HF US General Boxes, Are They Worth It?

[Renegade1LI]

Just got back from hf, ordered 72" top and bottom, probably 2 wks to come in, lol I went with an empty truck, oh well, it's good to wait, not. Time to rebuild where they have to go.

 

[Mr.Smoke]

I looked, didn't see any US dealer for stryker boxes, I think I feel pretty comfortable buying the HF US G boxes. Just comparing net weights they are up there with the best, hopefully the metals in the right places, & honestly a 2k investment isn't life changing nor does it mean I have to keep them forever. I hate how some guys say last box or tool I'm ever buying, ok, I never say never, a great deal could fall in my lap tomorrow, I have no sentimental attachment to tools.

Styrke only has a few dealers so far, all of which are in Canada. They do ship to the US though but it would be nearly impossible physically examine one of their boxes before purchase. Mine should be (is planned to be) the last box I ever need for work purposes as the size is well beyond what I need to store the necessary tools for my trade. A 53" to 55" would have sufficed, but anything of good quality, new, would cost as much as or more than the 72" Styrke so so it made sense for me. Glad to hear you made a decision and hopefully it arrives soon and you can get settled into it.

That isn't a little bit more, that is more than four times the price. They look like nice boxes, but I doubt they are four times as nice.

The Styrke box is priced in Canadian dollars, not US dollars so I doubt it being four times as expensive after currency conversion. They aren't meant to be decent and affordable boxes. They are meant to compete with tool truck brands at a fraction of the price. Certainly won't be for everyone, but they are a good option to at least consider I think.

 

[Jayman17]

Renegade, did you get the green?

Jay

 

[Renegade1LI]

Renegade, did you get the green?

Jay

No, I went with the blue, they had the green in the store and the finish was real nice. None were in stock, all had to be ordered, now I have to sell my red 5 drawer cart and side cabinet.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Mr.smoke, I'm in no rush, once I knew it wasn't coming home with me and it was paid for it didn't matter. Good luck with your me styker, they look great!

 

[Mr.Smoke]

Mr.smoke, I'm in no rush, once I knew it wasn't coming home with me and it was paid for it didn't matter. Good luck with your me styker, they look great!

I hear ya! When I really looked into Styrke initially I pretty much knew it eould be what I ended up with. I'd prefer to get into mine sooner as I desperatly need more space (specifically deeper and wider drawers for new larger things I've purchased) but waiting works out as I didn't want to pull that much from my savings, so I can pay off the balance owing between now and when it's ready to ship.

Thanks! I made a thread which will document everything involving my purchase, layout/setup and so much more. Want to have a good review for people to find when considering a box from them. I hope your new one works out great. Best of luck to you as well.

 

[Lucid Moments]

The Styrke box is priced in Canadian dollars, not US dollars so I doubt it being four times as expensive after currency conversion. They aren't meant to be decent and affordable boxes. They are meant to compete with tool truck brands at a fraction of the price. Certainly won't be for everyone, but they are a good option to at least consider I think.

I missed that it was in Canadian dollars so you are right, it isn't four times as much, but it is still darn near triple the price and not even close to just a little more.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I missed that it was in Canadian dollars so you are right, it isn't four times as much, but it is still darn near triple the price and not even close to just a little more.

Sryke is nice stuff, but not available around here, no dealers coming up.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Now that I bought the boxes, I think I'm going to buy 2 side lockers & that will give me the storage I need, for the price it wound't pay to build a wood cabinet. plus they'll match!

 

[whateg01]

Now that I bought the boxes, I think I'm going to buy 2 side lockers & that will give me the storage I need, for the price it wound't pay to build a wood cabinet. plus they'll match!

I was looking at building mine, but wood has skyrocketed lately, so by the time I buy the hardware and the wood, I'm at near the cost of the US General boxes. I lose the ability to customize them to my needs, but for the price, it's hard to justify it.

Dave

 

[Renegade1LI]

The side lockers are 220$ each it's really a no brainer, 3 shelves, a drawer plus room to customize a little.

 

[Lucid Moments]

I have a US General 72" box myself and am very happy with it BTW. I agree with what just about everyone else has said. I wish the latches had full length releases and I wish it was deeper. It would be nice to be able to keep my 24" breaker bar in the same drawer with the rest of my ratchets. Some other stuff that would be nice, but at the end of the day I am a hobbiest and am not willing to pay what it would take to get all of what I want.

 

[will335i]

I went into the local harbor freight yesterday and I was looking at the USG boxes dreaming about a day they will be available in white.

I noticed that the 44" box they had on display didn't have the drawer latches. Is that right? Or are they updating the boxes and getting rid of the loathsome latches?

 

[Lucid Moments]

I went into the local harbor freight yesterday and I was looking at the USG boxes dreaming about a day they will be available in white.

