Road Chests

[hsnedigar]

Howdy everybody

I've been looking for a road chest to throw in my service truck. Truck has a STHAL box with six compartments. Only two of those compartments have shelves, I can put my dewalt tote and a mac satchel in there no problem. But I hate throwing a heap of tools in a tote no organization and easier to forget something at a customers.

I don't want to pay for a Snappy, Mac, or Matco box cause its just gonna get beat up. any thoughts.

 

[Packard V8]

Good boxes cost because they are built to stand the work. The cheapo boxes will literally drop the bottom out when pounded over the road with a heavy load.

jack vines

 

[DieselSaves]

Waterloo makes a reinforced road chest in the $600 range and Montezuma and others sell a road box without drawers in a similar price range. I'd say go used but my experiences are that none ever show up on CL.

 

[zkling]

Something without drawers like the Montezuma Diesel mentioned would probably be cheaper and better in the long run. Riding around the back of a truck/van/service vehicle is one of if not the worst loading a box can see.

If you really wanted drawers it seems either pony up the money for a true, purpose built road chest. Or buy standard grade boxes and consider them disposable.

A member here down in the fab forum, but some awesome road chests for off road duty. Much better built than majority of the commercial built ones. Then there is Crewcheif's famous basic craftsman box that has been welded, welded and rewelded as needed. Hopefully he will chime in here. For a while I had a kennedy 520 riding around in my trunk and realized that it was slowly, but surely killing it. Even in on road vehicles, the small bumps and vibrations really take a toll. True fatigue.

Just my 2¢

O and one thing to mention, just because it has a drop front cover does not mean it is a true road chest as some people seem to think. Snap On only made like 2 or 3 different true road chests. The rest were just top boxes. Matco and Mac made one that I know of, possibly others. I think craftsman did and still does, but it is a order only thing and it ain't cheap.

 

[ladrones]

I have been looking for a box to tote tools around in my 1/2 ton work truck. I need the most of the bed space to haul parts/supplies so a across the bed box would not work out to well.

I have been looking at this Proto one:
http://www.tools-plus.com/proto-too...63423-5RD-RB&gclid=CLmsws_qk74CFRWRfgodHLsAMw


I am going to talk to my snap-on dealer about pricing on the snap-on version as well. I will show him the proto one.

Another one I will look into is a pack rat box that is about half a bed wide.

 

[zkling]

I have been looking for a box to tote tools around in my 1/2 ton work truck. I need the most of the bed space to haul parts/supplies so a across the bed box would not work out to well.

I have been looking at this Proto one:
http://www.tools-plus.com/proto-too...63423-5RD-RB&gclid=CLmsws_qk74CFRWRfgodHLsAMw


I am going to talk to my snap-on dealer about pricing on the snap-on version as well. I will show him the proto one.

Another one I will look into is a pack rat box that is about half a bed wide.

I've fondled one of those in person, they are freaking stout. They use a drawer slide system like industrial cabinets such as lista, vidmar, etc. Compared to most standard tool boxes that use ball bearing slides.

 

[hsnedigar]

That Proto one.............D@mn!!!!!!!!!! very nice looking but I think if I bropped that kind of coin on a box my wife would castrate me.

I've seen International has a claimed to be road chest in the 500 600 range. But then again it might just have the front flap with no sealing element. Talked to my Mac guy a few months ago and he suggested the Mac one I think it was about 800 or 900, then we thumbed through the proto book same fricking box for half the price but he cant order it from Stanley for what ever dumb reason.

JD has one if you like that overly used green color, and it looks identical to the waterloo one.

 

[colin39]

I used to use this one



but it was a blue point box, very well made went over in my van on the odd occasion, before it was bolted down.

Was previously loved payed £250 for it, gave it to apprentice last year still goin well.

