Dirt Cheap Road Box Set

[Zewnten]

Putting together a tool set for field repair. I don't have a dedicated truck so I'm putting my own together in a 5 drawer craftsman top chest. I'm looking for can't be beat quality to price, like Pittsburgh impact sockets or 1/2 breaker bar. (COO snobs or Snap On or die need not apply, I'm not lookingfor a debate just suggestions).

I'm thinking:
channellock combination wrenches up to 3/4/19mm,
carlyle screwdrivers,
Pittsburgh breaker bar and impact sockets and hexs, Walmart/wilde prybars,
Gearwrench/ teq ratcheting wrenches,
tekton angle wrenches (v8 is cheaper but they're heavy).
Atd 1/4 impact socket set,
carlyle ratchets
Abn crowfoot in 1/2 dr up to 2"

Any brands I'm missing out on? Trying to find carlyle quality at Pittsburgh prices or maybe on sale Icon or old Carlyle sale prices

 

[Iowafox]

For screwdrivers I would save money and get the HF Pittsburgh Pro 10 pc set for $10 there really great for the money.
I would also made my own little road tool kit but I took the 225 piece Pittsburgh Master tool kit since it has all the sockets in all 3 drive sizes, some wrenches, pliers and a screwdriver bit thing. I do have a small bag that has my breaker bar, vice grips and other tools in it. when ever I go anywhere that stuff is with me and has never let me down. People trash HF but there sockets and other tools are great they have came a long way.
Those walmart Wilde striker prybars are strong as hell I have 2 and they are great! I would also suggest getting some kind of LED work light that is rechargeable!

 

[Robinson1]

Field repairs on what? To me that means heavy equipment or farm equipment. But the fact your wrench set stopping at 19mm makes me wonder.

 

[richfinn]

Skip the metal tool chest and get some fabric tool totes with vertical storage
(Tough built are a decent budget choice)

Much easier to carry from your vehicle to the job and you can set up different bags for different tasks

They weigh less/smaller footprint/easier to organize/stay organised as you bump along farm roads etc

 

[charbar]

I don't see a problem with anything you're looking at. I try to keep my road box as cheap as possible too, as the tools end up either lost or stolen.

My box is mostly Channellock or Doyle (HF) pliers, HF 1/2 impact sockets, Pittsburg ratchets, Gearwrench wrenches (NON ratcheting, just standard long pattern combos), a bunch of 3/8 and 1/4 inch sockets that I won at a CarQuest open house (ProValue I think is the brand), I think Stanley screwdrivers.

Tekton is pretty hard to beat for the price in my opinion.

Cheap tools in a roadbox work fine for me, you just have to remember their limitations when you are using them.
Lots of times when Im headed out for a service call I will grab a lot of the tools I know I will need from my shop box, and then make sure they go BACK in the shop when I get back.

 

[Sumboodie]

Field repairs on what? To me that means heavy equipment or farm equipment. But the fact your wrench set stopping at 19mm makes me wonder.

What I was just going to ask too. We kept wrenches up to 2" in the service truck. It covered most of the nuts and bolts.
Larger was usually cut from plate as a 3 or 4" wrench is expensive to buy for a one time use.

We had enough stuff on board the truck that it overloaded an F550.

 

[Sumboodie]

Field repairs on what? To me that means heavy equipment or farm equipment. But the fact your wrench set stopping at 19mm makes me wonder.

What I was just going to ask too. We kept wrenches up to 2" in the service truck. It covered most of the nuts and bolts.
Larger was usually cut from plate as a 3 or 4" wrench is expensive to buy for a one time use.

For tools for a POV on a road trip, I just pack a toolbag with basics. No need to carry 500lbs of tools. If something breaks that bad, I'm calling a friend or tow truck.

 

[Zewnten]

Above 3/4 or 19mm I haven't found any wrench brands to stay away from as long as they weren't made in india. Instead of wrenches above 1-1/4 I carry 1/2 dr crowfoots up to 2-1/2 and 2 each of 18" and 30" breaker bars.

 

[Zewnten]

Skip the metal tool chest and get some fabric tool totes with vertical storage
(Tough built are a decent budget choice)

Much easier to carry from your vehicle to the job and you can set up different bags for different tasks

They weigh less/smaller footprint/easier to organize/stay organised as you bump along farm roads etc

My electrical set up is in a tote, but there's no easy way to organize socket sets in them that I've tried, including the little zipper bags. I use carry up to 1-1/2 1/2 drive sockets. The 1" drive live in a smallish case.

 

[seanb02]

I recommend not using a top box as a road chest. When I first started working at the farm, I set up a Husky top chest in the back of my Suburban for field repairs. Didn't take long before the drawer slides started to have issues. Maybe if your Craftsman has friction slides rather than ball bearing it would be better, but the other issue is unless you use foam around all your tools to keep them in place they will be all over inside of the drawers, and it will be a constant fight to get the drawers open when a pair of pliers or a screwdriver wedges itself just right to prevent the drawer from opening. I just dealt with it for about a year until purchasing a cheap utility body truck.

Socket sets that come in blow molded cases are going to be the best option to keep them contained, then stack those inside of DeWalt tough cases along with your other tools or whatever the Milwaukee version of those is. I don't like soft sided totes because once they get wet, they will rust your tools quickly. Whereas the hard plastic ones are sealed to keep water intrusion and dust to a minimum.