I noticed that the 44" box they had on display didn't have the drawer latches. Is that right? Or are they updating the boxes and getting rid of the loathsome latches?

I have a 44" box too that I inherited from a friend and it doesn't have the latches either. It is a few years old, but I believe current generation so this isn't particularly new.

 

[anavrinIV]

I went into the local harbor freight yesterday and I was looking at the USG boxes dreaming about a day they will be available in white.

I noticed that the 44" box they had on display didn't have the drawer latches. Is that right? Or are they updating the boxes and getting rid of the loathsome latches?

No not getting rid of them, 44 has never had them

 

[Renegade1LI]

I never liked the latches when I first got the 5 drawer cart but once I got used to them you bon't think about them. I agree Lucid for the price they are a pretty good compromise, I think they will work fine, needed a color change anyway.

 

[whateg01]

They have some of them at the local makerspace and I hate having to reach across to the latch. I like the griplatch system on Craftsman. I don't recall what they called it on other waterloo boxes, but it can be released from anywhere you can reach the drawer.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Well double good news, my boxes are in plus I got another 20% off for joining ITC so I got both boxes for 1550$, I have to say HF has been really good with doing the right thing, manager said the additional discount is for one item a day but he said NP and marked them both down. I think I'll get the matching cart when I go back to pick them up, I'll have my wife open a CC so I can get 30% off as well, it definitely pays to talk to the manager.

 

[justanengineer]

My former employer tried USG boxes briefly for plant maintenance, our guys thoroughly wore out the casters and slides within a few years and had to cobble until management ponied up for new Listas. The major downside of USG is that parts support is nonexistent so when you have an issue you’re stuck cobbling or scrapping the box - no thanks, and no they don’t make exceptions for corporate customers with dozens of their boxes. JMO but I’d find a deal on a professional quality box, prices are way down atm thanks to the recent mass layoffs, massive inflation, and crumbling economy. Granted, you don’t get the satisfaction of “new” but you avoid depreciation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr_B]

casters not exactly hard source and HF do do the slides ...

 

[M635_Guy]

My former employer tried USG boxes briefly for plant maintenance, our guys thoroughly wore out the casters and slides within a few years and had to cobble until management ponied up for new Listas. The major downside of USG is that parts support is nonexistent so when you have an issue you’re stuck cobbling or scrapping the box - no thanks, and no they don’t make exceptions for corporate customers with dozens of their boxes. JMO but I’d find a deal on a professional quality box, prices are way down atm thanks to the recent mass layoffs, massive inflation, and crumbling economy. Granted, you don’t get the satisfaction of “new” but you avoid depreciation.

HF isn't really designed to do business with commercial entities.

In it's price-range (at or slightly above the box-store boxes) everything in the USG line smacks the consumer-stuff down. Just talking straight. That said, if you're going to bring that kind of stuff into a big commercial environment, you are going beyond the design intent and (especially) the support structure put in place behind it.

HF isn't designing products to get rolled all over a facility and get opened and closed vastly more often than essentially everyone who it was designed for. Designing for more would add useless cost for a business they're not in.

So all that's on your former employer and whatever genius had the idea to begin with.

Buying heavier-grade casters (which are already higher-grade than the box-store-stuff) and spares ahead of time would have probably worked out OK, but you get designed-for-the-use or suffer.

None of that has anything to do with even the most serious home-gamer, and likely easily up to most regular shop environments.

casters not exactly hard source and HF do do the slides ...

wat?

 

[Mr_B]

^
what !
pretty much same as your point but shorter :-!
Casters are easy sourced with same mount pattern from various sources
HF actually can supply replacement slides .
Would of thought a commercial maintenance outfit been able keep them rolling and drawers sliding to point frame welds started failing .
certainly no big deal do casters and few slides at least once extend the life few years more.
I used a 56" box on a short term contract job rolling around a lot and on fork lift to different buildings, casters got changed and had extra u channel points added to bottom frame for forks but rest held up well .

 

[Renegade1LI]

For me these boxes will last forever, once in place they're never rolling till we move, I'm replacing some cm boxes from 1985, I don't beat them up either. After setting them up I will say they are pretty solid, drawers are aligned and everything feels good so far, hardest part was unloading from truck.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Well boxes are in garage, now to get them in their spot, funny they looked much smaller in the store, also added the matching 5 drawer cart, manager gave it to me for 153$, 40% off.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Looks good.

People go on and on about the white, green and yellow boxes but I think the blue just looks classy.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Looks good.

People go on and on about the white, green and yellow boxes but I think the blue just looks classy.

Thanks!

 

[PelicanPines]

I would kill for a way to get those blue boxes... same setup you have Renegade... exactly... upper, lower... with 26" lower to use as a drill press stand.

I don't have a truck... I have a subaru... I can get the 26" boxes... uhm... 1 at a time in... nothing bigger.

