I cannot find this on a google search. Does anyone know if the telescoping handles on rollaway suitcases are strong enough that it is safe to use one to pull the suitcase up a flight of stairs by the handle?
I do it all the time.
All I can offer is anecdotal evidence. I have done just that multiple times while traveling without any adverse effects. I have American Tourister luggage.
Come to think of it I have only done this with the smaller size luggage. The larger type is too tall to comfortably pick up when the handle is extended.
Depends on the quality, but generally yes… As long as it’s not too rough. Keep in mind the design is not intended for serious twisting but unless you are hauling metal nuggets, it should hold the suitcase for dragging up stairs. I’ve never had a handle fail like that. the only handle failure I’ve had is when the internal mechanism broke and I couldn’t easily unlock and collapse the handle.
Roller suitcases vary from “so flimsy they half fall apart getting them home from the store” to “industrial strength (& weight) and virtually unbreakable”.
Any name brand will survive pulling up stairs many, many times. Do it slowly and carefully vice just yanking and bashing your way up. The more heavily loaded the bag the more careful you have to be. And as suggested, minimize jerking & twisting.
LSLGuy, professional dragger of bags up & down curbs and stairs everywhere.
Thanks for the advice. I do do it very slowly and carefully and, so far, nothing has gone wrong. But there is always a first time. My wife’s bag weighs in at nearly 50 lb and I am not comfortable carrying up the steps any more. Mine is about half that and I carry it easily.
Getting old is no fun.
I have done it many times without trouble. Mind you, it was a good quality (but large and heavy) case.
Purely anecdotal, but I’ve actually had the regular handle on one of those carryon suitcases break, on an escalator. I had to use the telescoping handle for the rest of the day, until I got home from the convention.
On the other hand, on the largest suitcase I’ve got (possibly in the same set?) the telescope is now stuck in the ‘down’ position and can’t be used. So whatever.
Might be worth a little disassembly to see if it can be fixed. I had a visitor with the problem when she retrieved her bag after a flight. The bag had been roughly handled (remember the old American Tourister ads?) and I discovered that there had been impact to the back of the suitcase which bent the handle, causing it to bind. I did some work on it to gingerly un-bend it. Not as good as new but it can be used. Sometimes there is a zipper around the lining that would allow you to get into where the handle retracts.
No elevator or escalator?
But yes, I drag mine on the stairs, if need be.
This is maybe the most important point. Straight pull, fairly linear from your hand to the suitcase, and I think it would be difficult to break even a cheap roller case unless it’s hugely overweight.
But twist, or pull sideways, or pull hard at an angle (such as to try and force an upright case over a high step… and even good ones might bend or deform enough to ruin the telescoping operation.
I am tempted to suggest that if Mrs Seldon had to carry her own bag, she might be more economical with the packing.
When my children became teenagers, they were left to pack and carry their own bags. Of course, the first couple of times my wife did some sneaky checks, so the missing socks, underwear etc, was no big problem. They soon decided that they could manage with a lot less *stuff *than when I had to carry it.
My thoughts exactly.
In my house? When we return from a trip, I want to get it out of the living room so I can do my flexibility exercises the next morning.
Never. For one thing, she will never, ever, wear an outfit more than once. So a complete change of clothing for each day we are away. And she prefers to change underwear twice a day. On our last trip, she insisted on packing boots because there might be snow in the driveway when we returned (there was and she was wearing the boots and packed the shoes). And she is always nagging me to pack more–you might spill something on your pants or you might get invited somewhere you don’t have the clothes for. (That actually happened once. I was invited to dine at the high table of St. John’s college in Cambridge, but had to decline because I didn’t have a suit jacket.) Anyway, I have given up on having her pack less.
Sounds reasonable, but I’m not sure how well this advice works generally. I’ve numerous times seen women boarding a plane with a carry-on (actually, roll-on) bag that they hadn’t a prayer of lifting into (or even safely removing from) the overhead bin.
Oh. How many stairs do you have in your house?
I don’t think Mrs. Seldon will change her ways…however, I also would submit that you should be allowed to pack as much as you want, as long as you are willing to carry the bag. Oh well. 
But yes, turn around so you are facing down the stairs, and drag the suitcase up one step at a time. Or, I suppose you could take the boots out and then drag it up?
I drag my suitcase up stairs like that frequently. Agree about being careful not to twist the handle. Never had a problem, except it’s kinda noisy. KaThunk, kaThunk.
Fifteen steps to the second floor. And no, she will not change. I don’t think she could take it upstairs. If I don’t, she will unpack it on the living room floor over a day or two.
