Mobile tool box - ideas & insights needed!

[Justind97]

Good morning!

I own a construction company and our main work is interlock and hardscaping.

We are growing very quickly and after dealing with tools being disorganized or missing all the time I have decided to look for a tool box that I can have on the job sites.

Requirements:
Hold most if not all the hand tools
Be mobile and can manage more difficult terrain

For my industry, I have only found 1 tool box that meets half these requirements. The only thing would be the price at $2000 which is insane for what you're getting. Pictures of the product below

My plan:
I have a 24" wide Husky bottom tool box and was going to mount it to a steel skeleton frame. I have 1 1/2" square on hand at the moment.
The frame would have attached to it 8-9" pneumatic rear wheels (my idea being like in the picture with the moving dolly) with an integrated handle.

Hanging off the side would have spots to put levels, maybe a few shovels and other tools and an extension cord or two. I will have to go through my tool list to see what best suits outside of the box.

I like the idea of the foam in the pictures, but I can't for the life of me find the correct search term! Is there any foam out there that is reasonably priced?

Concerns might be it getting to be pretty heavy, but everything that I need typically fits into a wheel barrow at the moment.

Ideas of anything that I'm missing?

 

[joey1320]

Seems like a straightforward idea. Post pics!

 

[mc4life27]

Good morning!



I own a construction company and our main work is interlock and hardscaping.



We are growing very quickly and after dealing with tools being disorganized or missing all the time I have decided to look for a tool box that I can have on the job sites.



Requirements:

Hold most if not all the hand tools

Be mobile and can manage more difficult terrain



For my industry, I have only found 1 tool box that meets half these requirements. The only thing would be the price at $2000 which is insane for what you're getting. Pictures of the product below



My plan:

I have a 24" wide Husky bottom tool box and was going to mount it to a steel skeleton frame. I have 1 1/2" square on hand at the moment.

The frame would have attached to it 8-9" pneumatic rear wheels (my idea being like in the picture with the moving dolly) with an integrated handle.



Hanging off the side would have spots to put levels, maybe a few shovels and other tools and an extension cord or two. I will have to go through my tool list to see what best suits outside of the box.



I like the idea of the foam in the pictures, but I can't for the life of me find the correct search term! Is there any foam out there that is reasonably priced?



Concerns might be it getting to be pretty heavy, but everything that I need typically fits into a wheel barrow at the moment.



Ideas of anything that I'm missing?

Kaizen foam is what most of the people use for foam inserts. But it does add up quick. I found a cheap sleeping foam pad at Walmart works great. It’s like 5/8 thick and I just cut them to the size I wanted them spray glued them together to get the thickness I wanted. Works great and the pad was like 8 buck for a 6 foot long pad. Just an idea. There are other post regarding other ideas for the foam.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[CraigStu]

Get one of these from harbor Freight.
https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-...ools/1000-lb-mesh-deck-steel-wagon-60359.html

 

[Spareparts]

The only problem with the HD and other boxes in that price range is the drawer slides just won't hold up to riding around in a truck bed for long, that is why the good boxes cost so much, before Sears went sideways the Craftsman boxes with the ball bearing rollers did good for about 3-4 yrs but they finally died.

 

[Spencer Was Here]

I too have wanted a nice outdoor-capable rolling tool cart.

If these pit carts from Extreme Tools were only two grand or so, I'd already have one.
https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Tools-TXPIT7009BK-7-Drawer-2-Compartment/dp/B00CM4CEEM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Extreme+Tools&qid=1614217327&sr=8-3

 

[mike93lx]

how about something like a milwaukee packout stack? You can control how much yo take out of the truck/van, the cases are durable and there are tons of size options. they even have racking systems to mount the boxes to in your van

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Storage-Solutions/PACKOUT

do you really need drawers? sounds like it's begging for a cart to get dumped out and someone injured.

 

[Jlarson]

So basically you do pavers? Do the guys really have to drag that much stuff right to where they are working, can't it be organized in the truck so stuff has homes at the end of the project instead of trying to drag everything and the kitchen sink around.

I don't know how everyone else works but I try and take as little from the truck as possible and put it back as soon as possible and try and train the guys the same.

 

[Justind97]

So basically you do pavers? Do the guys really have to drag that much stuff right to where they are working, can't it be organized in the truck so stuff has homes at the end of the project instead of trying to drag everything and the kitchen sink around.

I don't know how everyone else works but I try and take as little from the truck as possible and put it back as soon as possible and try and train the guys the same.

I do pavers yes. We call it interlock in Canada.

You try not to drag everything out, but I spent enough time/money last year paying guys to walk back and forth from the truck that it makes more sense to have it all on site in one space ready to go.

Think about the costs. Let's say it's 5 mins round trip, 5 times a day (maybe more!). If I pay a guy $35/hour, that's $17.50/day, $87.50/week, $350/month and $2450 per year paying a guy to walk to and from my truck.

My desk faces my front yard and my neighbour had his kitchen redone before Christmas. I watched those guys walk to and from the truck 2 to 3 times per hour to grab one hand tool. That to me is terribly inefficient and costly.

