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Pool Table on Wheels: Casters, Rollers and Movable Tables

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Pool Table on Wheels: Casters, Rollers and Movable Tables

You can't buy many pool tables on wheels. None of the folding tables we checked from Hathaway, GoSports or Fat Cat list casters in their specifications; they move by folding the legs and carrying the table. What people searching for a pool table on wheels usually need is one of three things: a light table they can put away, casters added to a table they already own, or a way to roll a heavy table a few feet without wrecking it.

This page covers all three: what each approach involves, which tables it's safe for, and why a table that rolls has to be locked down and re-leveled every time it stops.

Quick answer: Few pool tables come with wheels. For a table you can move, buy a light folding table (about 115 to 150 pounds) and carry it. An MDF table can take heavy locking or retractable leveling casters if it rests on its feet during play. A slate table should only be rolled with furniture dollies or a pool table lift for a few feet by a full crew, or converted by a billiard mechanic; never bolt casters on yourself.

Can you buy a pool table on wheels?

Not easily. We went through the folding and "portable" tables people actually buy: the Hathaway Fairmont, Hathaway's other folders, the GoSports 6, 7 and 8 foot tables and Fat Cat's Trueshot. Their specs list folding steel legs, levelers and carrying bags, not casters. Search Amazon for a pool table with wheels and the top results are furniture dollies, which tells you what most people end up doing.

The closest thing to a rolling table is a light folding one. The Fairmont weighs about 115 pounds and folds to 4.3 inches thick, so two people can stand it on edge and walk it to a closet. A 7 foot GoSports folding table weighs 150. That's more practical than wheels for most rooms, and it's covered in best foldable pool tables.

Wheeled slate tables exist only as conversions. DK Billiards, a California table shop, welded locking casters onto a clubhouse's three-piece slate table after someone moved it in one piece, broke a blind apron and lost the level. That's a shop job for a room that needs the floor cleared regularly, and a reply on DK's post still says movable tables aren't recommended.

Ways to make a pool table movable

MethodWorks forEffort each moveMain risk
Folding table, carriedFolding MDF tables, about 115 to 185 lbTwo people, a few minutesLoose leg hardware over time
Locking or leveling casters addedMDF tables with a solid frameUnlock, roll, lock, re-levelTable creeps in play if it rests on the wheels
Furniture dollies, one under each legMDF tables; slate only for a few feetThree or four people lift each corner in turnRacking the frame on slate
Pool table liftCoin-op tables; home tables with shimsOne or two peopleLifting from the wrong point
Disassembly by a proAny slate table, any distanceA crew and a re-levelCost

The right method depends almost entirely on the bed. MDF tables weigh about 200 to 320 pounds (see how much a pool table weighs) and flex a little without harm. Slate is stone. Lift it unevenly and the frame racks, the slabs shift and the seams crack.

Adding casters to a pool table

On an MDF table this is a reasonable project if you follow three rules.

  1. Rate the casters for the whole load with room to spare: the table's weight plus anyone leaning on it, divided over the number of wheels.
  2. Every wheel locks. Swivel casters without brakes let the table drift on a hard break.
  3. In play, the table sits on its feet, not on the wheels. A table resting on rubber wheels gives a little under every stroke and can't be leveled precisely. Retractable leveling casters, the kind sold for workbenches and machinery, solve this: a lever lowers the wheels to roll and raises them so the table sits on adjustable pads.

Read the table's warranty before you drill anything into the frame.

On a slate table, don't do this yourself. The frame is built to carry the slate on its legs in one spot, not to be rolled, and Billiard Factory's advice is that full disassembly is the only safe way to move slate at all. The DK Billiards conversion above used welding and purpose-made parts. If your slate table truly needs to move often, ask a billiard mechanic whether yours can be converted, or reconsider whether a folding table belongs in that room instead.

Pool table rollers, dollies and lifts

When people search for pool table rollers, they usually want to slide a table a few feet: to clean under it, to lay new flooring or to clear the room for a party.

Furniture dollies

GameTablesOnline's method is four dollies, one under each leg, with three or four people lifting each corner in turn and locking each dolly as it goes in. Our moving cost guide agrees there's no special pool table dolly; movers use ordinary four-wheel furniture dollies. Lift evenly from the frame, never by the rails, and keep the corners close to the same height so the frame doesn't twist.

Pool table lifts

A lift slides under the center of the table and a lever raises it onto heavy-duty wheels. Great American's commercial lift is built for coin-op tables, and its seller notes that home tables need shims or 4x4 blocks to reach it. GameTablesOnline lists its capacity at 1,200 pounds.

When to skip both

Sources disagree on slate. GameTablesOnline treats dollies and lifts as fine for short moves in the same room. Billiard Factory says even sliding a slate table a few feet risks cracking it, and DK Billiards found a one-piece move had broken an apron and thrown off the level. Our moving guide lands in between: a few feet on a flat, hard floor with a full crew lifting evenly is possible, anything more means taking it apart. Never drag a table, and never move one by removing the legs first.

