Best off brand tool cart

[kmorgancraw]

I want to pick up a tool cart with more than two drawers. Snap On, Matco, MAC and Cornwell all have their $700ish carts and I'm sure their great. But then there are other carts I see that are more around $3-400 that don't look so bad. So the question is, which of these lesser named carts is high quality? Thanks.

 

[wellstig1]

The 250 one that's on sale at napa is nice.

 

[back2class]

I see very nice used ones on Craigslist all the time for about 1/2 of retail.

 

[tonydanzah]

craftsman has a nice one for 350 i think

 

[krehmkej]

I was looking at the NAPA one yesterday. Very nice, solid drawers and runners. Almost pulled the trigger, but didn't want stink eye from the boss at this time..

 

[lewis]

Harbor Freight has 2 worth checking out. One is smaller, lighter-duty. The other is larger, with more drawers, and seems (to me) to have a heavier duty finish.

The nicer one is: 95272-0VGA (Regularly 229)
The other one is: 95659-0VGA (Regularly 189)
If you wait until the item is on sale, and use a 20% off coupon, you can get them cheaper.

 

[tonydanzah]

I was looking at the NAPA one yesterday. Very nice, solid drawers and runners. Almost pulled the trigger, but didn't want stink eye from the boss at this time..

why would the boss give stink eye for buying a napa cart?

 

[skeletonizer]

The 250 one that's on sale at napa is nice.

The NAPA one is very nice and seems sturdy as he//.

It is an import. Not sure where from.

 

[peterbilr98]

i have a blue point very nice cart for 400.00 range

 

[usmc_noma]

i like the color of that blue point box. real nice!

if you want to get away with spending the least, just go to hf and get that red box with a 20% coupon. i think right now they're around $180 but don't quote me on it. i know the black one has a coupon somewhere for $100. i'm not sure what the regular price is for it.

 

[Mickey O]

Out here you can get a really nice high dollar used one off craig's list in your price range.

 

[Cobra4B]

I've been shopping CL for one, but found the lower part of a c-man roll-around for cheap. It'll be my roll-around and extra storage.

 

[Zrexxer]

Out here you can get a really nice high dollar used one off craig's list in your price range.

I've bought a couple of Cornwells in that price range from CL sellers, and I've seen a half dozen more in the $300-$400 slot... it's a pretty dang heavy cart for the money.

 

[njfl]

i have a blue point very nice cart for 400.00 range

That Blue Point cart looks nice. The HF carts pictured above don't look half bad either. In fact, the HF carts look identical to the Blue Point cart (a little different in the strut area). Do you have a part number on the Blue Point cart? I'd like to see the stock photo and some more details for comparison.

 

[njfl]

Nevermind my last post. I just found it on the Snap On website:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=19340&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Wow. The Blue Point and HF carts look very similar. The interesting thing is that the HF carts have higher capacity ratings. I wonder if the black HF is thinner gauge because the red one advertises 14 gauge whereas the black one just states heavy steel construction.

 

[Jack90210]

The 250 one that's on sale at napa is nice.

Agreed. I'm not in the market but I almost took one home the other day. Great price for a cart.

 

[back2class]

Nevermind my last post. I just found it on the Snap On website:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=19340&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Wow. The Blue Point and HF carts look very similar. The interesting thing is that the HF carts have higher capacity ratings. I wonder if the black HF is thinner gauge because the red one advertises 14 gauge whereas the black one just states heavy steel construction.

I have the black HF cart and it is some pretty thick steel. I can assure you that thick steel is not something lacking. It does also look remarkibly like the blue point unit minus the rubber guards, bolt in the middle of the legs, struts and the shelf.

I am not saying they are the same, but I would not be the least bit suprised if they came out of the same factory and share many of the same parts/construction.

Peterbilr98. PLEASE PLEASE post some more pics of this thing, maybe some closeups as I would love to see how close they are or are not. I would be happy to do the same.

 

[Cobra4B]

back2class... is that a natural slate floor or tile that looks like slate? You like it? I know this is OT, but I'm in the middle of a kitchen remodel and trying to pick tile. Leaning toward natural slate.

 

[stricht8]

Harbor Freight has 2 worth checking out. One is smaller, lighter-duty. The other is larger, with more drawers, and seems (to me) to have a heavier duty finish.

The nicer one is: 95272-0VGA (Regularly 229)
The other one is: 95659-0VGA (Regularly 189)
If you wait until the item is on sale, and use a 20% off coupon, you can get them cheaper.

The HF ones never made any sense to me. You can get a nice craftsman with one or two drawers for less than $250. Same goes for MAC. They are al made in China but the Craftsman and MAC are much higher quality.

 

[back2class]

The HF ones never made any sense to me. You can get a nice craftsman with one or two drawers for less than $250. Same goes for MAC. They are al made in China but the Craftsman and MAC are much higher quality.

I beg to differ. I paid like $80 for the HF black one on sale with cupon. I feel it is better than any similar craftsman item by a good amount.

 

[ATTappman]

I beg to differ. I paid like $80 for the HF black one on sale with cupon. I feel it is better than any similar craftsman item by a good amount.

Agree. Similar quality to my Quiet Glide Craftsman boxes. The steel is thin, the slides aren't perfectly smooth, and some corners aren't straight on both brands.

