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Caster Load Shift and Tip Check

See how an off-centre centre of gravity shifts load between four casters, whether the lightest wheel lifts off the floor, and whether the cart tips.

A load placed off centre is carried unevenly, and past a limit one wheel leaves the floor and the cart is resting on three. Enter the total weight, the footprint spacing, the centre-of-gravity offset in both directions, and the height, and the calculator returns the four wheel loads, the lightest wheel, and the tip verdict.

A negative wheel load is a valid and informative result: it means that corner has lifted rather than that the arithmetic failed. This is the cart-level version of the four-support equilibrium, and it deliberately does not ask for a spring rate, because a caster buyer will not have one.

Inputs

Cart, caster pattern, and load position

Range: 10–40,000 lb

Everything the casters carry, including the cart frame.

Range: 4–120 in

Center-to-center distance between the front and rear casters.

Range: 4–120 in

Center-to-center distance between the left and right casters.

Range: -60–60 in

Distance from the geometric center of the four casters to the center of gravity. Sign does not matter; only the distance does.

Range: -60–60 in

Side-to-side offset from the centerline of the casters.

Result

Load imbalance across the set (%)
0
Most heavily loaded wheel
250
Lightest loaded wheel
250
Stability verdict
All four casters stay loaded. Size each caster for the most heavily loaded wheel shown above, not for one quarter of the total weight.

What to check

  • Measure the offset from the centre of the caster pattern, not from the deck edge.
  • Test with the worst realistic load position rather than the nominal one.
  • Check the lifted-corner result against the cart's actual restraints before accepting it.

Related calculators

Assumes four identical casters of equal stiffness on a rigid frame, so a flexible frame, a swivel aligned across the travel direction, or a fifth support changes the split. Dynamic transfer during braking and cornering is not modelled, and tipping also depends on load height, so a tall load can tip at a smaller offset than the load-share boundary shown here.