We’ve teamed up with our friends at Steele Canvas—makers of durable, high-quality canvas baskets—to tackle all things laundry. Here, we’re highlighting one of our editor’s favorite products: The Canvas Elevated Truck.
Until recently, my laundry bin was nothing more than a perforated garbage can. A lifeless shade of white plastic, it was the first thing I’d stuff in the closet whenever someone visited my room. Its holes weren’t doing me any favors either: Every morning I’d awake to a front-row view of smelly socks and mustard-stained shirts. And of course, because the bin was so small, it only took a few days’ worth of laundry before a new, record-breaking, clothes-based mountain emerged in the corner of my room. To escape laundry-bin rock bottom, I knew I needed nothing short of a miracle.
And then came the Steele Canvas Elevated Truck, the one laundry bin capable of rescuing me from my dirty, sweaty, stinky-clothed hell. A thick canvas bag resting upon a four-wheeled, high-quality steel frame, the Elevated Truck combines tasteful design with industrial durability. It’s a laundry bin that can impress a friend—and endure life’s rigors.
Two months into Elevated Truck ownership, I can’t imagine living without it. While there are countless reasons I’ll forever keep this Steele Canvas product in my life, these are the four that stand out in particular.
If you can tie a knot, you can build it.
There’s no need to break out the tool box when this bin arrives at your front door. While the bin’s four main components—metal frame, four wheels, canvas bag, and rope—are packaged separately, the assembly ultimately consists of screwing wheels into an already built frame (easy) and tying the bag onto the frame with rope (easier). The whole thing took me maybe five minutes to complete.
It’s made by people who care.
Whenever possible, I try to buy things from brands that are clearly passionate about every aspect of their business. My Elevated Truck feels almost unnecessarily durable, and that’s because it is. According to Steele Canvas, they refuse to skimp on the amount of steel and the quality of canvas in their products “because it’s the way [they’ve] been doing it for over 100 years—and it’s worked.” This ethos extends into their production facility as well. The Elevated Truck—along with every other Steele Canvas product—is handcrafted right here, in the United States.
It’s athletic.
You read that right. The wheels on the elevated truck are just that smooth, agile, and impressive. I live in a building that has communal laundry machines in the basement, so whenever I need to wash a load of my aforementioned stinky clothes, I’m required to trek down the hallway, into the elevator, and around a narrow corridor that leads to the laundry room. For most laundry carts, this obstacle course would be a bumpy ride—but never the Elevated Truck. While you might not live in an apartment building, laundry mobility is still valuable. Nobody should be carrying laundry when they don’t have to, even if it’s just across the room.
It’s the perfect size.
On paper the Elevated Truck measures in at 25.5 inches long, 19.5 inches wide, and 27 inches tall, meaning it’s tall enough to access without bending over to reach the ground (nobody’s trying to throw their back out washing shorts). Also important is the capacity of this laundry cart: Personally, it takes me about 10 days to fill this bin with laundry, meaning it’s the ideal volume for an individual. If it were any larger, I’d never do laundry, and if it were any smaller, I’d be doing it too often.
Since 1921, Steele Canvas has been producing sturdy, U.S.-made utility products that work in any room of your home, whether you’re upgrading your laundry room, kitchen, or bedroom. A family-owned and -run business to this day, all of Steele Canvas’ baskets, trucks, and caddies are made to order in Massachusetts, using ultra-strong steel frames and durable, heavy-duty canvas. To find out more and see their full product line, head to Steele Canvas’ site.
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