Rousseau Tool Box review

[CAF51]

Half because I need to be a showoff about my new thing and half because information about this company is very thin, I present to you THIS, my new Rousseau toolbox. 68" x 27" x 47.5" (including 7.5" of ground clearance) They have quite a few colors to pick and the two tone was no extra charge.

Being a Canadian box, it seems appropriate to call it skookum, and at 800 Lbs it earns that title in my book. A couple of ball bearings support the drawers, Lista style. Everything seems to be stamped out of rather thick stuff, no worries about age and wear. I do appreciate the locking mech for the drawers, just a slight lift on the handle, with little force needed. I sprung for the side locker, which has punch-outs at the bottom for power cables and is deep enough for a set of shoes.
The wood top is 2" thick and has a good semi-gloss to it, and the paint is well applied. I would seriously consider this in good competition to any truck brand box out there.

However, I can't be happy with everything about it. Color samples and product photos leave much to be desired, so I spent more time agonizing about looks than any of the specs. The drawer dividers were a surprise addition, and they left permanent squish marks in the lining. Also the drawer handles stick out past the box, so the mat aluminum finish has no mercy for a clumsy push and shows damage easily (oops)

Rousseau has no corporate presence in the US, so they pointed me towards the closest dealer in the state. All told, it cost $4,600 ($3,800/box $400/shipping $400/tax) and took about 8 weeks to arrive.

(EDIT) After 2 months, decided to add some info. The drawer lining bounced back into shape quickly, but without the dividers the weight of wrenches and hammers will shift it around some. Maybe use the screws for the dividers and some washers to hold it all down.

 

[zkling]

Very nice. Good to see some of the industrial cabinet companies are sticking with metal rollers. Lista and Lyon have gone to plastic. Did you consider stor loc by chance?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Cool, I've been in the market for new boxes and I recently came across Rousseau. As you mentioned, there is very little information on them or how you go about buying them. They look really nicely made and custom built to order. My impression is a nice mix of a Lista and quality truck box.

 

[CAF51]

My one wish is that the drawer bearings were sealed, they are well tucked in between the box and drawer and lubing them after a few years will be a pain. Also, if anyone has a good idea with what to do with 85 lbs of drawer dividers, it would be appreciated lol.

 

[ChevyEFI]

You mentioned 54" in a prior thread. Is that a 54 + side cab? I like the side facing add-on option. You have a great looking box.

 

[CAF51]

Actually hadn't heard of stor loc until now.

Yep, its 54" + 14" cab.

 

[WittHay]

Nice tool box, just curious what made you buy a Canadian tool box instead of a US tool truck brand or a import Extreme/HF Icon box.

The distributor across the border is in a farming town and have seen his displays at AG shows.

The local distributor is just 10 minutes away and is a large warehouse equipment supplier and manufacturer. They build mezzanines and racking for warehouses. Not exactly DIY stuff. Rousseau is the choice of built in boxes at the car dealerships around here. Local Mini dealer

 

[pcmeiners]

"My one wish is that the drawer bearings were sealed, they are well tucked in between the box and drawer and lubing them after a few years will be a pain."

They are open bearing for a reason. Sealed bearing grease will eventually dry out,( given in many years), then what do you do? Do you want to try and replace dozens of bearings per cabinet. Open bearing can easily be re-greased and can last a couple hundreds of years or it's equivalent in use.

I notice the Rousseau divider do not have a right angle leg to attach with screw to the drawers. With Lista/Vidmar, the dividers add drawer support and add capacity.

 

[Ign]

Even at 27" depth 800# is no joke... unless those are Canadian pounds? Looks like it got round casters rather than standard issue square wheels up there, so that's a plus!

 

[phikshin]

We have Rousseau at work. They've been installed for about 7-8 years. One has rusted out (likely had some damage in the paint mixed in with the harsh chemicals in our environment) the rest are fine.

The drawers are incredible. Day in day out usage, fully loaded. Not one person has an issue with their drawers. I've seen guys sit or stand on fully loaded drawers without issue

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Looks very nice. I'm debating adding a second snap-on triple, or an industrial style box like this. I like my snap-ons, but these industrial cabinets are just so satisfying to look at. Simple and stylish, heavy duty.

 

[Yarpo]

Great review and congrats! They seem to be excellent boxes.

Here's my Rousseau box, hutch and work bench

Well, not really mine...but the one I work out of 40-45 hours a week. I've been here for about 5 months now and the box is a tank. The drawers are VERY heavy duty and I'm pretty confident I could stand in all of them even filled with my tools just as phikshin stated (Not that impressive given what I weigh, but still) I love the drawer locking mechanism too and all of my drawers glide like butter. I'd definitely put it up there on par with the truck brands, they've got to be if dealerships are outfitting mechanics with them. No way a dealership is going to spring for new boxes every two years, so they need to be beefy. Wouldn't worry about the bearings until you've had it in use for awhile!

 

[IRC Group]

Dividers and partitions are two different parts of the segmentation of any box system. Lista / Stanley Vidmar (now the same company) also have the screw down partitions like Rousseau and all have slide in dividers. Rousseau has a unique lock in divider that keeps small parts from migrating from one compartment to the other. If you are storing small parts, you could go with the dividable plastic bin inserts.

 

[Djosbun]

That is a great looking box! Love the top on it!

-- Dave

 

[goforbroke]

I’ll have to add this brand to my shopping list, so much information on this site!