PistolWhip
Well-known member
If your not familiar with the contest that I won in order to receive this great Tool Chest set up, you can check the link in my Sig to go to it. It was here on Garage Journal put on by Jeff (JSK here on GJ.com) from Ranger Products / BendPak.
Here is a link to Ranger Products home page so you can check out some of their other products and get more info on this set up. The set that I am reviewing is the Ranger Products RTB-13DC 13 drawer roller tool chest with RTB-8DT 8 drawer top chest. The retail value of the set is approximately $1500.
I obviously have to start this off by thanking Jeff, Ranger Products and Garage Journal for giving me this awesome opportunity to take part in a cool contest with even cooler prizes. Ranger was absolutely awesome and covered everything including shipping from Cali to Jersey! I got my prize quickly and in great condition with no issues what so ever.
So without further ado, I finally got some time off after my short vacation to start getting acquainted with my new Ranger Tool chest. Unfortunately due to the limited space I’m dealing with right now, I haven’t really been able to transfer any tools into it on a major scale, but I did inspect it thoroughly and took measurements of EVERYTHING. I figure the best way to do this box and Ranger Products justice, would be to make this an “ask me anything about my Ranger box” thread rather than an opinion biased rave from a guy that couldn't’t be happier with a free gift. This will allow me to answer all of your questions objectively and keep this as unbiased as I possibly can. I’m not gonna lie, any company that gives me a free giant tool box, is good to go in my book and if don’t have any specific questions to answer, I could spend hours just raving about Ranger Products and my new treasure chest. So, I’ll start it off with some pictures and specific measurements that I think are important to anyone that would be looking to buy a box like this. I’ll include my initial observations and impressions which are obviously opinion and then I’ll leave it to you guys. Ask me whatever you want about the box. I’ll do everything in my power to answer you objectively and include pics if possible. I’ll supply any measurements that I can and I’ll do any tests that I can, short of purposely damaging the box. I’m not a professional mechanic, engineer or technician. I’m a hobbyist with a background in automotive repair work (I worked for a service station when I was in college) and performance automotive tuning and modification at all levels. So please excuse anything I might leave out.
My very first observation, which jumped out at me immediately, was the finish. The powder coating just seems to be such a better quality than the Craftsman boxes that I’m used to. The powder coating actually feels thicker (if that makes any sense) and the appearance is much deeper and glossier than the Craftsman’s that grace my garage next to it. The steel used to construct the boxes is heavy feeling and has at least the appearance of quality. The edges are rolled and finished all the way around and no sharp edges or burrs are left anywhere that I can see or feel. The drawers move very smoothly and actually pull themselves shut when they get to about ½” to an 1” of full closure. The sliders are secure and don’t have any play or movement side to side on the drawer edges. Overall, the drawer pull feel is very affirmative and gives you an instant feeling of quality and durability.
The drawer lay out allows for great organization and utilization of the space provided. I always hated that my Craftsman box had a drawer layout that almost forced me to waste a 5” deep drawer on something like pliers or screw drivers. Not at all the case here. This set has a perfectly laid out drawer scheme that maximizes the amount of space you have which is crucial for guys like me that need to take advantage of every last square inch of their garages in order to have room to work.
The drawer handles are sturdy and affixed in a much stronger manner than my Craftsman boxes. They are brushed aluminum and have a clean, smooth finish all the way around. They look like they’d clean up easily, but brushed aluminum always scares me when it comes to grease stains because the slightest amount of staining appears way worse than it really is, as specially to someone that’s OCD like me. I’ll have to keep up with that, but I don’t think it will be a major issue. The side handles on the top box are secure and sturdy, 2 on each side and the handles that come with the bottom box (delivered in the box, not installed) seem to be your standard tube type handles, nothing to report on them as I didn’t even bother putting them on the box.
Here are the measurements that I took so far, don’t hesitate to ask for additional measurements or pictures.
