Need another rollaway. Which brand?

[dr0]

After 35 years I've outgrown my old Craftsman rollaway. Affectionately known as "Holmes" for obvious reasons.

I am probably looking to add another one -- something under 54" wide but if I relocate the compressor I can go to 80 inches wide.

Is there any major difference between the stuff I will find at Lowes, Home Depot, Harbor Freight or Ace? Are any of these brands / model lines much better than the others?

From some inspection of stuff at my local Home Depot, they don't look as nicely put together as my old one, but my use-case isn't heavy duty professional use.

Here is the current one: (with vintage skateboard / bmx sticker collection)



I would like more thin drawers, I have a lof of wrenches, I work on motorcycles mostly. And then some deep ones for the home repair electric tools.

 

[crewchief888]

I would take a look in person at what’s available locally, and then make a decision,
Personally anything with the craftsman logo on it I would avoid

 

[mrklean]

In the lower 48 states, I'd keep my eye out on FB Marketplace.

US General / Icon (Harbor Freight) in those larger box sizes I've had great luck with. The tool carts and other small boxes are meh quality, but I've had a 42" US General for ~10 years now and really like it. I just bought a 54" US General lower to go with it. Plenty sturdy. If you need to park a dump truck on top of your box to prove it's strong enough for you're use, you need to think about your life choices.... 'lest in my opinion.

Obviously, the tool truck brands are great too, but you'll be walking with a pep in your step from the weight out of your wallet. The benefit of watching FB marketplace is that surprisingly these $$$ boxes come across cheap as well. Unfortunately for the seller, but fortunately for you, the automotive industry is ripe with salesman and the longstanding idea that you need high end tools to do a good job. So, lots of "kids" get into the field, spend way too many paychecks on tools early on, and then get burnt on flat rate, have a ****** boss, or find out they're just not good mechanics. And when they need to pay off their bar tab, or have an angry girlfriend, you swoop in. Have to be quick to the punch on these sales though.

Thankfully with buying house brand stuff from the big tool stores, they have plenty of demos on the floor. You're going to get what you pay for. Menards has Masterforce, which from what I've touched in the stores, seems solid, but does command a bit more money. I think Lowes sells a "Montezuma" box or some name like that, brushed steel box with wood top. These start to get flimsy, imo, but they usually go on super sale often. Lowe's also does Kobalt and maybe Craftman boxes now, I have no experience with the modern brands of those.

Not sure what's at the Homeless Despot, we don't have one near me. I know they like to peddle Milwaukee though? And I think they even make boxes now?

 

[u2slow]

My 41" Costco box is really solid. 36" Mastercraft is rather flimsy and one drawer is shot; its the newest one ironically. My 24" Craftsman is in-between.

 

[dr0]

In the lower 48 states, I'd keep my eye out on FB Marketplace.

US General / Icon (Harbor Freight) in those larger box sizes I've had great luck with. The tool carts and other small boxes are meh quality, but I've had a 42" US General for ~10 years now and really like it. I just bought a 54" US General lower to go with it. Plenty sturdy. If you need to park a dump truck on top of your box to prove it's strong enough for you're use, you need to think about your life choices.... 'lest in my opinion.

Obviously, the tool truck brands are great too, but you'll be walking with a pep in your step from the weight out of your wallet. The benefit of watching FB marketplace is that surprisingly these $$$ boxes come across cheap as well. Unfortunately for the seller, but fortunately for you, the automotive industry is ripe with salesman and the longstanding idea that you need high end tools to do a good job. So, lots of "kids" get into the field, spend way too many paychecks on tools early on, and then get burnt on flat rate, have a ****** boss, or find out they're just not good mechanics. And when they need to pay off their bar tab, or have an angry girlfriend, you swoop in. Have to be quick to the punch on these sales though.

Thankfully with buying house brand stuff from the big tool stores, they have plenty of demos on the floor. You're going to get what you pay for. Menards has Masterforce, which from what I've touched in the stores, seems solid, but does command a bit more money. I think Lowes sells a "Montezuma" box or some name like that, brushed steel box with wood top. These start to get flimsy, imo, but they usually go on super sale often. Lowe's also does Kobalt and maybe Craftman boxes now, I have no experience with the modern brands of those.

Not sure what's at the Homeless Despot, we don't have one near me. I know they like to peddle Milwaukee though? And I think they even make boxes now?

Much appreciated! Some good ideas I had not thought of.

 

[dr0]

Not sure what's at the Homeless Despot, we don't have one near me. I know they like to peddle Milwaukee though? And I think they even make boxes now?

