How to Build Your Own Shed

I don’t own a car. I take this cart with me everywhere on foot, by bus, by subway. This is my favorite shopping cart. Very lightweight, yet it holds a lot of heavy groceries. If it was stolen or it broke, I would order another one immediately. Large items are easily transported by tieing them to the cart with a bungee cord or two.
Update as of Dec 4, 2010:
This cart is still going strong and I bless each day that I made the choice to purchase it. I am buying another one today for a friend who also lives without a car. The wheels have never come off and I’ve traveled over countless bumpy curbs and across a lot of grassy and muddy terrain without a single problem. The large wheels and the lightweight frame are so easy to pull or push. The blue canvas bag is well made (no stitching has unraveled) and very durable! I use this cart everyday – I rarely leave home without it. I’ve stopped using tote bags or my briefcase when I go to work. I am 5’4″ and my only comment for other potential users is that taller people may need to add an extended luggage strap to the handle if they have a longer stride and wish to pull the cart behind them as I do most of the time.

UPDATE as of Dec 9, 2012:
I continue to use my cart nearly everyday. At times I’ve over stuffed it with heavy groceries or library books where it’s been difficult to lift it on the bus. This cart can handle it all.
A couple of people have asked about the dimensions of the bag. 13.5″ wide x 8″ deep x 20″ high. The fabric of the bag is a sturdy canvas which on the inside has a water resistant coating which helps to keep everything dry – nice when it rains. The “lid” hangs over the front as pictured and it has a plastic quick release buckle with a long tail like you find on backpack straps. So, you can easily over stuff the bag and still hold things in. The inside has a plastic covered piece of board which fits into the bottom of the bag and gives it more stability. The bag is easily removable for cleaning. I have washed the bag by hand and let it air dry as needed – there’s been no noticeable shrinkage. The front pocket is a nice size and closes with velcro – it looks as pictured. I keep my bungee cord in there. There is an open flat pocket on the side and it easily holds two small bottles of water/soda. There is a large flap on the back which slides on over the handle and holds the bag onto the cart. Then there is a velcro flap at the top which folds over a horizontal bar at the top which keeps the bag upright. In the large flap on the back there is a large zippered pocket. I keep my collection of bus and subway timetables in there. The royal blue canvas is bound on all seams with heavy duty black canvas binding. None of the stitching has ever come apart.
The double handle at the top is a really nice feature for when lifting it onto the bus or up stairs. A lot of carts don’t have that feature. I use it all the time.
There is one flaw with the design. The metal struts which angle forward from the wheels which support the bottom of the bag are unfinished and have worn two holes in the bottom of the bag (but not through the wooden removable insert). At first, when I didn’t realize this, I did lose something small (a key) which I tossed into the bag one day. Now I keep one of those lightweight reusable totes inside and toss small things into it.
The price has increased from when I first bought it, but I would buy it again today if this one failed. I still love it!

Ok, so this is what I have put inside this cart: two 12 pack soda, a gallon of milk, orange juice packets, and frozen entree’s; along with fast food / carry out, and cigs, two bottled water.

On Work days: computer laptop with carry bag, tote with work stuff, my big purse, two bottled waters, a carry out fountain soda, a large cup of carry out coffee, and my bagged lunch; oh, and the dozen of bagels for the work crew.

On rainy days… my stuff does NOT get wet. Also, this is great while holding your umbrella in one hand and scooting this baby along with the other.

I bought one for my mother, and for my sister. I tend not to fold mine; due to my using it so much. Do not lay this down in the car with having carry out food and drinks. Make sure it is buckled to a seat belt, so that when you are making turns it doesn’t topple over. If I put it in the back of my CRV standing straight up… it tends not to topple over. To clean: just take outside or put in tub and sponge it down with soap, and just hose it down. Let dry… you are back in business.

I needed a cart, since I’m Metro bound in Seattle. I had planned some bus trips prior to this snow/freeze (11/22/10), but had to prioritize after Snow kept buses bound in Maple Valley, and we had a special bus come out to get us.

I received this cart a week earlier (speedy shipping by Amazon). Kept trying to snap on the wheels, thought I would have to send back. Than, I actually PUSHED the wheels on, hearing the SNAP sound. That was all the assembly needed.

