Shopping trolleys left loose in car parks damage vehicles, create liability exposure, and create a poor customer experience. Trolley bays solve the problem, but the bays themselves need to be tough enough to handle daily contact from loaded trolleys, passing vehicles, and general outdoor exposure.
Uni-Fit modular steel components can be configured into heavy-duty trolley bay barriers that are quick to install, straightforward to relocate if the car park layout changes, and built to handle the kind of constant use retail and commercial car parks generate.
There are no custom-fabricated sections and no welding required on site. The same certified galvanised components used across Uni-Fit handrail and barrier systems are combined to create a trolley bay configuration that suits your specific bay dimensions and volume requirements.
Why Modular Steel for Trolley Bays
Most car park trolley bays are either fabricated from welded steel or made from lower-grade tube and fittings that corrode quickly in outdoor conditions. Welded bays are a fixed cost and a fixed configuration. If the car park layout is reconfigured or the bay needs to move, the old bay is scrap.
Uni-Fit modular trolley bay barriers are different in three important ways:
Hot dip galvanised to AS 4680. Every component is galvanised to the same standard used across Uni-Fit industrial handrail systems. In an outdoor car park exposed to rain, vehicle exhaust, and UV, hot-dip galvanising outlasts painted or powder-coated alternatives significantly.
Configurable to your bay size. The modular system means bay width, depth, and rail height are set by the pipe lengths selected on site. There is no minimum order for a bespoke configuration and no fabrication lead time.
Relocatable. If the site layout changes, the bay can be dismantled and rebuilt in the new location using the same components. That is not possible with welded fabrication.
What the System Looks Like
A Uni-Fit trolley bay typically uses the following components from the standard range:
- Baseplates and stanchions to anchor the posts into concrete or asphalt at the bay perimeter.
- Pipe and rail bends to form the top rail configuration at each end of the bay.
- Pipe joiners and elbows to connect horizontal rail runs and create the bay enclosure.
- End caps on all open pipe ends to prevent water ingress and provide a clean finish.
All components are 40NB or 50NB heavy-duty galvanised steel, suited to the impact loads that trolley bays routinely experience from loaded trolleys and incidental vehicle contact.
Where Uni-Fit Trolley Bay Barriers Are Used
Supermarket and Retail Centre Car Parks
High-volume car parks attached to supermarkets and shopping centres see trolleys returned hundreds of times per day. The barrier system needs to handle that constant load without working loose or corroding. Uni-Fit modular components hold under repeated impact, and the galvanised finish handles outdoor exposure without the surface deterioration that affects painted systems.
Large Format Retail and Trade Centres
Hardware stores, trade centres, and large format retail sites often use heavy-duty trolleys and flatbed carts that create higher impact loads than standard retail trolleys. The same Uni-Fit heavy-duty pipe and fitting range used for warehouse barrier systems translates directly into trolley bay applications at these sites.
Fuel Stations and Convenience Stores
Smaller format sites with limited forecourt space need compact trolley bay configurations. The modular system allows a bay to be configured to the available footprint without any custom fabrication.
Multi-Site Retail Programs
For retailers rolling out trolley bay infrastructure across multiple sites, the modular system offers the same advantage it does for national handrail programs. The same components, the same finish, and the same configuration can be replicated at every location through the Uni-Fit reseller network.
Installation
Uni-Fit trolley bay barriers are installed without welding or hot works. Posts are fixed to the substrate via baseplate anchors. Rail sections are cut to length on site and connected using the standard modular fittings. The full bay can typically be installed by a competent tradesperson in a single day, depending on the number of bays required.
Because there is no fabrication lead time, the components can be ordered, delivered, and installed quickly – useful for retail sites that need to get the car park operational without delay.
Talk to the Uni-Fit Team
If you are specifying seeking trolley bay barriers for a retail site, shopping centre, or multi-site program, the Uni-Fit team can advise on component selection, bay configuration, and supply through the reseller network.
View the full product range at uni-fit.com.au/products.
Call 1800 868 544 or email sales@uni-fit.com.au.