Ideas for a portable tool box?

[southbayduramax]

Before anyone says to use the search function, I've been looking for a few hours now. I went back as old as posts from 2008 but I'm hoping something new has come out that will work for me.

I currently use the Stanley FatMax which is great, and a Craftsman 4 drawer. I'm looking to replace the 4 drawer because it is starting to rust, and so are my tools. Ideally I'd like soemthing weatherproof to prevent saltwater from getting in to my tools. I work on boats so this is a huge problem for me.

In the 4 drawer, I keep all my sockets (1/4, 3/8, 1/2 each in their own drawer) and the last drawer has allen keys, and a few other odds and ends. All of my sockets are on rails, and I really like the segregation between the drive size from the drawers.

My next parameter is that my toolbox in my truck bed is only 14 inches tall, so the box has to be below 14" tall.

I am thinking about just ordering a couple of the Ernst Socket bosses to segregate all the sockets and just getting another FatMax, however the drawers were nice.

The Hazet 5 Tray looks sweet but I'm worried about the "weatherproofness" of it and rust

Any ideas for a weatherproof box under 14" tall, that allows for segregation between sockets?

Thanks in advance!

 

[The mean fish]

Have you ever seen or heard of a Pelican 0450?

http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=0450

It might be a hair over 14" tall though, I think it's 14.8". It's by far the toughest, waterproof tool box system I've ever seen. I've had one for a couple months now, it's bulletproof and would be perfect for wet environments.

 

[southbayduramax]

Have you ever seen or heard of a Pelican 0450?



http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=0450



It might be a hair over 14" tall though, I think it's 14.8". It's by far the toughest, waterproof tool box system I've ever seen. I've had one for a couple months now, it's bulletproof and would be perfect for wet environments.

I read about that earlier today in another post from a while back. Do you mind me asking how much you got it for? I was looking on eBay and A couple other online stores and the cheapest I found was still around $575.

If I were to buy that, I'd buy a bigger toolbox for the bed of my truck haha. I think I'd rather find something cheaper than that though.

Thank you for your input


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[southbayduramax]

Here's what I'm currently working with:

The craftsman box has all my sockets/ratchets and some other misc, and my black box has my electronics, pliers, screwdrivers, pry bars, crescent & pipe wrenches, and a lot of other misc stuff. I try not to keep my wrench rolls in there anymore because it makes the box too damn heavy

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[archirelic]

Maybe find something similar to this locally:

http://lubbock.craigslist.org/tls/4336836076.html

 

[dmeadow]

I love posting this just for the video:

https://www.woot.com/blog/post/roll-box

Woot! isn't selling this one at the moment, but it is available elsewhere.

 

[bonneyman]

Give Stack-On a look.

http://www.stack-on.com/categories/professional-plastic

I've had one of their Step N Store plastic boxes for years, used it for everything, scuffed up but still great! Was even out in the weather for 5 years. Not waterproof but a solid box.

 

[John Timmins]

In my opinion, a plastic tool box will be your best bet. They are relatively cheap and are also light weight. I have 2 Snap-On KRA 21G style tool boxes and they weigh 27 pounds without ANY tools in them !!!!

I suggest you get more smaller boxes and segregate them into essentials like hammers, screwdrivers, multimeter, ratchets, extensions etc., Seperate the metric wrenches and sockets from the SAE. If it's an older Mercury outboard just grab the box with the inch wrenches and sockets. Grab the other box for the metric machines.

The more stuff you take in 1 or 2 boxes the heavier your load is. When I was still in the merchant marine and had to hump tools 900 feet from the machine shop to the bow to work on the anchor windlass, I'd dump all the tools in a 5 gallon bucket and roll it up on a hand truck. You might want to put one in your truck.

 

[southbayduramax]

Maybe find something similar to this locally:

http://lubbock.craigslist.org/tls/4336836076.html

That thing is sweet! I came across that one yesterday but ruled it out because of the price. I'm going to keep checking Craigslist and ebay for one of those.

I love posting this just for the video:

https://www.woot.com/blog/post/roll-box

Woot! isn't selling this one at the moment, but it is available elsewhere.

Hahah I saw that yesterday!

Give Stack-On a look.

http://www.stack-on.com/categories/professional-plastic

I've had one of their Step N Store plastic boxes for years, used it for everything, scuffed up but still great! Was even out in the weather for 5 years. Not waterproof but a solid box.

Those are pretty nice. I think If I were to go that route of a conventional box with no segregation I'd just get another FatMax. It's been great for what I need

In my opinion, a plastic tool box will be your best bet. They are relatively cheap and are also light weight. I have 2 Snap-On KRA 21G style tool boxes and they weigh 27 pounds without ANY tools in them !!!!

I suggest you get more smaller boxes and segregate them into essentials like hammers, screwdrivers, multimeter, ratchets, extensions etc., Seperate the metric wrenches and sockets from the SAE. If it's an older Mercury outboard just grab the box with the inch wrenches and sockets. Grab the other box for the metric machines.

