Mac Tech 1000 vs Harbor Freight 41/44 tool boxes

[Wangstang]

I saw this pop up in my area on Craigslist:
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/4281903997.html

I know Harbor Freight offered the 44 in a few colors back in the day and I think yellow was one.

Any how, how does the Mac Tech 1000 stack up to the HF 44/41 box?

Thanks
Wes

 

[Hiball]

I'd rather have the Mac, 25" deep drawers IRC. Of course that's based off a "in person" inspection.

 

[firebox40dash5]

That's stupid expensive for what it is. I have the same box, but with Husky badges. Waterloo made them, and they were rebranded Mac, Husky, and I believe a few others as well. It's not a bad box, but that's really an awful price, unless you really want some banana yellow. I paid $400 for mine, in very good shape and with the top box. I like it well enough I doubt I'll ever sell it... if/when I upgrade at work, I'll probably use it to store cased tool sets, or take it home.

I'd buy the HF any day for that price though. Hell, you could probably damn near get into a KRL761 for that kinda money, and it's bigger all around and better built.

edit: Damn, am I off one series? If it's 25" deep I guess so! Drawer arrangement is almost identical to mine.

 

[Fedwrench]

$1200 is less than half for when that box was new. I disagree about the waterloo comment. MAC's ECONOMIZER line was made by waterloo and sold under a variety of names, not the TECH line. tech was made in house by MAC.

Student price on that box was $995. Look at the box and offer less if you're interested in it. The big advantage it offers over a lower priced box is its depth and better steel. Drawer depth is 23 inches. the box measures 50.5 wide X 25.25 deep X 41 tall.

 

[DTB]

I'd rather have the MAC but the price seems a little high,no? Anywhere from $600-$1000?
The depth of the drawers is what would be the biggest advantage over the HF.

 

[AV tinker er]

If he won't budge on the price why not look at the HF 56"?

 

[bobcatdan]

Tech 1000 are generally considered very well made boxes. Many here say they are better built then a comparable SO classic. I don't think $1200 is insanely high. $800 to a grand is good. To say it is a $500 box is kinda laughable. I have no use for HF at all, but will not insult their boxes. That said I would take used box of good quality over a HF box any day. I think too many people are blindsided by the HF box and it schews their view off other boxes. A HF box is the kia of tool boxes. Good bang for the buck, will do what it is suppose for little investment, but it is far from the best out there.

 

[oldldh]

If he won't budge on the price why not look at the HF 56"?

If you can find a coupon, the HF 56" (all 440 lbs of it) can be yours for less than $700.00...

That is a helluva deal on a damn nice box...I know, I got one for Christmas from my Wife!!!

Just a thought, but for what the fellow asking for the Mac box, you can buy the HF 56" Roller Cabinet, AND the HF Top Box!!!

HMMM!!!!

 

[outdoorsman310]

I am thinking bout getting a 56" box. dang you garage journal!

 

[oldldh]

I am thinking bout getting a 56" box. dang you garage journal!

Please forgive my "little push", but, for the money, the HF 56" is a better mousetrap!!!

By the way, the HF 56" does weigh every bit of 440 lbs, and it's difficult to roll off the pallet by yourself...I got my neighbor to help me (I'm 6'4" and 235 lbs), and I needed the help---I'm 68, too, so that was a factor...

Buy the HF 56", you'll love it!!!

 

[Mickey O]

Mac Box = Cadillac
HF box = Yugo

 

[oldldh]

Oh, I don't know about Yugo...

Ford, maybe---

 

[Evan(CA)]

I have to wonder how many people who recommend HF boxes have owned both a truck box and HF box. I get the feeling most have only compared other store brand boxes like Cman, Husky etc to the HF box. When I saw the HF 44" in person I was extremely disappointed in the quality after reading all the reviews. I guess it's nice for the money but it really is only a step or two above the other store brand boxes and most of those Cman and Husky boxes aren't even useable IMO. I've never seen one of their 56" boxes in person.

 

[Trey T]

OP: Where will the tool box be used at? If it's in a shop, I suggest getting the MAC with longer/deeper drawer. If it's at a two car garage where space is limited, I suggest the HF 44".

Besides the difference in dimension of the drawers, there's no other benefit of spending more money.