Why wheels and pool don't mix well

A pool table works because it doesn't move. A slate table weighs hundreds of pounds, so a player leaning a hip into the rail on a long stretch doesn't shift it. Light tables don't have that mass: Popular Mechanics' notes on the 120 pound GoSports folder say it wobbles if bumped. Add wheels and you've removed the last bit of friction holding it in place.

Moving also undoes your leveling. Every spot on a floor is a little different, so a table that's level in one place is off in the next. GameTablesOnline's advice after any move is to check the bolts and re-level, and that's every move, not once a season.

Getting a movable table to play well

  1. Mark the playing spot on the floor with small pieces of tape at each foot. Rolling back to the same marks keeps most of your last leveling.
  2. Lock every caster, or drop the leveling pads, before the first rack.
  3. Check level along both diagonals and the center with a real level; how to level a pool table covers the method.
  4. Tighten leg and frame bolts every few moves. Rolling and folding loosen hardware faster than play does.
  5. House rule: nobody sits on the rails. On a light table that's structural, not etiquette.
  6. Keep it dry. MDF swells in damp basements and garages, and a swollen bed never goes flat again; see the humidity guide.

Which approach fits your room

  • Renting, or the room is a guest room most of the week: a folding table. Fold it, stand it up, done. See best foldable pool tables.
  • A game room you clear a few times a year for parties: an MDF table with heavy retractable leveling casters, or movers' dollies and a crew when you need them.
  • A slate table that moves once, for new floors: hire a billiard mover. The costs are in pool table moving cost.
  • A clubhouse or event space with a slate table that must move often: talk to a billiard mechanic about a professional caster conversion, and budget for re-leveling.
  • Not sure a table fits at all: start with small pool tables for apartments or 6 foot pool tables.

Sources

Our picks

Links open the current selection and price on Amazon so you can compare real reviews before buying.

Hathaway Fairmont 6 Ft Folding Pool Table

Hathaway Fairmont 6 Ft Folding Pool Table

The easiest table to move

About 115 pounds on folding steel legs, and it folds to 4.3 inches thick for upright storage, with a carrying bag. No wheels, but two people can have it out of the way in a couple of minutes, and the 1.5 inch levelers get it flat again when it comes back out.

Check price on Amazon

GoSports 7 Ft Portable Pool Table

Bar-box length that still folds away

A 7 foot table on a steel frame that arrives assembled; fold the legs out and play, fold them in to store it. At 150 pounds it's heavier and steadier than the 6 footers. GoSports recommends a 16 x 13 foot room.

Check price on Amazon
12-Inch Master Precision Machinist Level

12-Inch Master Precision Machinist Level

Re-leveling after every move

A carbon steel machinist level with a carry case, listed at 0.02 mm per meter. Any table that rolls or folds loses its level in the new spot, and this reads far finer than a phone app or carpenter's level.

Amazon price: $58.40 as of 1:31 PM EDT. Price and availability can change; Amazon’s price at purchase applies.

Check price on Amazon

MIHEQIKQI Padded Shoulder Moving Straps

Carrying a folded or MDF table

A two-person lifting strap system with padded shoulder straps that adjust from 60 to 120 inches. It puts a folded table or a light MDF table on your shoulders instead of your fingertips. Leave slate to the pros.

Check price on Amazon

Frequently asked questions

Are there pool tables on wheels?

Very few. The folding tables we checked from Hathaway, GoSports and Fat Cat use folding legs with levelers, not casters. Wheeled slate tables are custom conversions done by billiard shops for spaces that move the table often.

Can I put wheels on my pool table?

On an MDF table, yes, with locking casters rated well above the table's weight, ideally retractable leveling casters so the table rests on its feet during play. On a slate table, only a billiard mechanic should attempt it.

What are pool table rollers?

Usually furniture dollies placed one under each leg, or a pool table lift that slides under the center and raises the table onto wheels. Both are for moving a table a few feet, not for everyday rolling.

How do you move a pool table a few feet?

For an MDF table, lift each corner onto a locking furniture dolly and roll it. For slate, a few feet on a hard, flat floor is possible with a full crew lifting evenly from the frame. Never drag it, and re-level it afterward.

Are pool tables on wheels any good?

For casual play, a light table that moves is fine if the casters lock and the table is re-leveled in its new spot. It will never feel as solid as a heavy fixed table, because the weight that keeps a table still is what wheels give up.

Do folding pool tables have wheels?

Not the ones we checked. The Fairmont, the GoSports 6 to 8 foot tables and the Fat Cat Trueshot list folding legs and levelers. They are moved by folding the legs and carrying or standing the table upright.

Can you use furniture dollies to move a slate pool table?

Only for a few feet in the same room, with three or four people lifting each corner evenly from the frame. Billiard Factory advises full disassembly for any slate move, and anything beyond a short shift should be done by a billiard mover.

Does moving a pool table affect the level?

Yes, every time. Floors vary from spot to spot, so a table that was level before the move needs checking and adjusting afterward. Taping the leg positions helps you return it to the same spot.

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