I could make sure the tools get put back into one central location of the job site which is the toolbox as quickly as possible for efficiency.
The tools that are required for the most part can all be placed into one tool box aside from a quick cut, levels, and rakes and shovels.

Last year I used a husky round tool bag that has compartments all around and inside. While it worked, the thing would end up being 60-70lbs when all packed up. It's not fun lifting it all the time. Plus it would constantly dirty, and tools would fall out.

I don't necessarily NEED drawers. However, my garage like most here is organized with drawers and knowing where everything goes and where I *SHOULD* find it if I'm looking for it is an added bonus.
The ground is not always nice to roll over, so I understand the concern of dumping the tool box, but we're not running and the wheels will sit wider than the box unlike a furniture dolly.

 

[Justind97]

I too have wanted a nice outdoor-capable rolling tool cart.

If these pit carts from Extreme Tools were only two grand or so, I'd already have one.
https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Tools-TXPIT7009BK-7-Drawer-2-Compartment/dp/B00CM4CEEM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Extreme+Tools&qid=1614217327&sr=8-3

Those look bad ***, but far more tippy than I am comfortable with! And I'm trying to do this as cheap as possible.

 

[Justind97]

how about something like a milwaukee packout stack? You can control how much yo take out of the truck/van, the cases are durable and there are tons of size options. they even have racking systems to mount the boxes to in your van

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Storage-Solutions/PACKOUT

do you really need drawers? sounds like it's begging for a cart to get dumped out and someone injured.

The price on those!! Yikes!

 

[rpcraft]

I'm not saying one way or another but it sounds like you may need to check into the Milwaukee packout type systems if you want it to be on-site but man portable. The only other thing I can think is smaller versions of Job boxes instead of the huge ones. You could maybe have a couple for different tools, protabilty, and supply storage. I've seen one from Ridgid that is roughly 19 x 19 x 32 and you could put tray organizer of some type in it as well and it could probably be carried pretty easily by two guys overall. They have another one that is 48 x 24 x19 so maybe a little larger and less portable, but potentially safer on a job site that you may elect to leave it on.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-32-in-x-19-in-Portable-Storage-Chest-32R-OS/300748555

 

[Justind97]

I finally figured out multi-quoting!

The only problem with the HD and other boxes in that price range is the drawer slides just won't hold up to riding around in a truck bed for long, that is why the good boxes cost so much, before Sears went sideways the Craftsman boxes with the ball bearing rollers did good for about 3-4 yrs but they finally died.

I will keep an eye on the slides. I've had the box 6-7 years with nearly zero use, to me its almost new. They still make this box and at the price point, toss it every 3 or 4 years and get a new one for $179 seems like a no-brainer. It's going to get beat, scratched, bumped. I expect it to look like hell by the time the slides need replacing.

Get one of these from harbor Freight.
https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-...ools/1000-lb-mesh-deck-steel-wagon-60359.html

While it would work, It would be impractical to lift a tool box onto it. Plus I would be afraid of tipping.

Kaizen foam is what most of the people use for foam inserts. But it does add up quick. I found a cheap sleeping foam pad at Walmart works great. It’s like 5/8 thick and I just cut them to the size I wanted them spray glued them together to get the thickness I wanted. Works great and the pad was like 8 buck for a 6 foot long pad. Just an idea. There are other post regarding other ideas for the foam.

I will hunt at walmart! Thanks!

 

[mike93lx]

The price on those!! Yikes!

A cheap solution will feel cheap every time you use it. I am guessing that masonry work is not gentle on tools.

If you want cheap, you already have the solution.

 

[Spencer Was Here]

Those look bad ***, but far more tippy than I am comfortable with! And I'm trying to do this as cheap as possible.

Here is a more reasonable suggestion for you. These carts are from Little Giant.

This first one has the most reasonable cost, at only $554. 24" wide by 48" long, with 6" sides and 16" wheels and a 3,000 pound weight capacity.
https://www.amazon.com/Little-CH-2448-X6-16P-Heavy-Duty-Capacity-Length/dp/B00CMGQ860/ref=sr_1_169?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&dchild=1&keywords=Garden+Carts&qid=1614295498&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-169&ts_id=553936

This one is almost twice as much, but is 30" wide by 60" long.
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-Deep-Shelf-Shop-Wagon/dp/B004L3ZAMU/ref=sr_1_32?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&dchild=1&keywords=Garden+Carts&qid=1614295430&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-32&ts_id=553936

This one is also 30x60, and has smaller 12" wheels, but they are molded rubber instead of pneumatic.
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-Deep-Shelf-Wagon-Mold/dp/B004L41ASM/ref=sr_1_31?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&dchild=1&keywords=Garden+Carts&qid=1614295430&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-31&ts_id=553936

You could permanently mount your existing toolbox to one of these carts, or really just set it in there. All the other things that you wanted mounted to the outside of the other box that you mentioned could easily just sit in the cart.

This would be a breeze to transport to and from your trailer.

More details available at the manufacturers website:
https://www.littlegiant-usa.com/products/ch-2448-x6-16p