I agree with you on purchasing cheap tools for a road kit. Condensation is almost always going to be an issue creating surface rust on tools that are used in the field unless you are religious about wiping them down with oil regularly. Also you are likely to lose tools from time to time during hasty roadside or field repairs, and there is nothing more sickening than realizing an expensive tool is gone. Looks like you have a decent start with your list, don't go overboard right off, just start with the basics and fill in as the need arises. You would need a medium duty truck to carry it all if you try to anticipate every possible tool you might ever use.

 

[Zewnten]

Unfortunately work supplies the truck right now which is where the issue is coming in. I usually have to do field work at the drop of a hat out of the bed of a pick up while they get a truck arranged.

 

[four.cycle]

Dirt Cheap
No-name China or Taiwan socket & bit set w/ratcheting driver and box
(missing 1/4" and 5/16" SAE sockets)
used.
$5.00 incl. shipping "buy now"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/294139184453

^ I have two of these sets. You can't get cheaper. If they steal it out of my truck, no big loss. Good enough for light duty stuff, especially for the price.

See the "Ebay Hot Deals" thread:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/294139184453
scroll up a bit to post # 4652 for some deals on pliers.

Good luck with your search.

 

[sk farmer]

you are not saying what you work on.


your list would lead me to something other than you being in ag as my neighbor who does ag out of a truck, several i know in that line and me being a farmer.

if you were in ag your list would include combo wrenches to at least 1 1/4 and metric to at least 32. none of the guys i have seen would skip combos and have angle wrenches and crowfoots instead. not saying that they would not own them, just saying that they are too specialized for road work.

that said, montezuma boxes are heard to beat on a mobile rig. it seems they are well received in the mining, pipeline, construction fields but not as much in the mobile ag world. i don't know why.

i have a couple 20 inch montezuma boxes and they hold as much as a 26 inch chest and i can still move them easily. my 30 inch lives in my pickup and holds a lot of stuff but is no as easy to move.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Your list looks good. I’d take a look at Capri stuff too it’s pretty inexpensive off their website and it’s good quality. They also give you reward points to use on other products too.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[Zewnten]

you are not saying what you work on.


your list would lead me to something other than you being in ag as my neighbor who does ag out of a truck, several i know in that line and me being a farmer.

if you were in ag your list would include combo wrenches to at least 1 1/4 and metric to at least 32. none of the guys i have seen would skip combos and have angle wrenches and crowfoots instead. not saying that they would not own them, just saying that they are too specialized for road work.

that said, montezuma boxes are heard to beat on a mobile rig. it seems they are well received in the mining, pipeline, construction fields but not as much in the mobile ag world. i don't know why.

i have a couple 20 inch montezuma boxes and they hold as much as a 26 inch chest and i can still move them easily. my 30 inch lives in my pickup and holds a lot of stuff but is no as easy to move.

I do have wrenches up to 1-1/4, but like my earlier post I think any wrench will do if it's bigger than 3/4, as long as its not made in India.

As for what I work on: anything from a small engine to a 650 hitatchi excavator. And the foreman's description is always: "it doesn't work", never mind that they literally ripped that part off the machine, so packing per job isn't feasible.

But anyways back to the good enough for the price tooling.

 

[richfinn]

My electrical set up is in a tote, but there's no easy way to organize socket sets in them that I've tried, including the little zipper bags. I use carry up to 1-1/2 1/2 drive sockets. The 1" drive live in a smallish case.

I just carry an open tote with sockets on rails and accessories and an Ernst gripper rack for my wrenches with my fabric tote bag with pliers and drivers etc, I quickly learned toolboxes with drawers just fall to bits on the road (unless you get a proper road box)

 

[bonneyman]

Though I don't have any of either Carlyle stuff and those Tekton angle wrenches look very nice. If I needed such tools those would definitely be looked at.

I, too, am putting together a spare set of used S-K sockets and ratchets, and am finding just about everything I need at very affordable prices. To put in the personal truck. Found a NOS socket box (haven't found any better way to carry sockets than a socket box), and thought I'd fill it as cheaply as possible and not worry about breakage, loss, or theft. I'm quite surprised how easy and cheap filling the set has been.

 

[Zewnten]

I just carry an open tote with sockets on rails and accessories and an Ernst gripper rack for my wrenches with my fabric tote bag with pliers and drivers etc, I quickly learned toolboxes with drawers just fall to bits on the road (unless you get a proper road box)

When you say tote are you referring to a bag or a something with individual tool pockets and a handle?

 

[richfinn]

When you say tote are you referring to a bag or a something with individual tool pockets and a handle?

I use a regular metal tote for my socket set/wrenches

Fabric tote with pockets and handle for everything else (you can pack a lot of tools like this)

I also have a few magnetic trays as its easy to lose parts/tools on the road

I work out of a van though so security is less of a problem

 

[Al Borland]

Slides will have a short, miserable life in a road truck,
Sockets can go on twist-lock type holders in the banker bags with the zipper top.
Or in a plastic box on the holders.
Those zipper-top bags are great for wrenches. One for Metric, one for American sizes.
Manageable amounts of tools in several fabric topes. Sort the tools into logical batches.