 

[Renegade1LI]

You're In Jersey, if you were a little closer I'd help you out or you could rent the home depot truck for 20$, just a thought.

 

[unslow1]

You're In Jersey, if you were a little closer I'd help you out or you could rent the home depot truck for 20$, just a thought.

I know several people that have rented the Menard's trucks for things other than Menard's supplies. My family rented a Uhaul a couple of weeks ago for $30 just because nobody wanted to unload their enclosed trailers in the snow/rain just to move a bunch of furniture.

 

[Aaron_W]

I would kill for a way to get those blue boxes... same setup you have Renegade... exactly... upper, lower... with 26" lower to use as a drill press stand.

I don't have a truck... I have a subaru... I can get the 26" boxes... uhm... 1 at a time in... nothing bigger.

Uhaul isn't a bad deal for something like that, $20 / day and I think $1 / mile. When I was without a truck I'd rent a pickup or van a couple times a year for dump runs or moving large items. If you have a long trip that makes the $1 / mile uneconomical they also offer a higher daily rate (around $100 /day) with unlimited mileage.

 

[javyLSU]

You're In Jersey, if you were a little closer I'd help you out or you could rent the home depot truck for 20$, just a thought.

That's exactly what I've done for every large box I've bought from Harbor Freight - rent a truck from Home Depot, drive right down the street to HF to pick up box, and roll the new box off the ramp into my garage. Easy peezy, and cost me $29.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Well I looked the boxes over very carefully, actually my wife did & the spot weld marks are somewhat visible on the chest lid. Not a big deal & I looked at the floor displays & they all have it, so I called tech support anyway. Well they were very eager to do the right thing, but there was no guarantee a new box would be any better, plus they were 3 weeks out. The customer service rep says hold on a minute, comes back & asks if a 100$ gift card would be acceptable, I can't see the top any way plus they look fine so I sad sure & took the 100$. I have to say HF really showed their great customer service, beyond what I would expect, very happy with how I was treated, cudos to HF!

 

[Renegade1LI]

Well, I stuffed 10 lbs of tool box into a 5lb spot, lol but it fits! I was unsure of the blue but now I really like it, might have to swap the two black husky boxes for blue, any need a husky box 46 x 18?

 

[Renegade1LI]

Got bit by the US General bug this week plus the 30% off accessories is a nice bonus, I guess I just have to get the 26"top chest to go with the bottom. 10% off anything coupon coming Monday with free gift.

 

[Bluedodge]

Well double good news, my boxes are in plus I got another 20% off for joining ITC so I got both boxes for 1550$, I have to say HF has been really good with doing the right thing, manager said the additional discount is for one item a day but he said NP and marked them both down. I think I'll get the matching cart when I go back to pick them up, I'll have my wife open a CC so I can get 30% off as well, it definitely pays to talk to the manager.

That's a smoking deal!

If HF woulda had the 72" tops a few years ago when I was in the market, this would have been a no-brainer. I grabbed a Frontier 72" top & bottom from Rural King instead. They're fine for my limited homeowner use, but the HF is just a little beefier.

 

[Mr_B]

when you can get that much box for 1550 bucks and it fair quality you can't complain.
Be worth most people doing ITC if planning large purchase and want proper good deal.
Good manager makes all the difference too .

 

[joey1320]

Got bit by the US General bug this week plus the 30% off accessories is a nice bonus, I guess I just have to get the 26"top chest to go with the bottom. 10% off anything coupon coming Monday with free gift.

You owe that manager a twelve pack.
Those are amazing deals.
Boxes look phenomenal.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Thanks. The manager loaded them into my truck and I gave him a generous tip, plus when I got home I noticed there were two 4' levels on the top box. In the interest of fairness I returned them the next day to him when I went for the cart, I ended up with the 5 drawer cart for 153$, pays to be honest, he couldn't believe someone would return them. If you are making a big purchase it makes sense to join itc, plus today I saved 21$ on accessories with the 30% off, I'm way ahead, going back each day for the 5 items.

 

[Aaron_W]

Well, I stuffed 10 lbs of tool box into a 5lb spot, lol but it fits! I was unsure of the blue but now I really like it, might have to swap the two black husky boxes for blue, any need a husky box 46 x 18?

I was torn between red, blue and yellow. Red is kind of a traditional tool box color so I was kind of leaning that way. I wasn't even considering yellow until I saw them and have to admit they would add a nice bit of color to the usual black, greys and greens that dominate most shops. I thought the blue looked nice but was on the fence. The debate was made very easy for me, they were having a good sale and the only color that they had both the 26" and 46" boxes in stock was blue. I've been happy with the "choice" and they go well alongside the blue welder.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I guess I got bit buy the blue color bug! Anyone else buy all the matching accessories? Even the mig torch holder matches, great marketing on hf's part. I'll not usually a matching type of person, my socks rarely match.