What you’ll gather from the pictures below is #1 that I have very little photography skill and even less photo editing skill. #2 and more importantly you’ll see a break down of the drawer dimensions throughout the entire set. I measured the inside area of the drawers. Also, the depth measurements were taken with the drawer liners installed. They were supplied by Ranger with the box and are very nice quality liners. They are about .012” thick. All measurements are taken as follows: Width is from left to right looking at the front face of the box. Length is from front to back and Depth is from the floor of a drawer to the top edge of its walls.
Here are some more measurements of the overall outside diameter of the set. If you have any issues reading or seeing these pictures, please let me know so I can fix it.
Here’s a pic of the set without my editing mess added in….
This is the top storage area of the top box. In the back wall you’ll see two square sections that intrude into the storage area. Those are the locking mechanisms which lock the drawers shut when the lid is closed. They extend 1 ¾” off the back wall of the box and really aren’t a big issue with space.
The top storage area measures 40 7/8” Wide X 16 3/8” Long X 2 3/8” Deep. The lid is secured with a welded in Piano Hinge type set up that appears very robust. The lid stays open via the help of two shock supports, one on either side.
Some other random measurements that I took:
From the back of the top box to the face of a fully extended drawer, measures 34 ¼” including the handle of the drawer. That was with the drawer maxed out to its stops. You’d probably need another 2 or 3” to actually remove a drawer from the box completely. The bottom box was 34 ½” from the back of the box to the face of the fully extended drawer.
The top box measures 41 ½” wide (from left to right), 18” from bottom to top open edge, 19 3/8” from bottom to top of closed lid and 35 ½” from bottom to top edge of open lid.
The bottom box has one large drawer as you can see in the pics above. That drawer also has two sets of drawer sliders per side.
It also has two lower drawers that are deeper than all the rest as seen in the measurement photo.
And finally, here are some random pics that I took since receiving my set. The first is a shot of the side handles, still in their wrappers, and the drawer labels that are included from Ranger. The drawer pull handles actually have a groove in them that allows you slip those white slats into them, stick on an identification sticker and then slide one of the clear plastic covers over it to keep it clean. It’s a very cool set up and nice addition to an already outstanding value.
Here is a link to Ranger Products home page so you can check out some of their other products and get more info on this set up. The set that I am reviewing is the Ranger Products RTB-13DC 13 drawer roller tool chest with RTB-8DT 8 drawer top chest. The retail value of the set is approximately $1500.
I obviously have to start this off by thanking Jeff, Ranger Products and Garage Journal for giving me this awesome opportunity to take part in a cool contest with even cooler prizes. Ranger was absolutely awesome and covered everything including shipping from Cali to Jersey! I got my prize quickly and in great condition with no issues what so ever.
So without further ado, I finally got some time off after my short vacation to start getting acquainted with my new Ranger Tool chest. Unfortunately due to the limited space I’m dealing with right now, I haven’t really been able to transfer any tools into it on a major scale, but I did inspect it thoroughly and took measurements of EVERYTHING. I figure the best way to do this box and Ranger Products justice, would be to make this an “ask me anything about my Ranger box” thread rather than an opinion biased rave from a guy that couldn't’t be happier with a free gift. This will allow me to answer all of your questions objectively and keep this as unbiased as I possibly can. I’m not gonna lie, any company that gives me a free giant tool box, is good to go in my book and if don’t have any specific questions to answer, I could spend hours just raving about Ranger Products and my new treasure chest. So, I’ll start it off with some pictures and specific measurements that I think are important to anyone that would be looking to buy a box like this. I’ll include my initial observations and impressions which are obviously opinion and then I’ll leave it to you guys. Ask me whatever you want about the box. I’ll do everything in my power to answer you objectively and include pics if possible. I’ll supply any measurements that I can and I’ll do any tests that I can, short of purposely damaging the box. I’m not a professional mechanic, engineer or technician. I’m a hobbyist with a background in automotive repair work (I worked for a service station when I was in college) and performance automotive tuning and modification at all levels. So please excuse anything I might leave out.
