Wheelbarrow Tub replacement

Hi ya'll,
I purchased a wheelbarrow (Feb 2020) at Lowes. It is a Craftsman 6 cu ft with the two wheels in front. I cracked the tub and I want to buy a replacement tub for it but Lowes says that they do not sell them. I have been looking around without success. Any advice?

 

Here in Illinois the Menards carries the 6 cu. ft. tub sold separately for about $20. I think you may be able to order one online if there are no Menards nearby.

 

Thanks badeyeben, I just looked on Menards site, they are not in Florida. I see that they have a 6 cu ft replacement tub but I need to know if it will properly fit on my frame. I sent them an email asking them. Appreciate your suggestion. I am also open to repairing it but I have seen several options of ways to do it and not sure which would be best. My favorite so far is taking a piece of plastic and a heat gun and melting plastic along the crack. The trick is that you have to use the same type of plastic so I'll either have to cut some of the edging off of the wheelbarrow or find the same type of plastic somewhere - ugh! I think when it's all said and done its worth it to just buy a replacement. If I had the right kind of plastic (and a heat gun) I'd try it for sure but I do not have either. (its a pretty long crack so I'd need quite a bit of plastic).

 

I would be surprised if you get a response from the tub manufacturer. Be prepared to determine yourself if the drum is the appropriate size. Then it will also probably be up to you to drill the holes and adapt it to your frame.

Stop drilling plastic works very well but it's best when caught early and can usually save something like your drum. If you do decide to plastic weld your drum I would properly stop drill the cracks before welding. The plastic bed in my Gator cracked years ago and I didn't catch it until it was about 6" long but stop drilling it did stop the crack and I never bothered with welding the plastic.

 

Hi Pilot Dane,
I recently heard about stop drilling, guess I should have done that long ago, my cracks are front to back - ugh! I still need to do it though.
Yea, you might be right, I have not heard back yet from that place about the tub - guess they don't want to sell it :-)

 

For a repair try.....2 part pool putty or J.B Weld.

 

Hi Yadda Yadda,
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it :-)

 

If there flat surfaces along the crack, you can put a piece of plywood on the outside. Drill holes through the tub and plywood, each side of the crack and secure with carriage bolts (round heads on inside). It's not water proof but will hold anything dry.

 

Hi Beelzebob,
That definitely sounds like it would hold but I need it to be as flat/smooth as possible so I can run a shovel in it relatively easily, so I don't think this will work for me. Thank you for the suggestion :-)

 

Cut a thin piece of plywood to fit the bottom of the wheelbarrow. Depending on where the carriage heads are located, the plywood with no load may rock a little but it will be smooth.

 

yrs ago we fixed the plastic tub on my son's wheelbarrow by bolting sheet metal over the cracked plastic

 

Hi Marksr,
That's a really good idea, unfortunately I don't think I have the tools/skills for that, I may have to try the melting plastic option for now. I wish I could do this though, it sounds like a great fix. Thanks for the reply.

 

If you want to do a repair, a pop rivet tool would be my choice.

 

I have a roll of stainless steel tape that I use occasionally. About 3" wide. Clean off crack and try it out. Push it down flat with a tool of your choice.

 

You can try but it will not last long, most plastic repairs of this kind do not succeed for very long. When you get around tired of messing with the one you have, get one made of steel they don't have these issues and you will be glad you did.