best wheelbarrow” turns out to be the wrong question — a one-wheel steel barrow and a four-wheel dump cart are almost different tools — so we judged each design on what it’s built to do.

The criteria that mattered most: tray capacity (cubic feet of volume) balanced against load rating (the weight the frame can actually take); stability, which is really a trade between one, two, and four wheels; tire type, weighing puncture-proof convenience against a softer pneumatic ride; tray material, where seamless steel and poly each win different jobs; unload effort, because a cart that dumps itself saves your back on every trip; and assembly and handling, since a barrow you dread wheeling is a barrow you won’t use.

This is the shape most people picture when they hear “wheelbarrow,” and it earns the recommendation by being relentlessly good at the hard stuff. The steel tray takes 6 cubic feet of the loads plastic struggles with: wet concrete, gravel and dense soil. The single pneumatic wheel is the point: it lets the barrow pivot on the spot and squeeze through a gate or between raised beds that a wide cart can’t approach. The trade is that one wheel puts the load on your arms and wrists over rough ground, and the pneumatic tire will eventually want air or a patch. For anyone moving heavy material through tight spaces, that’s a trade worth making.

If the Jackson is about muscle, the Gorilla is about not needing any. Four wheels carry the load so you never balance it, the poly bed holds a big 7 cubic feet, and the frame carries a manufacturer-stated 1,200 lb rating — meaning fewer trips for the same pile of mulch or soil. The feature owners refuse to give up is the quick-release dump: release it and the bed tilts to empty itself, no lifting. Gorilla describes zero-turn steering, so despite the size it turns tighter than you’d expect. The catch is footprint. A wide four-wheel cart won’t thread a narrow gate or a crowded bed, and it’s heavier to start rolling on soft lawn or up a grade. On open ground moving volume, though, nothing here is easier to live with.

The Aerocart is the most interesting tool in this group and the one most likely to be wrong for you. It folds and reconfigures into a wheelbarrow, a dolly, a plant mover, a cylinder carrier and more, which makes it a real space-saver in a small shed — one tool instead of five. Its flat-free poly tires never puncture, and the two-wheel front geometry lets it tip forward and dump with almost no lifting, something owners with back trouble call out again and again. But it is a mover, not a hauler: the tray is shallow, so it can’t replace a proper barrow for heavy loads. It also sits in the premium tier, and the folding joints can develop rattle. Right tool for a small property that prizes versatility; wrong tool if you mainly need to move weight.

The dual-wheel poly barrow sounds like the sensible compromise — the stability of extra wheels, the light weight of plastic, a huge 8 cubic foot tray — and in practice it lands in no-man’s-land. The two front wheels do stop it tipping sideways, which is nice on a slope. But you still have to lift and tip a full 8 cubic feet to unload, and two wheels make that tip clumsier than a single-wheel barrow’s clean roll-forward dump. Worse, poly flexes and can crack under the dense loads a big tray invites you to pile in, and owners report the roomy tub simply tempts overloading, straining the frame. For light bulky debris it’s fine. For anything else, a steel single-wheel barrow does the heavy work better and a four-wheel dump cart does the volume better — leaving little reason to buy the in-between.

Gorilla Carts 7 Cu. Ft. Poly Dump Cart vs Jackson M6T22 Steel Wheelbarrow: which should you buy?

These are the two strongest picks, and they suit different yards. The Gorilla dump cart wins for most people because it removes the two hardest parts of moving material: balancing the load and lifting to unload. Four wheels and a 1,200 lb rating mean you can pile it high and let the quick-release do the dumping, ideal for open lawns and big jobs. The Jackson wins when space and density decide it. A single steel-tray barrow threads gates and garden beds the cart can’t reach, and it laughs off wet concrete and gravel that would flex a poly bed. Short version: buy the Gorilla if your work is high-volume across open ground, and the Jackson if it’s heavy material in tight quarters. Plenty of serious gardeners eventually own both — and that pairing beats any single do-everything barrow.

What to look for

• Match wheels to the job: one wheel for maneuverability and tight spaces, four wheels for stability and no-lift dumping, dual wheels only if you specifically want anti-tip loading and light loads.
• Read the weight rating, not just the volume: a big tray filled with wet soil can exceed what a light frame handles. Prioritize a strong frame and stated load rating for heavy material.
• Steel for dense loads, poly for light bulky ones: steel resists cracking and abrasion; poly is lighter and rust-proof but flexes under weight and cold.
• Decide on tires up front: pneumatic rides softest under heavy loads but needs air; flat-free never punctures but rides firmer — great for a barrow that sits between uses.
• Favor a self-dumping design if your back matters: a pin-release dump cart or forward-tilting cart spares you the lift on every single trip.
• Check the footprint against your gates and paths before buying anything four-wheeled.

Our final take

Stop looking for the one perfect wheelbarrow — the category has split into specialists, and the winners here win by owning their lane. For most homeowners moving mulch, soil, and yard waste across open ground, the Gorilla Carts 7 cu ft dump cart is the easiest tool to live with: stable, high-capacity, and self-emptying. If your work is dense material in narrow spaces, the Jackson M6T22 steel barrow is the tougher, nimbler choice and is built for years of hard use. The WORX Aerocart is a genuinely smart buy for a small property where versatility and a bad back matter more than raw capacity. And the dual-wheel poly barrow is the one to walk past — it promises a compromise and delivers a tool that does the heavy jobs poorly. Buy for the loads you actually move, and if in doubt, a dump cart plus a steel barrow covers nearly everything.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Gorilla Carts 7 Cu. Ft. Heavy-Duty Poly Yard Dump Cart (GCG-7) vs Jackson M6T22 6 Cu. Ft. Steel Contractor Wheelbarrow.

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