I decided to test the cart with the roughest conditions possible (see first paragraph). I walked with cane over snow (which got worse) to miss bus by 1 minute. It was a half mile over road concrete and uneven sidewalk. The wheels don’t actually look whole rubber – they do look plastic – may be a blend.

After bus arrived, wheeled cart about half mile to store. Easily folded to go underneath shopping cart.

Purchases/Load in the cart:

Vacuum Bags
10 pak Mens Crew socks
3 rolled up Fleece Sweat Pants (large)
Boxed Ankle Brace
2 large Cotton Rounds
Twin Sheet Set
Bottle Vitamin D
Fleece Gloves/New Large Umbrella
Soup Ladle, Tooth Brush, Tooth Paste
Bag of Coffee
One Purse containing odds and ends, wallet and cell phone

In front pouch, bottle of Diet Coke (though the wine REALLY looked good about now).

On top – a twin electric blanket box, double bagged and balanced. (Feel free to use any of this as a shopping list for staying warm when it is getting cold outside).

Now, to get home. Walked this bad boy 1/4 mile out of the parking lot (slush, ice and snow – it was snowing at this time), over snow and grass to a small hill. Rolled it down the hill and rough terrain (this was a short cut), over driveway asphalt and snow/slush, to the bus stop.

Used lift to get on/off the bus. Walked 1/2 mile home over snowy sidewalks, slush/ice and snow in streets, and large driveway for apartment complex. Rolled the cart up three flights of stoned stairs (stopped on second flight to roll the cart wheels back and forth to help clean). At top of stairs, shook cart to get snow off.

Cart is still in great shape, and ready to go pick some other stuff up. Though I wouldn’t use if for this – can also be used to cart garbage out.

My conclusion – 5 star review. If it lasts through all of this, it will last quite awhile (and well worth the investment to keep your independence).

Just saw a similar cart on QVC this morning for $33 including S&H and tax. The measurements were 13-1/2″W x 36″H x 12″D, not even as big as this one. This is bottomless. Holds everything including soda and packs of water and then the rest of your items… Just hold the handle behind you as you walk and it seems weightless. Goes up stairs. Folds into the trunk of the car without taking much space at all. I don’t know how I ever did without this. An extremely small investment for a GREAT product that will become an absolute neccesity after the first time you use it..

I am recovering from back surgery, and this little cart has been very helpful. It is sturdy, and can hold quite a bit of groceries, books, items…whatever I need it for. Folds easily. I leave it in the trunk of my car, and load my groceries in it to shuttle into the house.
I also use it as an impromptu “hand truck” for heavy dog food bags. I get someone to put the bag in my trunk, and when I get home, I unfold the cart, and flatten out the fabric. I then tip the heavy bag (35#) out of the car and slide it onto the cart. Then I can easily tip it bag and pull it into the house without lifting anything.

I can vouch that it carries up to 35# without breaking. It is invaluable now that I am studying..I use it to take my books with me if I will be anywhere I can sneak in some studying.

Well worth the purchase.

UPDATE

I am still using this nearly 3 years later. It has held up wonderfully. One of the most useful items I have ever purchased on Amazon.

Purchased cart in November, 2009. I like that it has several compartments. Currently, I have to take public transportation and was looking for a cart to take with me. So far I have only used it a few times on board a bus, and it was easy to use. The cart surely helped me lug some purchases & groceries on the walk home. I’ve also used it to take some heavy trash & cardboard down to our complexes dumpster. That helped a lot!

Overall I do like this cart, but its too small both in size and height. We live in a city and have used it to walk several city blocks with our groceries. I would say we are average grocery consumers and this cart is not large enough to handle all of our purchases. We often have to carry bags in addition to the cart which is a bit of a nuisance when also dragging the cart along.

Further, the two primary users of this cart are over 6′ tall and the cart isn’t tall enough. The cart ends up hitting the back of our shoes. On two occasions this has caused the wheel to pop off. We typically have to hunch a little to drag it easily

The cart is fairly well made (I think the wheel falling off is our fault). I would recommend this for smaller purchases and smaller people.

It’s super light weight. I bought this to use as a grocery cart and so far it’s done the trick, i’d recommend it for this purpose.