They have Husky and Milwaukee at the local HD. They Milwaukee are a bit pricier.
In Home Depot's world most wider tool chests come with a wooden cutting board style top, and are classified as "mobile workbenches".


This seemed pretty cheesy..

 

[Colin Len]

Be careful with the box store offerings like Husky and Cobalt. They have different lines so some of them are flimsy garbage and others are pretty decent quality. You kinda have to feel them in person to know for sure.

I've bought a handful of boxes over the past 15yrs as I outgrow one and upgrade. So far, US General is just the best option, IMO. Better quality than the vast majority of what's available from HD/Lowes. And, in my experience, looking for used truck brand boxes is a waste of time. In my area people want insane prices for these unless they're OLD. And the old boxes maybe sturdy but often have subpar slides and hardware compared to more modern boxes. Each time I've been in the need for a box I've shopped around and ultimately come back around to US General just being the absolute sweet spot between cost and quality.

If I were rich, I'd buy SnapOn or something. But being a "normal" person I'm gonna stick with US General and put my savings towards car parts and other tools.

 

[captain14]

You might get a better price if you can wait for the Fathers Days sales also. They should start showing up in about 45 days.

 

[Colin Len]

You might get a better price if you can wait for the Fathers Days sales also. They should start showing up in about 45 days.

Better yet, Memorial day is even sooner.

 

[Spareparts]

Pull the top drawer all the way out, grab both corners and give it a little twist, that will give you of the quality
of the box, bigger drawer's should have dual sliders. I had a 42" Husky from H.D. it was the biggest piece of ****
I ever bought, sliders gave out after a year, then the casters. Replaced it with same size box from HF, it has lasted 13 yrs
and still going strong. I worked at a Golf Course for 11 yrs after retiring,loved it but we had a problem with theft, break in and steal
everything that was ORANGE," Steihl", tried to get my box but it was anchored to the floor. After the new box was loaded and secured in place took the old box and filled the drawers about half full of sand, secured the drawers with a piece of flat bar and an old
lock, Well they broke in again, yeap they rolled the old box out. I just wish I could have seen their face when they got it open
especially the note in the bottom drawer :Thanks for hauling this piece of sh## off.

 

[m6z]

I'm really happy with my Homak RS pro I bought a few years back.

 

[Imatk]

I have that Husky (or one that's very similar) I like it... the wood scratches pretty easily though.

 

[dvblanch]

Any reason not to to keep the bottom & add a 12 drawer top chest?. If you need different storage space HF does have some side cabinets that could be attached. You could reuse your 2 drawer top box as a road box or even for a plumbing or electrical tool & supply box.

 

[bp460]

If there is a Menards in your region, check out their Masterforce boxes. They are the best bang for your buck. I have 2 of the 36" lower boxes. Better quality than the HF box.

Tool Chests at Menards®

Organize your tools with our selection of tool chests and boxes, available in a variety of styles.

www.menards.com

 

[MushCreek]

I have two US General (Harbor Freight) 42" boxes that have been great. One is around 20 years old, and is chock-full of very heavy tool and die tools, plus a granite surface plate on top. I used it daily in the trade for years, and it always performed well. I can't imagine needing any more ($$$) tool chest. I think I paid $289 for the first one; I think they've gone up a bit since then. I agree with the advice of looking at them in person. I've seen some big-box store models that seemed very flimsy.

 

[rsparks64]

After 35 years I've outgrown my old Craftsman rollaway. Affectionately known as "Holmes" for obvious reasons.

I am probably looking to add another one -- something under 54" wide but if I relocate the compressor I can go to 80 inches wide.

I have a Milwaukee roller with the wooden top, multiple varied size drawers and a storage compartment. It also has the metal peg board back which can be removed. It is quite sturdy and well built. I waited until it went on sale. It came from HD. I also have a small Husky from HD. It is okay but nearly as well built as the Milwaukee. However, I got it for a great price on sale and it serves its purpose. I also got a nice stacked one from Costco a few years ago and it is also quite sturdy. It is labeled as a “Kirkland” brand so I don’t know who really made it. I haven’t seen that particular one at Costco since.

 

[John in OH]

I haven't been in the tool box market for some time now, but when I was most boxes were only 16" to 18" deep. Now, many boxes are 20" to 24" deep (front to rear). If you like the deeper drawers, that will eliminate some of the available boxes. For instance, I don't recall seeing any 20"-24" drawer Cman boxes at Lowes. But many of the HD Husky boxes are deeper.

Also, your preferred drawer configuration will dictate what brand boxes to consider. I like lots of "shallow" drawers (top to bottom drawer height) but some boxes (like the Milwaukee) have too many deep ... maybe good for storing you circular saw but no good for general hand tools.