US General 44" and Lyon. Same manufacturer?

[alpinewhite]

These two units look very similar. Are they made by the same manufacturer?

Lyon $3,266.37


http://www.amazon.com/Lyon-Industrial-Tool-Storage-Cabinet/dp/B002DV74VM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1359185259&sr=8-3&keywords=lyon+tool+box

difference on the Lyon:
- on the roller, 2nd from bottom drawers are twice the height combining the ones from HF.
- side cabinet's 2nd and 3rd from bottom drawer are half the height of the HF

versus


Harbor Freight: $859 for the same 3 pieces

http://www.harborfreight.com/roller-cabinet-44-13-drawer-gloss-red-industrial-uality-68784.html

 

[alpinewhite]

Attaching thumbnail in case Amazon link disappears in the future.

 

[I van putski]

They are both red, so yea they are the same.

But seriously, who cares. Who would pay $3000 for an 18" deep tool box. The HF is a great box because it is cheap.

 

[cburnscrx]

I was going to say that the drawer configurations are different, but the top box has the same dimension as the HF box, so it appears possible, if not likely. That certainly would be interesting if it were true...and if I were a betting man, I'd say it was.

The HF box is great because its cheap! And more importantly well built.

 

[bcradio]

They look to have the same ma and pa... For $3k+ though I'd for sure get an Extreme or Montezuma instead. The HF are great for their price range though.

 

[alpinewhite]

But seriously, who cares. Who would pay $3000 for an 18" deep tool box. The HF is a great box because it is cheap.

This is precisely my point. The US Gen boxes from HF are such great values that I couldn't believe that the Lyon is ~4x the price of the US Gen.

The Lyon's price reinforces the great value in the US General boxes.

 

[alpinewhite]

Another potential twin of the HF box

$670.80

http://www.toolsource.com/drawer-cabinet-ball-bearing-slides-p-98933.html

 

[Wrench80]

Just fyi for the future Lyon tool boxs or at least older ones are extremely well built and durable.i have 1 full top bottom,and 2 side boxs as well as just a bottom roll away. These are thick,heavy duty boxs

 

[WWIIjeep]

They look to have the same ma and pa...

Unlikely. Lyon is US-made, and Lyon has been making well-respected industrial-duty metal storage equipment for over 100 years.

US General is a brand name Harbor Freight introduced in 2002. And aren't the US General boxes Asian-made like most of the rest of Harbor Freight's products?

Direct comparison of the specifications for just the roller cabinets of the two brands shows that they are not identical:

Lyon Model 1476 is an 11-drawer unit, 42" width x 18" depth x 38.625" height, with a 1 year warranty and 308 lb. shipping weight.

US General 68784 is a 13-drawer unit, 44" width x 18" depth x 40" height, with a 90-day warranty and 245 lb. shipping weight.

So, the Lyon is slightly smaller, with 2 less drawers, but 63 lbs. heavier than the US General. That suggests it's heavier-built than the US General, and would probably hold more weight and last longer in real industrial service. I couldn't find a gross load rating for the Lyon, but it's likely to be higher than that of the US General, or perhaps more realistic.

Is the Lyon worth the extra money over the Harbor Freight for home use? Not likely. But for commercial or industrial use it may well be.

 

[CWP1616L]

The Lyon is 42 inches wide.

http://catalog.lyonworkspace.com/Asset/2011A_LYON_CAT_pg94.pdf