 

[Trey T]

MAC box= Mercedes
HF box= Cadillac (Didn't you remember GM went bankrupt?)

GM, Ford, and Chrysler are no longer the BIG THREE, it's Toyota, Volkswagen, and Ford.

Mac Box = Cadillac
HF box = Yugo

 

[Danglerb]

Truck box = Sterling
HF box = Honda

 

[rice rocket]

Mac Box = Cadillac
HF box = Yugo

I know you're super brand loyal, but the HF 44 box is built better than any of the non-pro brands. Thicker sheetmetal, better design, overall just 100% sturdier than anything you can walk into Home Depot/Sears/Lowe's. Sad, isn't it?

I too would love a nice KRL box or something, but honestly, HF is doing pretty well bridging the gap that big box retailers are royally ******* up in (or royally ******* over their customers who aren't internet savvy), and at a lower price point.

 

[dfreeman616]

i had a tech 1000, it was a good box and i compared it side by side (literally) to the hf 41 top/bottom. i could fit more in just the tech than the guy i worked with could fit in both his due to drawer configuration and depth. quality wise, the hf offered great bang for the buck, although still shy of the mac. that said, i wouldn't pay 1200 for that box, although it isn't a horrible price it isn't hard to do better on another tech, at least around here. i don't know your market, so that might be a steal of a deal.

 

[mopar01]

I had tech 1000 for a while. Its a good solid box and id buy one again over the hf anyday. I had mine loaded and it held up just fine. 1200. Is a fair price. I paid a grand for mine.

 

[Wamsutta]

Why are the drawer pulls yellow? Seems like they should have silver aluminum trim strips on the drawer pulls.

 

[bobcatdan]

On a yellow box, there should be black drawer pulls. I don't know what the deal is the pictured box since I don't the pulls are easy to remove.

 

[mopar01]

He took the pulls off. Mac will send you new ones.

 

[V70R]

Truck box = Sterling
HF box = Honda

Mac box= Sterling
HF box: Scrapped and recycled '88 Honda Accord

 

[Hopalong604]

I'm from canada and I keep reading about the HF 44". All the good reviews and what not. They were having a super coupon deal on the black general tool cart for $99 a month ago, so I tracked passed the border and picked 1 up. While I was there I just had to see what the craze was about with these HF 44". This was the 1st time I've been to HF. I played with the box for a good 15 mins. I've owned 2 boxes and I'm a licensed tech. I've owned a craftsman and loved it it for years. I just recently purchased a SO krl722 and the difference is night and day. I would compare the feeling of the HF 44" to my old cman. It's good enough to hold tools and worth every penny of $359 but that's all it would be worth.

 

[Brownsfan]

The Mac is 50" wide and 25" deep. It is a much better built box than a HF. I had a tech 1000 for 10+ years and looked almost new the day I sold it for $1800. It's more of a lifetime box and not a temp or stop gap

 

[STANIMAL]

I have yet to see a better box than the HF 44 or 56 , for the money . If someone has , please post a link or a pic .

 

[Evan(CA)]

I have yet to see a better box than the HF 44 or 56 , for the money . If someone has , please post a link or a pic .

There's that famous HF qualifying statement. You aren't going to find a brand new box that's higher quality than the HF at that price point but that doesn't make it a quality box.

 

[STANIMAL]

There's that famous HF qualifying statement. You aren't going to find a brand new box that's higher quality than the HF at that price point but that doesn't make it a quality box.

Do you think a $5k SO is that much better for the price difference ? I dont recall anyone complaining about an HF . I would take the $4300 difference and spend it on tools.

 

[whyNick?]

I have to wonder how many people who recommend HF boxes have owned both a truck box and HF box. I get the feeling most have only compared other store brand boxes like Cman, Husky etc to the HF box. When I saw the HF 44" in person I was extremely disappointed in the quality after reading all the reviews. I guess it's nice for the money but it really is only a step or two above the other store brand boxes and most of those Cman and Husky boxes aren't even useable IMO. I've never seen one of their 56" boxes in person.

I currently own a HF 44" box but in a previous life I worked out of a Snap On box. Yeah the SO was nicer than the HF but it wasn't anywhere near nice enough to justify paying more than 10 times as much for it. In my opinion the Cadillac and Ford analogy mentioned above was about right.

