sales@wheelstopsfactory.comValuable Materials Used for Parking Wheel Stops
Wheel stops have been used worldwide for decades to improve parking space safety and prevent collisions between vehicles. They come in different forms. Some vary from each other based on their shapes and sizes, while others differ from each other based on their materials.
Various valuable materials are used to manufacture wheel stops for public parking areas and vehicle parking spots. Some of these materials include rubber, plastic, concrete, metal, and sometimes, a blend of these materials. Each material has peculiar properties; hence, wheel stops manufactured from them also possess variable characteristics.
This article highlights all the key materials used to manufacture wheel stops, so you can decide which material is the right fit for your parking lot, on-street parking facility, green parking structure, or parking garage needs.
Plastic parking wheel stops
Plastic is popularly used to build traffic control and parking safety tools, including speed bumps, speed humps, speed ramps, wheel stops, signposts, and guest parking signs.
Plastic is a very lightweight material, making it easier for the parking place owner to install plastic wheel stops. All you need is a drilling machine, a few bolts, and a good-quality wheel stop. They are easy to carry, so you will probably not need a helping hand to carry them from place to place.
Plastic can be moulded into many shapes, sizes, designs, and colours. You can find plastic wheel stops in different forms in the market and purchase the one that best meets your needs.
Plastic is a tough material and can endure the weight of heavy vehicles parked in motorcycle parking, designated parking, oversized vehicle parking, campus marking, or car parking space. Plastic wheel stops do not develop cracks and can withstand various environmental conditions. They are also light on wheel tires, helping prevent unwanted vehicular/tire damage.
Recycled plastic is used to make them, so using these eco-friendly tools may make you feel content if you highly value the conservation of the environment.
Rubber wheel stops
Rubber is one of the most commonly used materials to manufacture wheel stops for parking facilities and parking options. If you are looking for something lasting, flexible, recyclable, and UV-resistant, rubber wheel stops might be a good option.
Since rubber is flexible, wheel stops manufactured from this material can stay still on both even and uneven surfaces of parallel parking, free parking, or metered parking lots. It means rubber wheel stops will maintain their position on various surfaces, including concrete, asphalt, or wood.
Rubber is softer compared to plastic, metal and concrete. Therefore, it will have the least impact on the tires of motor vehicles like trucks, buses, cars, and motorcycles if they accidentally drive over rubber wheel chocks or forcefully collide with them.
It is a durable material, making rubber wheel stops a good choice for both indoor and outdoor garage parking spaces. Additionally, it is UV light resistant, which helps enhance wheel chocks’ longevity.
These wheel stops are eco-friendly and made of 100% recyclable material. So, if you advocate for a safer environment, these wheel stops can be a great choice for your visitor parking, reserved parking, valet parking, event parking, or overnight parking spot.
Rubber wheel stops come in many sizes, designs, and shapes. You can easily find one that suits all your needs, or you can even request some manufacturers to customise their size as per your requirements
Many rubber wheel stops installed in handicapped parking, street garage, accessible parking, perpendicular parking, or general parking have reflective surfaces that help enhance their visibility and reduce tripping risk.
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Concrete wheel stops
Like other forms of wheel stops, concrete wheel stops also have their own advantages and disadvantages.
One of their worth-mentioning benefits is their strength. They are the toughest compared to all the wheel stop materials we have mentioned so far. Hence, they can tolerate a lot of weight. Although this toughness has its own benefits, it also has a drawback. Concrete wheel stops can damage the tires of vehicles that accidentally collide with them or drive over them.
They are long-lasting but may require frequent maintenance if installed in outdoor paid parking, hourly parking, monthly parking, or accessible parking spaces. Their natural colour is grey; hence, you will have to paint them if you want to give them a colour of your choice.
Concrete wheel stops generally have a metal rod inside that offers strength. It makes them heavy, so you may need help transporting and installing them. It means, in addition to paying a certain amount to purchase them, you may also have to pay transportation and installation charges.
These wheel stops work best when installed indoors, where changing seasons and different environmental factors (rain, sunlight, heavy wind, etc.) do not affect them.
Metal wheel stoppers
Another prominent material used to make wheel stoppers is metal. Metal wheel stoppers are hard-wearing and sturdy. They are usually used to stop heavy and oversized vehicles like trucks from crossing a certain line in disabled parking, airport parking, angle parking and economy parking space.
Like concrete, metal can be painted with any paint colour. So you can give these tools any colour of your choice. They are often painted yellow, a prominent colour that makes the tool visible even in the dark.
Metal wheel stoppers are mostly made up of galvanised steel, a form of steel that has been processed to increase its longevity. It has a zinc coating which helps prevent rusting, which may otherwise develop when the steel has direct contact with water.
They can be made to be industry-specific, so you may often find them in industrial settings and warehouses.
Plastic-Rubber composite
Wheel stops made of Plastic-Rubber composite are also gaining popularity due to their effectiveness and great pricing. As their name indicates, they are made by combining both rubber and plastic so that the resulting material can have properties of both parent materials.
Plastic-Rubber composite wheel chocks offer stiffness like plastics and resilience like rubber. They come in different colours and require low maintenance. You can install them yourself if you know how to use basic tools like drilling machines or hammers.
They can be installed in various places, including campus parking, standard parking, individual parking, or electric vehicle charging stations, due to their ability to withstand environmental conditions and heavy weights.
Conclusion
However, installing a wheel chock in your residential parking or free parking space can save you the trouble of maintaining an appropriate distance between vehicles. All forms of wheel stops – plastic, rubber, steel, and concrete wheel chocks – can be used for this purpose.
But if you need something flexible, UV-resistant, recyclable, sturdy, and inexpensive, you better go for rubber-plastic wheel stops, as they offer all these features and much more!
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