 

[Matt_C]

I work exclusively mobile, and have done for the majority of the last ten years (bar a small ~8 month stint as a resident fitter 5 or 6 years ago), and I swear by my Snap On box. I've tried others (not brands you'd be familiar with in the US) and none can stand up to life on the road - my Snap On KRA59 is probably 20 years old (bought used), and been on my van(s) for the past ten years (even when I was resident fitter, it lived on my work van) and is still straight and true. All I've busted on it has been one of the spot welds on a drawer runner (which was my fault as I tried to close the sliding door while the drawer was still open), which I fixed easily with a stainless rivet and a 5mm drill bit, and it's had a few holes drilled through it here and there to make anchor points for bolting into racking. Hasn't had the lid on for the last 4 or so years either (no room for it)

Absolutely swear by it - love that box! The only thing is, I could do with a bit more space now, as my tooling is outgrowing it a bit. But virtually no more expansion room in my current vehicle

 

[bobcatdan]

First off measure what will fit in your truck. I have a kra 62c and it would not fit in my side compartment. I used normal friction slide craftsman top and middle. The boxes held up fine during my time on the road for 10 years or so. The road will beat anything up, but a good craftsman will hold up fine on the road. When it is junk by a new one. For what a SO road box cost, it can stay home and stay pretty.

 

[Allenw]

That Proto one.............D@mn!!!!!!!!!! very nice looking but I think if I bropped that kind of coin on a box my wife would castrate me.

JD has one if you like that overly used green color, and it looks identical to the waterloo one.

I've looked at one at JD and didn't think it would stand up, don't know if it is the same one your talking about though.

A lot of Montezuma boxes riding on farmers trucks around here. My problem is I would like to have some thing I can switch easily from vehicle to vehicle or some times not carry at all.

 

[bobcatdan]

The JD one is pretty decent. When I worked for a Deere dealer, one of the road techs had one and he had no complaints.

 

[crewchief888]

Riding around the back of a truck/van/service vehicle is one of if not the worst loading a box can see.

If you really wanted drawers it seems either pony up the money for a true, purpose built road chest. Or buy standard grade boxes and consider them disposable.

Then there is Crewcheif's famous basic craftsman box that has been welded, welded and rewelded as needed. Hopefully he will chime in here. True fatigue.

Just my 2¢

O and one thing to mention, just because it has a drop front cover does not mean it is a true road chest as some people seem to think. Snap On only made like 2 or 3 different true road chests. The rest were just top boxes. Matco and Mac made one that I know of, possibly others. I think craftsman did and still does, but it is a order only thing and it ain't cheap.

well as requested by zkling

i've had this CM top box in 2 different service trucks since '04.

it's served duty in the back of my pickup hauling tools back and forth to the race shop, and spent 1 summer in the race trailer

it's HEAVILY overloaded, the "frame" is broken in several places, the stamped in slide "holders" in the frame for the bottom drawer ripped out 3 years ago, so the bottom drawer is just laying there

it's a std CM 26"wide X 18"deep picked it up for $250

i've been in service trucks for 15 years or so, and every toolbox i've used has self-destructed over time.

SO has an awesome true road chest,
but most service bodies dont have a big enough door

 

[hsnedigar]

Hey whatever gets the job done is all im concerned about if I need to beef it up or weld the thing back together I can, i was kinda interested in the Montezuma triangle one just always thought the wrench's and sockets would pop off the hook and jump around the inside of the box. Like the fact that it has a rack for air tools though if i had a compressor on my truck. When i was at skid steer training last month i was talking to a guy that said he got the JD one and he seemed to like it, pulled the badge off though cause CNH doesn't sell one which kinda blows

 

[ladrones]

Do y'all think matco will come out with a road chest?

 

[pdizzleinmt]

Do y'all think matco will come out with a road chest?

According to my driver they are going to start making them again. Didn't know when but they are in the works.

 

[carcajou]

I have used this one for a few months and it's working well for me.

 

[ladrones]

According to my driver they are going to start making them again. Didn't know when but they are in the works.

Yea that what my driver said also.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I have used this one for a few months and it's working well for me.

Montezuma?

 

[carcajou]

Yes Montezuma la 400

 

[rockinacummins]

Montezuma triangle shaped box! I absolutely love mine. Has a place for everything. Utilizes space perfectly!

 

[knobby]

Funny story sears Canada used to sell a road chest and they were having one of their 30% off ALL tool boxes sales and I was looking for a tool box for a dusty location and thought that that the road chest with its gaskets would be a good fit
I walk in to my local sears store and ask about the box and am told that the road chest is not on sale because it isn't a tool box, that was the last visit that sears will ever get from me

Kinda sad seeing as I bought my first tools from sears when I was 12 with paper route money so i could work on my dirt bike