The more stuff you take in 1 or 2 boxes the heavier your load is. When I was still in the merchant marine and had to hump tools 900 feet from the machine shop to the bow to work on the anchor windlass, I'd dump all the tools in a 5 gallon bucket and roll it up on a hand truck. You might want to put one in your truck.

Ya I looked at the KRA 21g's and stayed away because of the weight. I'd like to seperate into a few more boxes but I don't really have that luxury. If i was just working on boats at the dock it'd be fine, but often times I have to load up with no notice and run offshore. It's nice to grab my two boxes and go, knowing I have everything I need. My metric and SAE is all seperate; I realized in the pic it looks like all my wrenches are in that one roll but I have two of those rolls, one for SAE and one for metric. What kind of ships did you sail on?

Thanks everyone for the input!

 

[refried]

I like John Timmins suggestions, separate smaller boxes to keep the weight down. I've always used a 22" TuffBox and it always ended up full making it tough to find things on the bottom, A few weeks ago I picked up a 28" Stanley box (like yours) and like it.

I use the original tray for wrenches

A second old tray for sockets and ratchets

And the bottom for screwdrivers, pliers, Magnet, and other long tools

I use a small box for metric wrenches and sockets (because I still work on old stuff), and a third 22" box for large heavy tools I don't use often but need to have. 1/2" drive stuff lives in another box. When I go to do a job, rather than take 75 pounds of tools to a boat, I'll throw what I need in a plastic bucket with a lid ( If it's less than 10 tools), and carry that down, If it gets more involved than I planned I'll grab my box and throw the extra stuff I need in the bottom. There's no reason to carry all your tools to every job.

I like the Stanley rolling boxes but they're too big and would get heavy, several smaller specialty boxes and one main plastic box work out much better.

 

[the gypsy]

hi southbayduramax, my suggestion to you if you like the stanley weatherproof box is the equivalent dewalt. The only difference and an important one in my opinion is that the Dewalt has a pressure release valve. You can also buy the buggy system with all of the boxes of your choice

 

[southbayduramax]

I like John Timmins suggestions, separate smaller boxes to keep the weight down. I've always used a 22" TuffBox and it always ended up full making it tough to find things on the bottom, A few weeks ago I picked up a 28" Stanley box (like yours) and like it.

I use the original tray for wrenches

A second old tray for sockets and ratchets

And the bottom for screwdrivers, pliers, Magnet, and other long tools

I use a small box for metric wrenches and sockets (because I still work on old stuff), and a third 22" box for large heavy tools I don't use often but need to have. 1/2" drive stuff lives in another box. When I go to do a job, rather than take 75 pounds of tools to a boat, I'll throw what I need in a plastic bucket with a lid ( If it's less than 10 tools), and carry that down, If it gets more involved than I planned I'll grab my box and throw the extra stuff I need in the bottom. There's no reason to carry all your tools to every job.

I like the Stanley rolling boxes but they're too big and would get heavy, several smaller specialty boxes and one main plastic box work out much better.

Thanks for the info and pics. I get paranoid about leaving tools haha. If I'm just working on a boat at the dock or in our yard I usually just take my fatmax and fill a bucket with whatever else I need. However, when I have to run offshore for a few days or for a long job and have little to no advance notice, I like to just grab my two boxes and go without worrying about what I didn't bring.

hi southbayduramax, my suggestion to you if you like the stanley weatherproof box is the equivalent dewalt. The only difference and an important one in my opinion is that the Dewalt has a pressure release valve. You can also buy the buggy system with all of the boxes of your choice

Thanks for the info. I just came across this one after looking at the dewalt boxes and think it might work great. http://dewalt.com/tools/hand-tools-storage-and-work-support-mobile-work-shop-storage-dwst08225.aspx

 

[the gypsy]

I am happy to be of service, like many of the members here, we enjoy helping.

 

[southbayduramax]

I don't think anyone local has that two drawer dewalt box but our local Ace has this one I'm going to look at today
http://stanleytools.com/default.asp...X®+20"+Metal+Plastic+Toolbox+with+Drawer

 

[brit road garage]

Tactix make a nice little three draw it's only like 30 bucks


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[John Timmins]

I mentioned how important it is to me for a light tool box. Here's one of the ship's I worked on or the sisterships for about 15 years. This is the Nedlloyd Hudson which has been renamed at least 2 times since this picture was taken. It suffered a major engine room fire which melted part of the main engine. I understand it is now an ammo storage ship in Diego Garcia

There were 12 of these built for United States Lines round-the-world service who went bankrupt. I worked on them for Sea-Land then Maersk Sea-Land. I had active seaman's papers for 34 years. My last job was 2nd engineer of the Sealand Quality which looked just like this one. If carrying tools up to the bow was a pain inthe ***, try welding on #6 hatch and having to hump 500 feet of welding cable or a new oxy bottle up there from the engine room with no helper. I don't miss this work at all. Going to sea used to be fun while getting paid good money for it. Now it's all bull work. You might say I was a victum of automation...I'm one of the only guys left to do all the work !