I just wanted some more space, I didn't care if it rolled. I tried to buy a Craftsman middle chest, on sale for $99. Bought it online, drove 20 miles to the store, got told "We don't have one. Sears.com is always telling people items are in stock when they aren't." Next week I got a coupon for the black HF cart for $99 - lots more space than the Craftsman middle chest, and rolls around to boot.

 

[stricht8]

Agree. Similar quality to my Quiet Glide Craftsman boxes. The steel is thin, the slides aren't perfectly smooth, and some corners aren't straight on both brands.

I just wanted some more space, I didn't care if it rolled. I tried to buy a Craftsman middle chest, on sale for $99. Bought it online, drove 20 miles to the store, got told "We don't have one. Sears.com is always telling people items are in stock when they aren't." Next week I got a coupon for the black HF cart for $99 - lots more space than the Craftsman middle chest, and rolls around to boot.

For $80 the HF makes sense. But for $180 or more it is just not worth it. I own a MAC and I have scrutinized the Cman and the HF models. There is a very clear difference in quality from the finish to the wavy sheetmetal to the frame, to the hardware etc. MAC and Cman appear to come from the same Chinese manufacturer. The HF does not and is inferior.

 

[Griff93]

I have an older blue point cart that has the same pieces that hold the top up as the harbor freight one.

 

[Dabsalot]

I bought this Harbor Freight cart,

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95272

I bought it to take with me to the race track and I load/unload it every weekend and I have been very pleased with it.
It has drawer latches on the 'outer' edges of each drawer (which confuse people who come over to borrow tools).
I wish the lid opened more vertical because I have magnet rails on the inside of the lid for the wrenches I use the most.
The spray can rack on the side is kinda cheesy, but it is functional.
The red finish is far from attractive, but that was not a high priority for me.

It seems like I got it for around $180 on sale, and for my use, it has been a great purchase.

 

[back2class]

Nevermind my last post. I just found it on the Snap On website:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=19340&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Wow. The Blue Point and HF carts look very similar. The interesting thing is that the HF carts have higher capacity ratings. I wonder if the black HF is thinner gauge because the red one advertises 14 gauge whereas the black one just states heavy steel construction.

I just put the mic on the HF cart. The main body is made from 16ga sheetmetal and the drawer fronts are 19ga. The top is at least as thick as the body. I didn't measure the other parts but I am confindent nothing is thinner than those faces and most is heavy like the main body. As I said, it is pretty solid.

 

[Fedwrench]

The Napa cart on sale until the end of the month is a good cart. You may want to check into Homak or Sequoia carts.

 

[mcdtommy23]

I beg to differ. I paid like $80 for the HF black one on sale with cupon. I feel it is better than any similar craftsman item by a good amount.

Agreed!! Just for shits and giggles I looked at the Craftsman ones the other day while the wife was shopping. I was not impressed AT ALL! Total JUNK! Thin, poor paint, wobbly, way overpriced!

I've got the black Harbor Freight one and wanted something a little bigger, I think I'll just add a mid box under the drawer section.

 

[benjamming]

What about Kennedy?

 

[back2class]

What about Kennedy?

I have one. No complaints

 

[dieseldodge01]

Homak is made by Kennedy and I had looked at a Kennedy awhile back, similar to the HF setup, looked heavier. They were selling it for $150, should have bought it.

 

[Pure Oil]

A few years ago I bought the HF plain basic red 2 shelf cart. #1 The bag of bolts and nuts looked "cheap" that came with it. #2 So instead I used new hardwareware store nuts, bolts, flat washers and lock washers to put it together with. #3 The cart worked just fine for me.

 

[Stick Figure]

I'll throw out another vote for the black HF cart. I have one at home, and one at the shop, they have both been loaded up pretty well at times (you can see pics in the show your tool box thread). I've had them for at least two years, and haven't had to fix anything. My only real complaint is i wish it was deeper because it won't take some of my screwdrivers/pry bar handles.

 

[Titus]

I've had my eye on a yellow Matco cart for a while. I was surprised to find that they sell for $265 new.

 

[zer01]

Just picked up the 5 drawer Harbor Freight tool cart, $152.63 out the door. I have checked out many different carts and decided for a weekend warrior this cart is the right price. It was 179.99 on sale, 20% off coupon out of a Readers Digest at the doctors office $152.63. Michigan 6% sales tax. Anyway this cart uses thicker steel than a lot of carts I have checked out, plus the latching feature on the drawers is nice when moving it around. I have been looking for a few months now at used carts and new ones and I could not beat how solid this cart is.

 

[baucom]

I bought one of the carts that NAPA had on sale last month for $250. It's a really nice cart for $250. My only complaint is that the pry bar holders aren't deep enough for the handles on my 25"+ pry bars. It's 6" deep and the larger handles are 7" so the lid won't close with them in the holder. My shorter pry bars fit fine though. Still, it's a really nicely finished cart and pretty heavy too.

 

[Jack90210]

That NAPA cart is still on sale for $249 around here.

 

[uhcrandy]

Not to Hi-Jack this thread, but do you all use a "tool-cart"? I have a big tool chest, where I keep most of my tools. I am looking for a small "tool cart" to put all the tools I will need for a project. So I am not back and forth for each tool, and I dont have to move the whole chest. Is that what you pros do?
Thanks