A older model of the Chemical Guys Professional bucket dolly after a cleaning. A clean dolly is a beautiful thing! Newer models feature a cut out base.
Originally posted January 2020. Latest update: September 2025.
A bucket dolly is a great addition to your studio or workshop. Dollies are great for anything heavy, and also maximize studio space by allowing you to move and reorganize for any task. In my studio, we use them for glazes and clay slop and they really save time, energy and reduce possible back strain.
In this post, I’ll review a different bucket dollies, show how to make your own, and share a few tips and tricks.
Top Pick for a Heavy Duty Bucket Dolly
The newer model of the Chemical Guy Bucket Dolly has a cut-out base and grey locking casters.
The best bucket dolly I’ve found is the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly. I’ve had a few in use for around 10 years in a busy academic ceramic studio, and these dollies are still going strong. I have also used homemade dollies and other options, but the quality of the casters, ease of clean-up, and large plastic tightening screws make the Chemical Guys Dolly a superior product.
The Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly is made of thick, easy-to-clean plastic, although the newer models have switched to cutouts in the base. If this is an issue, check out the Grit Guard dolly below. The Chemical Guys Dolly has 5 high-quality, full swivel locking casters, and 3 large plastic screws to lock in your bucket. It can accommodate a variety of bucket sizes ranging from 3.5 to 5 gallons.
Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly
$54.99 each at ChemicalGuys.com or Amazon
Note: When this was originally posted in 2019, the Chemical Guys Bucket Dolly was significantly cheaper, around $35 compared to $50 and up for other options. Now, prices are more in line across the board and other options detailed below are just as good. Keep scrolling for the full review with pictures and more info.
Table of Contents
Top Pick for Bucket Dollys
Other Bucket Dolly Options
Other wheeled options for the studio
Wrap-Up: The Best Bucket Dolly
Other Bucket Dolly Options
Grit Guard Bucket Dolly
The Grit Guard Bucket Dolly is another option for studio dollys. Available with 2 inch casters for $50 or 3 inch casters for $60, you can also choose between blue, red, balck, silver, and a lime green color. The and the screws are metal with a plastic cap. If you are working with clay, it’s best to avoid metal when possible as the wet clay can lead to rusting and other problems.
The Grit Guard Bucket Dolly has just 2 locking casters out of 5 wheels, but this should work just fine for glazes and slop clay storage.
Grit Guard Bucket Dolly
$49.99 for 2 inch casters
$59.99 for 3 inch casters
SGCB Pro Bucket Dolly
A generic black plastic bucket dolly, pictured here without locking screws but you will get those with your order.
An Amazon generic brand, the SGCB Pro Bucket Dolly is a more economical option that features a cut out plastic base, a few locking casters, and metal screws to hold your buckets. These metal screws may rust and become hard to use over time if you are in a studio where slop will be spilled outside the bucket, such as a shared academic or teaching studio with beginner students.
SGCB Pro Bucket Dolly
$37.99 at Amazon
Home Depot sells a similar model with plastic screws, listed at $57.99, and Lowe’s has a version listed at $67.99.
Amazon has another version of this bucket, listed at $31.99, under a different name. Hard to tell what is going on with all the Amazon generics but might be the same thing:
SPTA Bucket Dolly
The SPTA Bucket Dolly has a cutout top design, with 5 casters including 2 locking casters.
Another Amazon generic, the SPTA Bucket Dolly has a slightly cut out top design, 5 casters including 2 that lock, and can hold up to 250 lbs.
SPTA Bucket Dolly
$42.45 at Amazon
Datanly Bucket Dolly 2 Pack
The Datanly Bucket Dollies come as a 2 pack and need to be assembled by inserting the casters into the base.
A final Amazon generic option, the Datanly Bucket Dollies come as a 2 pack, and you have to assemble the dolly by inserting the caster pins into the holes.
Reviewers report some difficulty with this process, including damaged casters or needing to drill the holes slightly larger. They are a good deal, at around $30 each, but do require effort and users have reported mixed results.
Datanly Bucket Dolly 2 Pack
$59.99 at Amazon
Bucket Wheelies
Bucket Wheelies from Bill van Gilder
Potter Bill van Gilder used to make and sell these plywood Bucket Wheelies.
No longer available, sharing the image here as a guide if you are handy with cutting plywood and assembling your own DIY dollies. Could be a great budget option!
And here’s a video on making your own bucket dolly:
Other Wheeled Options for the Studio
Moving Dollies
The WEN brand 18x30” moving dollies are high quality and long lasting.
Moving dollies can be a great addition to any studio. Put a piece of plywood on top and you’ve got a perfect way to store up to 800-1000 lbs of clay that can be wheeled around. This can be useful if you need to move clay around, or want to move clay for cleanup.
In my own studio, I have had a great experience with the WEN Brand dollies and have found them to be very durable and long lasting.
18 x 30 inch Moving Dolly 2 pack
$45.89 at Amazon (WEN brand)
$41.15 at Home Depot (The Clean Store brand)
Anvil Moving Dolly
12 x 18 inches
$11.98 at Home Depot
There is also WEN Brand 12 x 18” moving dolly 2 pack at Amazon for $32.98
The Milwaukee 15 x 15 inch square, carpeted moving dolly.
Milwaukee Moving Dolly
15 x 15 inches
$29.99 at Home Depot
$38.66 at Amazon
Rubbermaid Ingredient Bin and Dry Storage Bins
Dry Storage Bins, such as this option from Rubbermaid, are a great way to store dry glaze and clay materials.
The wheeled Rubbermaid Commercial Ingredient Bin is a wonderful addition to a studio where you are mixing glazes from scratch. It can hold well over a 50-pound bag of dry materials. It is great for storing dry materials such as plaster, feldspars, sand, silica, etc. They are sturdy, tough, keep things dry, easy to scoop, and access, and best of all, they are on wheels. Wheels just make everything easier in a studio.
There are also generic options of this style of bin available. The main thing to look for is the quality of the casters along with the plastic that is used. Winco is another solid food service brand.
Dry Storage Bin
Rubbermaid: $240.99 at Amazon
Winco: $160 at Amazon
What you can do with a 5 Gallon Bucket Dolly
The Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly after a few months of heavy use for reclaim / slop storage.
A few bucket dollies in use…one was recently cleaned.
Glaze storage
Clay reclaim and slop storage
Store a mixing drill with a long drill shaft
Move for clean-up or glaze pouring
Dry material storage
Store bricks or kiln posts
Anything you would put in a 5 gallon bucket
At home, great for garage storage
Also useful for cleaning your car or truck
Wrap-Up: The Best Heavy Duty Bucket Dolly
Through years of experience, I have found the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly to be the best 5 gallon bucket dolly on the market. It’s exactly what we use in our own studio, and what we’ve purchased for studios we have managed or consulted with. It’s durable, functional and at $55, worth every penny. Buy one and you’ve made a lifetime investment.
The Grit Guard Dolly is also a solid option and there are many other wheel options to help you create functional studio space.
What wheeled storage containers to you use? Have you made your own dollies? Leave a comment with your experience below.
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