My very first observation, which jumped out at me immediately, was the finish. The powder coating just seems to be such a better quality than the Craftsman boxes that I’m used to. The powder coating actually feels thicker (if that makes any sense) and the appearance is much deeper and glossier than the Craftsman’s that grace my garage next to it. The steel used to construct the boxes is heavy feeling and has at least the appearance of quality. The edges are rolled and finished all the way around and no sharp edges or burrs are left anywhere that I can see or feel. The drawers move very smoothly and actually pull themselves shut when they get to about ½” to an 1” of full closure. The sliders are secure and don’t have any play or movement side to side on the drawer edges. Overall, the drawer pull feel is very affirmative and gives you an instant feeling of quality and durability.
The drawer lay out allows for great organization and utilization of the space provided. I always hated that my Craftsman box had a drawer layout that almost forced me to waste a 5” deep drawer on something like pliers or screw drivers. Not at all the case here. This set has a perfectly laid out drawer scheme that maximizes the amount of space you have which is crucial for guys like me that need to take advantage of every last square inch of their garages in order to have room to work.
The drawer handles are sturdy and affixed in a much stronger manner than my Craftsman boxes. They are brushed aluminum and have a clean, smooth finish all the way around. They look like they’d clean up easily, but brushed aluminum always scares me when it comes to grease stains because the slightest amount of staining appears way worse than it really is, as specially to someone that’s OCD like me. I’ll have to keep up with that, but I don’t think it will be a major issue. The side handles on the top box are secure and sturdy, 2 on each side and the handles that come with the bottom box (delivered in the box, not installed) seem to be your standard tube type handles, nothing to report on them as I didn’t even bother putting them on the box.
Here are the measurements that I took so far, don’t hesitate to ask for additional measurements or pictures.
What you’ll gather from the pictures below is #1 that I have very little photography skill and even less photo editing skill. #2 and more importantly you’ll see a break down of the drawer dimensions throughout the entire set. I measured the inside area of the drawers. Also, the depth measurements were taken with the drawer liners installed. They were supplied by Ranger with the box and are very nice quality liners. They are about .012” thick. All measurements are taken as follows: Width is from left to right looking at the front face of the box. Length is from front to back and Depth is from the floor of a drawer to the top edge of its walls.
Here are some more measurements of the overall outside diameter of the set. If you have any issues reading or seeing these pictures, please let me know so I can fix it.
Here’s a pic of the set without my editing mess added in….
This is the top storage area of the top box. In the back wall you’ll see two square sections that intrude into the storage area. Those are the locking mechanisms which lock the drawers shut when the lid is closed. They extend 1 ¾” off the back wall of the box and really aren’t a big issue with space.
The top storage area measures 40 7/8” Wide X 16 3/8” Long X 2 3/8” Deep. The lid is secured with a welded in Piano Hinge type set up that appears very robust. The lid stays open via the help of two shock supports, one on either side.
Some other random measurements that I took:
From the back of the top box to the face of a fully extended drawer, measures 34 ¼” including the handle of the drawer. That was with the drawer maxed out to its stops. You’d probably need another 2 or 3” to actually remove a drawer from the box completely. The bottom box was 34 ½” from the back of the box to the face of the fully extended drawer.
The top box measures 41 ½” wide (from left to right), 18” from bottom to top open edge, 19 3/8” from bottom to top of closed lid and 35 ½” from bottom to top edge of open lid.
The bottom box has one large drawer as you can see in the pics above. That drawer also has two sets of drawer sliders per side.
It also has two lower drawers that are deeper than all the rest as seen in the measurement photo.
And finally, here are some random pics that I took since receiving my set. The first is a shot of the side handles, still in their wrappers, and the drawer labels that are included from Ranger. The drawer pull handles actually have a groove in them that allows you slip those white slats into them, stick on an identification sticker and then slide one of the clear plastic covers over it to keep it clean. It’s a very cool set up and nice addition to an already outstanding value.
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