 

[amlv20]

It's funny how you guys on here always try to say Craigslist boxes are over priced.if that Mac box was listed around here for that price it would be gone in days.

My box at work is a newer tech series mb1000, although it had minor issues and was warranty replaced right away and I got a free cover and stainless top.its been a great box and I love it, it is superior than my snap on classic series box I brought home from work as I didn't trade it in.it would take a screaming deal to get me into a krl or epic box, I would much rather get a matching top box.

 

[DTB]

The add said the box was over ten years old. Do the slides on a MAC hold up pretty good?

 

[amlv20]

Not sure, only been close to three years for me with no complaints.

 

[V70R]

I agree with amlv20, if that was in our region it would have been sold within 2 days. if any of the slides are damaged, meet a driver at a stop and get them replaced. May take a week, but with respect any defect on the linked box will be taken care of.

 

[Jrussell86]

I was a Mac Tools distributor for a few years and I can tell you first of all, as someone else said Waterloo did make the Economizer but did not make the Tech series boxes. The tech boxes are very well made and I would think you should expect to pay between 1200 and 1500 for a nice tech 1000. There is no comparison in anything Harbor Freight sells and a Tech 1000. When you buy a nice professional box used and you buy it halfway right then it's resale is about what you paid for it if you decide to go a different direction, but if you buy a lower end box new you can count half of your money gone if you decide to sell it.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Go MAC.

Problem with pricing used stuff on the interwebz is everybody's market is a little bit different, and same goes with your personal circumstances in terms of what YOU want to pay.

Personally I don't think I'd pay 1200 (note...not saying its not worth 1200, just saying I personally wouldn't pay 1200)....I'd probably be in a buying mood at $750-850 for it.

The Tech series is a beautiful box. Agree with BobcatDan...I feel it lines up above the Classic Series and just below the KRL.

People want to talk bang for the buck boxes, I think that award goes to the MAC TECH Series boxes.

 

[flynlow8740]

I have worked out of a MAC MB1080 for 8 years, professionally. No complaints whatsoever, they are a great box and hold up very well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SS5150]

I had a Tech 1000 for six years, professionally, and I bought it a couple years old. I paid $1000 for it at the time (2000). Anyway I never had to replace a slide the entire time that I owned mine. I would recommend it for sure; if I could find one at the right price I'd have one at the house too. I ended up trading towards a larger Maximizer.

 

[Evan(CA)]

Do you think a $5k SO is that much better for the price difference ? I dont recall anyone complaining about an HF . I would take the $4300 difference and spend it on tools.

I currently own a HF 44" box but in a previous life I worked out of a Snap On box. Yeah the SO was nicer than the HF but it wasn't anywhere near nice enough to justify paying more than 10 times as much for it. In my opinion the Cadillac and Ford analogy mentioned above was about right.

I would never suggest anyone buy a truck box brand new even with incentives, let alone at full list price. However for the price used truck brand boxes can be bought and sold for I think it's stupid for anyone but the most mild weekend warriors to buy an HF box. Like was mentioned above if you get even a halfway decent deal you aren't going to lose much when you go to resell it and you'll get to use a much bigger and nicer quality box in the meantime.

Lets say the op buys the Mac for the full asking price of 1200. In 5 years if he goes to sell it he's still going to get 800 bucks for it if not more. So he'll spend 400 bucks to use a quality box for 5 years. Or he buys a smaller box brand new and *IF* it lasts 5 years and he goes to resell he would struggle to get 200. So for an extra 200 bucks he gets a helluva lot more bang for his buck. Chances are if he showed up with cash he'd probably get the Mac box for a little less than 1200. If he really wanted to shop there are plenty of nice truck brand box set ups for less than 1k.

Bottom line is buying used truck brand box is infinitely better than buying new HF except for in the rare scenario where you absolutely need something now or just can't afford to loan 1k for x amount of years for a tool box. If you can't afford the 1k loan though I don't think you should be buying a 400 dollar tool box either.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I have yet to see a better box than the HF 44 or 56 , for the money . If someone has , please post a link or a pic .

Home depot homer bucket.

 

[STANIMAL]

Home depot homer bucket.

I bet you cant prove me wrong . On the other hand , if you keep your tools in a bucket , they must be quality ****.