Kingpin vs Kingpinless Swivel Casters

October 29, 2025

When selecting casters for a project, the type of swivel section on a swivel caster is often overlooked, but it has a major impact on durability and long term cost. Understanding the differences between kingpin and kingpinless swivel casters will help you choose the right one for your needs.

Kingpin Swivel Casters

The kingpin of a rig is a central bolt or rivet that holds the top plate or stem to the rig's fork. Thus, a kingpin swivel caster is a swivel caster which uses a kingpin.

Kingpin swivel casters are the most common design. It is cost-effective, and works well for light to medium duty applications.

However, because the kingpin is a single point of stress, it is susceptible to rough floors and heavy shock, side loading, and impact. This stress will loosen or deform the kingpin over time, allowing ball bearings to fall out and rendering the caster useless.

Kingpinless Swivel Casters

Kingpinless swivel caster rigs eliminate the kingpin entirely. Instead, the swivel motion comes from a large, integrated ball-bearing raceway that distributes force more evenly.

Without a kingpin as a failure point, these casters can handle shock loading, side forces and abuse far better than traditional kingpin designs. This makes them a preferred choice for more heavy-duty and demanding applications.

Comparison

When comparing the two, kingpinless casters offer higher capacities, longer life and increased durability. In fact, when your application demands the highest capacities, the swivel casters will ONLY offer a kingpinless swivel section.

Kingpin casters have their place for medium to lighter duty applications or when budget is the primary drive, but the kingpinless design outperform them when reliability and longevity are priorities.

Final Thoughts

For businesses where longevity, reduced downtime and fewer equipment failures matter, kingpinless casters are the smarter investment. While the initial cost may be higher, they last far longer and significantly reduce the frequency of needed replacements, often paying for themselves quickly through fewer repairs and replacements.

Having trouble measuring your wheels? Have questions or need help choosing the right caster? Contact us or give us a call at 800-345-0425 (Mon–Fri 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST) for expert advice on casters!

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