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Heavy Equipment Job Box Ideas

OldSchoolSS

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Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
204
Hey Guys,

I just took a new position at work which allows me to turn a wrench instead of sit behind a computer all day. :thumbup:

One of my first projects is to organize our job box that I along with several other co-workers will take on service calls. Most of the hardware we work on requires a 3/4" socket/wrench or larger. We have a lot of safety hoist rings and lifting straps. We also have a porta power, a few jacks, some penetrating lubricant, solvents, and a lot of random **** in there. I have a few good ideas but I know some of you guys on here are a lot better at this stuff than I am. If you guys have a nicely organized work site job box and could post up some pictures/ideas I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Scott
 

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David W

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Apr 4, 2011
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Location
K.C. MO
I would hope that there is a company truck with a utility bed. Ae you seriously considering a roll around tool or job box thrown into a regular pickup bed for your service calls?
 

rsanter

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Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
18,521
Location
visalia ca
small to medium box trailer
set it up, show up, open the back and work out of it

have a workbench with vise
toolbox
storage cabinets

likly a 5x8 could do it

bob
 

Gmonkee

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Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
2,852
The key items in the kit where I worked were :

32 ton bottle jack

50 ton bottle jack

long pry bar, heavy duty

3/4 drive socket set with a spare breaker bar

short, medium and monster cheater pipes

wood blocks, lots of then from 1" thick to several 24" tall steel structures. Supporting the machine safely is key.

Chains to use for lifting or safety supports for motors, trans or moving parts, related bolts to fit the task

lots of covered buckets and two catch trays for oil.

a selection of caps and plugs for hydraulic lines

All this in addition to the regular tools one would expect for any normal job. The D8 crawlers to the backhoe tractors we just kneejerked and packed it all, never really knowing how bad things could be on site. Thankfully most times we didn't need most of it.
 
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OldSchoolSS

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Mar 19, 2008
Messages
204
We just throw the box in the back of our one ton pickup. Most of the jobs we have access to a crane or a fork lift so we can unload the box and have it taken in close to where we're working. It sure makes those lumber wagon super duty fords ride like a caddy when it's in back.

I'm not sure if a utility truck or trailer would be ideal for our type of work. Sometimes we're 200-500 feet below the ground in pump stations
 

rsanter

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Dec 22, 2007
Messages
18,521
Location
visalia ca
What size access do you have to these places?
If a trailer wont do it then you need to look at some of the pit carts or crash carts

Bob
 

innealtoir

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Aug 24, 2013
Messages
89
Location
New England
Do you have an inventory for the box you want to organize? My first suggestion would be to inventory the box and then sit down and think about if you have more items that *need* to be in the box. I would also suggest looking at if you are bringing in any consumable that requires an MSDS on site and incorporating a three ring binder with the MSDS in it into your layout plan for the gang box. This will cut down on a ton of headache when a client asks for the MSDS. Have a small area of the box dedicated to the consumables that require an MSDS, so that it is easier to track them.

Once you have an inventory going I would suggest emptying the box completely. Straighten your bent shelving and brace it up as required. The issue with those type of stand up gang boxes is that the shelves are that rugged, so heavy rigging or tools causes them to bend.

If this is going to be your gang box I would suggest adding more rigging points to the outside of the box not only so that it can be picked if required from these points, but also for transport. These work really well for tie downs http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Ratch...Ring-Tie-downs/Rotating-Pan-Fitting-6-000-Lbs . Knaack actually sells a tie down / rigging point kit for a lot of their gang boxes which maybe worth checking into. (Tall gang boxes have a tendency to get top heavy and take a ride off the fork truck, haha.) Once your box is all together with everything in it I would suggest weighing it and putting the weight on the outside of the box. This makes it a lot easier for the operator and the guy helping with the rigging to grab the right rigging and equipment to get your box where you need it.

You haven't really quantified what type of work you are doing out of the box. Are you doing a lot of millwright work, pipefitting, or ironworking? What trade predominately works out of the box? Even non-union wise a guy may be flexible enough to work in several trades, but he usually identifies with one trade most of the time. You should use this to tailor how the box is laid out. There is no reason to setup a welder's box like a millwright would setup theirs.

I would ditch the bags and look at putting in drawers. Bags and buckets are great to carry tools into to the actually job, but they **** for organization. Everything just gets thrown on top of everything else inside the bag or bucket. Keep the number of bags or buckets required to bring the items to your direct worksite and ditch the rest. My gang box has the bottom half of a 6 drawer (off the top of my head) tool box installed in it along with stainless steel bins and slides. IMHO, it is all about organization and maximizing the amount of space you have.

I am OCD about my gang box and inventory what goes in / what goes out just like it was a CTK on the flightline! It is very frustrating to me when a crew that is working for me spends half of the time rummaging through their gang boxes and the other half always "running for a tool". If you are organized and everything has its place your are much more efficient.

As far as the crash carts or pit carts, imho, they aren't for construction sites. A gang box needs to be rugged enough to be transported many times by fork truck or crane, withstand night shift trying to pry the doors open, and should also imply I'm a field guy here ready to work not a shop guy out for the day ;).
 
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