There's about 10" or so clearance. I've had it in sand, mud, on rocks, in factories, over floor conduit, closed spaces, etc. Never got it stuck once. It has twice the clearance of any standard cart I've seen or currently own. It's pretty nice that you can go thru a 32" door with it. Try that with a standard Saf-T-Cart with those crap little rubber wheels & chinsey little chains on them. Yeah, I never put a lift eye on it, but I've lifted it with a crane a number of times with no problems. I'm going to fix that some day when I get around to it. Those tie straps hold like a vise & I've never had one come loose & I have them on my mobile rig as well, only a little thicker. That thing's been lifted 50 feet in the air, hauled around in trailers & on the backs of trucks, taken up & down stairs, lifted, dropped & never had a cylinder come loose. I will probably replace them with some better quality ones if those ever show any signs of wear.
Truthfully, it is really not any less protected than any standard cart, it has a very solid center of gravity. It tips back with one hand, but is solid on the ground because the base plate sits 100% flat. The hose reel compensates for the balance factor as well. Besides, I put caps on the cylinders whenever I transport it anywhere anyways. Sure, you're not going to get everything perfect the first time around, (oh, I'm not a mechanical engineer either), but it suits the purpose very well for my small shop & some of the close quarters operations I've had it in. Thanks! S.W.
"Dammit, Jim, I'm just a doctor!" (Star Trek)