ramairthree
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2010
- Messages
- 101
I first purchased some Gladiator GarageWorks cabinets a few years ago.
I got them on clearance.
I bought two wall cabinets that appear to be what is currently sold as GAWG28KDWG
Width: 28 in. | Height: 28 in. | Depth: 12 in
I have not used the lock and key function.
They are the assemble yourself line. (RTA)
I thought the garage tracks hanging system was an expensive gimmick and hung them where I already had measured out the studs. Assembly went fine, except for some poorly drilled/tapped bolt holes.
They have held up great and are very strong. I believe I got them for thirty something dollars or so. Could not have been a better buy for the money.
Minor issue- the shelves bolt in, so it is not easy or fast to change shelf location.
You can see them on the wall over the GTO.
At the same time, I bought four large floor cabinets, that appear to be the current
GALG36KDWG
Width: 36 in. | Height: 72 in. | Depth: 18 in
I purchased these also on clearance I think I remeber being in the hundred and something dollar range. These are also self assembled with the adjust by bolts shelves. I had zero interest in mounting them on the the garage tracks vs. them setting on the floor. There were also issues with some of the bolt holes. At that price, great value though. They are plenty sturdy unless you go to move them when they are full. Depending on your front to rear floor slope, and against the wall floor height variance, the casters allow plenty of adjustment. Door closure system could be better/more secure, but is acceptable for most cabinets. A small stud goes into a clasping device. On one cabinet, the device has pulled out and dissappeared.
I have not used the lock or keys on either of the above. I do not need them but this is a nice touch at the price point. I thought maybe I would have preferred turning handles, but that would cost a few more inches of garage space, and I like the flat handles.
The hammered gray dark color has held up well. The silver diamond plate powder coating will stain/discolor. Possible offending agents are paint thinner, naptha, PS fluid, brake fluid, WD40, PB Buster, motor oil, windshield washer fluid, rust converter, etc. I am not sure what did it, but some some on my hands/gloves discolored parts of the door I touched at some random point. If you are even doing basic maintainence items in your garage, they can stain.
Everyone in my family will put stuff on a flat top. This results in my work bench not being usable most of the time.
I got the Fold-Away Workstation, GAFS42KDSG.
Unless you are doing a huge no shipping order, huge discounted order, etc. they are about 200$ either local, or delivered. Not the best buy for the price. Not an option for a vise, etc. But for a table top you can "hide" from being cluttered, I went for it. I prefer the prices on my clearance items though!
I just bought three cabinets, 28"H x 28"W x 12"D
GAWG28FDWG
They are the same size as my others, but with full doors to better keep things out of view. They are about 100$ each I got during a sale. Again, I prefer the clearance prices! These do not come with keys and a lock.
I do not know what made my previous items on clearance. The corner bolt threads are much improved on these three cabinets I just bought. The shelves are rapidly adjustable by tabs.
I suspect my old cabinets are versions before these changes to the RTA line. The doors close great with the magnets.
old style with nuts
new style with thread plates
Because placement was not opitmal due to stud locations, I did give the garage tracks a try. They are a great, fast way to get something where you want it regardless of stud placement. I would never consider all the hanger items at there prices. But for a wall cabinet location tool they are great. You can relocated items side to side in your garage and mount in seconds, etc.
I checked or got little items like the cleaner caddy. Not worth the price. The paper towel has no bar/tube. Its just bumps that pressure close on the paper towel tube, as likely to dent the edges of the carboard and bing the towels as work right.
The garagetrac end caps are not needed. If you want to cover cuts you made for custom garagtrac lengths they work good for cosmetics. Of note, without perfectly flat walls, your garage cut pieces may line up with a touch of a "catch" when you slide things.
The "color matched" screws are not worth it. In fact, do not buy them at all. They are cheap wood screws. The color dipping on the heads ruins your phillips driver grip half the time. So, half the time you easily drive a nice color coded screw into the stud. about 40% of the time, you get a screw driven that has had the color matching ground off due to poor driver fit. And 10% of the time you will need to reverse bit out a screw that you cannot drive. Spend a little extra on good, nice quality wood screws that will drive fine. Then white out or pain pen the head. You will be better off.
Anyways, I wanted a product that was tough and durable. Plaster/particle board, plastic, etc. was not going to cut it for me. Many cheap metal items like standalone shelves I have killed with too much weight, etc. These items, if you can get some on clearance and some on sale, or a large order discount, are a good option.
The RTA gladiator line is in my opinion a good durability to price ratio. A premeier piece may cost twice as much, but only be half again as durable. Same with some premium lines out there. Is something that costs four times as much really four times as good? In general, I will pay to get acceptable quality in an item, but stop there, and not go into the expenditures of diminishing returns to get the very top item. If cost is not object, no need to consider the Gladiator self assembled line. Get the best of the best.
Of note, if you have bought with cost as the main factor before, you may have been stuck with unintelligible instructions on some items you have had to assemble. For those that use instructions, these are well written and understandable. They even include a one page diagram with parts locations for those of us that don't want to read the full instructions. In the whole lot, I had one piece with the part number sticker upside down which would have had an item installed wrong, with back edge towards the front.
The various peg board type items are a lot of money. The garage tracks add up to a lot. Many accessory items like the screws, cleaner caddy, end caps, etc. really add to cost without giving you a whole lot in return. If you stick to the tracks where you need them based on stud location, and not for just for the heck of it, you should be very happy with them and not waste money.
