Checkers has adjusted its Elo system over time. I believe that it now matches chess except with a floor of a 1000 rating. From http://icheckers.net/ratings/, the current ratings range goes from 1000 to 2297 among active players, and up to 2510 among inactive players.
Even if you use the larger range of inactive players, that's a range of 7.5 times the standard deviation. Which is considerably less than chess.
The Elo system for Checkers has changed over time. Tinsley had a rating around 2700, but he would not get that rating today.
Chess ratings from the USCF have a floor of 100. What you are thinking of is that they start people at a provisional rating of 1200 and then let them drift to where they belong. But a person who just knows how the pieces move will quickly head down towards that floor.
Even if you use the larger range of inactive players, that's a range of 7.5 times the standard deviation. Which is considerably less than chess.