Snap On 54" box for $1,000

[Josh Hex]

Hey all, first time posting on the forums here. Frequently google searches on tools, boxes, and general handyman stuff bring me back here and i always manage to glean some useful information. Seeing as though I've just started buying tools for work and am faced with my first big purchase, i figured it's a good time to join.

Right, anyway on topic...
Browsing craigslist i came up with this ad for a 54" SO box for 1k. Intrigued i established contact with the guy and asked about it. It comes with a hutch, and is part of their industrial "kiq" series. I can't turn up too much on this series, other than it seems most prominent in gov. fields of work, and that the quality seems on-par with blue-point and international. This makes me question if it's worth the 2 hour drive and 1k on top of that. Here's the picture he sent me of the box.

It has brackets for lock bars in front of the drawers, though he tells me the integrated locks work. It's a 24" deep box which is my main hesitation as the main appeal of a SO box to me is the 30" deep drawers. It's also a split bay box so no full-length deep drawers.
Truthfully my plan all along has been to get a 72" HF box with a coupon and build a hutch for it. That way i have their side drawers, cabinets, etc as affordable expansion options.

Can anyone shed some light on this line of boxes? And where/if replacement parts are available? I feel like i would be losing potential space over my original idea to get a 72" HF box as they have the same depth for roughly the same price.

 

[LXCam]

Well you already know this but being its not 30" deep you'd have been better off just getting the HF unit. As for parts just go directly to snap on for those. As far as was it worth a grand, not for me but if you can use the hutch it wasn't a bad deal. Might I suggest making some uprights and mounting the hutch 18" or so above the box and maybe install some metal peg board for the back plate. Then you'd have a pretty cool set up and a usable top on the box.

 

[Scotland Offshore ABZ]

Hey all, first time posting on the forums here. Frequently google searches on tools, boxes, and general handyman stuff bring me back here and i always manage to glean some useful information. Seeing as though I've just started buying tools for work and am faced with my first big purchase, i figured it's a good time to join.

Right, anyway on topic...
Browsing craigslist i came up with this ad for a 54" SO box for 1k. Intrigued i established contact with the guy and asked about it. It comes with a hutch, and is part of their industrial "kiq" series. I can't turn up too much on this series, other than it seems most prominent in gov. fields of work, and that the quality seems on-par with blue-point and international. This makes me question if it's worth the 2 hour drive and 1k on top of that. Here's the picture he sent me of the box.

It has brackets for lock bars in front of the drawers, though he tells me the integrated locks work. It's a 24" deep box which is my main hesitation as the main appeal of a SO box to me is the 30" deep drawers. It's also a split bay box so no full-length deep drawers.
Truthfully my plan all along has been to get a 72" HF box with a coupon and build a hutch for it. That way i have their side drawers, cabinets, etc as affordable expansion options.

Can anyone shed some light on this line of boxes? And where/if replacement parts are available? I feel like i would be losing potential space over my original idea to get a 72" HF box as they have the same depth for roughly the same price.

In the UK it would be a steal at that price. I have seen and used a HF box when I was in the States in 1995 and it was a piece of junk. Maybe HF are better now but then I thought it was very poor, even for the price. At least if you have a SO box you have the warranty.

 

[Josh Hex]

In the UK it would be a steal at that price. I have seen and used a HF box when I was in the States in 1995 and it was a piece of junk. Maybe HF are better now but then I thought it was very poor, even for the price. At least if you have a SO box you have the warranty.

HF boxes are a lot different now than they were in 1995, i'm sure. I assume back then that Craftsman boxes were worth a damn. The craftsman i have now, bought in 2013, is about as cheap as boxes get. Thin(20-22g?) sheet steel, weak drawer slides, etc etc. HF boxes have way surpassed them in terms of quality. The're build with 18g, have rolled edges on the drawers and decent slides. Our shop's tire tool cart is a HF brand and we are NOT nice to it but it keeps on truckin'.

Well you already know this but being its not 30" deep you'd have been better off just getting the HF unit. As for parts just go directly to snap on for those. As far as was it worth a grand, not for me but if you can use the hutch it wasn't a bad deal.

Dunno if i wasn't clear in the OP but i actually haven't purchased it yet. I had set up to go take a look at it tomorrow but i may back out if further research doesn't prove promising.

Another concern of mine is that our SO dealer isn't the most personable and accommodating fellow. I don't prefer buying tools off the truck and thus have no credit/account with him so i feel like getting warranty work or having him track down parts for a used box would be difficult.

 

[LXCam]

Ya I thought you bought it already. It really depends on what you're looking for or need for drawer space. Myself I've got a SO KRL1001 which is 54"w x 30" deep and I had a 52" HF top and bottom I just moved out of after I built my lista set up. Myself, if choosing between that offering used and a new 72" HF, HF gets the nod without hesitation.

 

[bobcatdan]

Those boxes are on par with the kra hermitage boxes. They were marketed both as Blue Point and just plainly as KIQ. It predates the classic series as that box is from +/- 2000.

 

[lazer50]

If you are not in a huge rush i would keep looking.a thousand maybe isn't the best option on the snap on box.but if harbor freight boxes have improved in quality since 95 or whenever i would hate to see what they where like back then.i would exhaust every resource before spending a grand on one of their boxes regardless the size.keep looking at Craig's list or you might change your mind on the snap on,maybe the guy will come down some more.

 

[fos373]

I think you can be choosy with Snap On boxes. I picked up a KRL7022 that was in very good condition for $1,500. I probably could have paid a couple hundred less but I barely had to haggle. It had been listed for about 4 weeks at a higher price.

 

[Josh Hex]

Thanks for all of the replies! Weighing my options i told the guy i'm not interested anymore. Frankly a 54"x24" lower-teir SO box just isn't what i'm looking for at that price point. If it was a 30" deep then i would definitely consider it.

If you are not in a huge rush i would keep looking.a thousand maybe isn't the best option on the snap on box.but if harbor freight boxes have improved in quality since 95 or whenever i would hate to see what they where like back then.i would exhaust every resource before spending a grand on one of their boxes regardless the size.keep looking at Craig's list or you might change your mind on the snap on,maybe the guy will come down some more.

I'm not in a huge rush but the used box market must be better where you live. I've been consistently checking craigslist and facebook buy/sell pages for about 5 months now and there isn't much that i consider a "good deal". Most SO/mac 54" boxes around here people are listing for at least 3g, and anything less than that has turned out to be a scam/fishing post.

I understand your stance with the HF boxes but I've done a lot of hands-on research with multiple types of boxes. And the HF boxes beat-out all of the store brands in terms of materials, sturdiness and affordability. Craftsman, husky, kobalt etc etc. Maybe i'm looking way out of my league considering any tool-truck brand box, but i'm currently working out of a $150 craftsman 24" combo chest bolted to a $100 26" Stanley bottom chest so literally anything is an upgrade.

 

[ianguilly]

I'd pass on that it's only 24" deep and equivalent to a Kra box. Save your cash I got one of my Krl boxes for $1300 and it even got delivered.

 

[CNGsaves]

+1 to keep looking or beat price way down.

That box likely has been treated rough as it's got forklift mounts welded on the bottom. Who knows how many times it's been dragged around shop on forklift.