Things are still cluttered, but it will be all set soon.
I got them on clearance.
I bought two wall cabinets that appear to be what is currently sold as GAWG28KDWG
Width: 28 in. | Height: 28 in. | Depth: 12 in
I have not used the lock and key function.
They are the assemble yourself line. (RTA)
I thought the garage tracks hanging system was an expensive gimmick and hung them where I already had measured out the studs. Assembly went fine, except for some poorly drilled/tapped bolt holes.
They have held up great and are very strong. I believe I got them for thirty something dollars or so. Could not have been a better buy for the money.
Minor issue- the shelves bolt in, so it is not easy or fast to change shelf location.
You can see them on the wall over the GTO.
At the same time, I bought four large floor cabinets, that appear to be the current
GALG36KDWG
Width: 36 in. | Height: 72 in. | Depth: 18 in
I purchased these also on clearance I think I remeber being in the hundred and something dollar range. These are also self assembled with the adjust by bolts shelves. I had zero interest in mounting them on the the garage tracks vs. them setting on the floor. There were also issues with some of the bolt holes. At that price, great value though. They are plenty sturdy unless you go to move them when they are full. Depending on your front to rear floor slope, and against the wall floor height variance, the casters allow plenty of adjustment. Door closure system could be better/more secure, but is acceptable for most cabinets. A small stud goes into a clasping device. On one cabinet, the device has pulled out and dissappeared.
I have not used the lock or keys on either of the above. I do not need them but this is a nice touch at the price point. I thought maybe I would have preferred turning handles, but that would cost a few more inches of garage space, and I like the flat handles.
The hammered gray dark color has held up well. The silver diamond plate powder coating will stain/discolor. Possible offending agents are paint thinner, naptha, PS fluid, brake fluid, WD40, PB Buster, motor oil, windshield washer fluid, rust converter, etc. I am not sure what did it, but some some on my hands/gloves discolored parts of the door I touched at some random point. If you are even doing basic maintainence items in your garage, they can stain.
Everyone in my family will put stuff on a flat top. This results in my work bench not being usable most of the time.
I got the Fold-Away Workstation, GAFS42KDSG.
Unless you are doing a huge no shipping order, huge discounted order, etc. they are about 200$ either local, or delivered. Not the best buy for the price. Not an option for a vise, etc. But for a table top you can "hide" from being cluttered, I went for it. I prefer the prices on my clearance items though!
I just bought three cabinets, 28"H x 28"W x 12"D
GAWG28FDWG
They are the same size as my others, but with full doors to better keep things out of view. They are about 100$ each I got during a sale. Again, I prefer the clearance prices! These do not come with keys and a lock.
I do not know what made my previous items on clearance. The corner bolt threads are much improved on these three cabinets I just bought. The shelves are rapidly adjustable by tabs.
I suspect my old cabinets are versions before these changes to the RTA line. The doors close great with the magnets.
old style with nuts
new style with thread plates
Because placement was not opitmal due to stud locations, I did give the garage tracks a try. They are a great, fast way to get something where you want it regardless of stud placement. I would never consider all the hanger items at there prices. But for a wall cabinet location tool they are great. You can relocated items side to side in your garage and mount in seconds, etc.
I checked or got little items like the cleaner caddy. Not worth the price. The paper towel has no bar/tube. Its just bumps that pressure close on the paper towel tube, as likely to dent the edges of the carboard and bing the towels as work right.
The garagetrac end caps are not needed. If you want to cover cuts you made for custom garagtrac lengths they work good for cosmetics. Of note, without perfectly flat walls, your garage cut pieces may line up with a touch of a "catch" when you slide things.
The "color matched" screws are not worth it. In fact, do not buy them at all. They are cheap wood screws. The color dipping on the heads ruins your phillips driver grip half the time. So, half the time you easily drive a nice color coded screw into the stud. about 40% of the time, you get a screw driven that has had the color matching ground off due to poor driver fit. And 10% of the time you will need to reverse bit out a screw that you cannot drive. Spend a little extra on good, nice quality wood screws that will drive fine. Then white out or pain pen the head. You will be better off.
Anyways, I wanted a product that was tough and durable. Plaster/particle board, plastic, etc. was not going to cut it for me. Many cheap metal items like standalone shelves I have killed with too much weight, etc. These items, if you can get some on clearance and some on sale, or a large order discount, are a good option.
The RTA gladiator line is in my opinion a good durability to price ratio. A premeier piece may cost twice as much, but only be half again as durable. Same with some premium lines out there. Is something that costs four times as much really four times as good? In general, I will pay to get acceptable quality in an item, but stop there, and not go into the expenditures of diminishing returns to get the very top item. If cost is not object, no need to consider the Gladiator self assembled line. Get the best of the best.
Of note, if you have bought with cost as the main factor before, you may have been stuck with unintelligible instructions on some items you have had to assemble. For those that use instructions, these are well written and understandable. They even include a one page diagram with parts locations for those of us that don't want to read the full instructions. In the whole lot, I had one piece with the part number sticker upside down which would have had an item installed wrong, with back edge towards the front.
The various peg board type items are a lot of money. The garage tracks add up to a lot. Many accessory items like the screws, cleaner caddy, end caps, etc. really add to cost without giving you a whole lot in return. If you stick to the tracks where you need them based on stud location, and not for just for the heck of it, you should be very happy with them and not waste money.
Things are still cluttered, but it will be all set soon.
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