 

[southbayduramax]

I mentioned how important it is to me for a light tool box. Here's one of the ship's I worked on or the sisterships for about 15 years. This is the Nedlloyd Hudson which has been renamed at least 2 times since this picture was taken. It suffered a major engine room fire which melted part of the main engine. I understand it is now an ammo storage ship in Diego Garcia

There were 12 of these built for United States Lines round-the-world service who went bankrupt. I worked on them for Sea-Land then Maersk Sea-Land. I had active seaman's papers for 34 years. My last job was 2nd engineer of the Sealand Quality which looked just like this one. If carrying tools up to the bow was a pain inthe ***, try welding on #6 hatch and having to hump 500 feet of welding cable or a new oxy bottle up there from the engine room with no helper. I don't miss this work at all. Going to sea used to be fun while getting paid good money for it. Now it's all bull work. You might say I was a victum of automation...I'm one of the only guys left to do all the work !

Wow, that's awesome. Cool to see another Merchant Mariner on here. I worked for Matson last year running back and fourth to Hawaii. I'm deckside though and because of all the unions (we had 5 different unions on board) we were not allowed to touch any tools or do any deck work because that was "Engineers or Sailors work". Times have definitely changed

 

[southbayduramax]

I don't think anyone local has that two drawer dewalt box but our local Ace has this one I'm going to look at today
http://stanleytools.com/default.asp...X®+20"+Metal+Plastic+Toolbox+with+Drawer

Went and looked at this one at Ace today. Not very impressed, the drawer latch doesn't seem very strong and is really flexible plastic



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[wmartin]

Would a tool bag filled with tool rolls make any sense?

 

[southbayduramax]

Would a tool bag filled with tool rolls make any sense?

Ya, I just cant find a good way to store all my sockets. They're all on rails but I want to be able to keep each drive size (1/4, 3/8, 1/2) separate. I've been trying to find someone that has that 2 drawer dewalt box so that I can see it in person but no one seems to have it in store

 

[trpearcy]

http://store.snapon.com/All-Weather-Tool-Chests-Tool-Chest-All-Weather-7-Drawers-Orange-P736904.aspx

 

[southbayduramax]

http://store.snapon.com/All-Weather-Tool-Chests-Tool-Chest-All-Weather-7-Drawers-Orange-P736904.aspx

I think this is the same as the Pelican 0450..? $500 is a bit more than I want to spend. I'm going to keep an eye on ebay and CL for one of those though

 

[The mean fish]

I read about that earlier today in another post from a while back. Do you mind me asking how much you got it for? I was looking on eBay and A couple other online stores and the cheapest I found was still around $575.

If I were to buy that, I'd buy a bigger toolbox for the bed of my truck haha. I think I'd rather find something cheaper than that though.

Thank you for your input


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I have one that I picked up for a demo unit to see if it would work for my install crew, I bought a few extra drawers to try different configurations. It's a really great box, it's tough as you could ever expect and is very well built but it's pretty heavy. It's hard to beat if you're looking for something to protect against moisture on your tools though, with 65lbs of contents or less it'll float so it's great for working around water.

 

[Unmarked Bill]

Man, that snappy in Lubbock is a steal!! That's the way to go, but 14" limits the choices of course.

I work with bands on tour and when we fly I take one of those little tech briefcases that you see around. A couple of those might be good?

 

[Unmarked Bill]

Wow, I had no idea these things were so expensive. Got mine free 20 years ago and it's still kicking, although TSA got one of the latches busted up.

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.co...t-with-slimline-poly-attache-case/p/jtk-2001s

Anyways, this is what I meant.

 

[rick carpenter]

I don't think anyone local has that two drawer dewalt box but our local Ace has this one I'm going to look at today
http://stanleytools.com/default.asp...X®+20"+Metal+Plastic+Toolbox+with+Drawer

I have an older version Stanley metal & plastic toolbox with friction slides. It is a top well unit like in the link on a detachable 2 drawer bottom unit. Looks like more drawer units are able to stack. Mine looks like the same basic construction, but its not waterproof and probably not very water-resistant.

I'm not confident in my box's durability when hauling around (especially with what you describe for your work) so I don't. The galvanized is thin and the drawers are flimsy. Mine sits safely on a cabinet holding tool duplicates. I suggest you look at one in person before buying this kind.

 

[southbayduramax]

I have an older version Stanley metal & plastic toolbox with friction slides. It is a top well unit like in the link on a detachable 2 drawer bottom unit. Looks like more drawer units are able to stack. Mine looks like the same basic construction, but its not waterproof and probably not very water-resistant.

I'm not confident in my box's durability when hauling around (especially with what you describe for your work) so I don't. The galvanized is thin and the drawers are flimsy. Mine sits safely on a cabinet holding tool duplicates. I suggest you look at one in person before buying this kind.

Ya I definitely don't want to pull the trigger on anything until I see them in person. I'm actually talking to a guy selling one of the snap on all weather boxes right now, waiting to hear how low he's willing to go on it in the morning haha.

I still would like to check out that Dewalt two drawer but no one seems to carry them in store