Small handbox for basics driveway car work

[mikey03]

Anyone put together a small toolbox for driveway work? I seen alot of small carts like the HF 5 drawer but just the way my garage is set up, I dont have a spot I could put one that has access to roll outside easy.

I been thinking of a small box with basic stuff, honestly nothing too heavy. Maybe just shallow 3/8 and 2 ratchets and 1 or 2 extensions. I can always walk 100 feet back into the garage to get more tools.

Just wondering if anyone put together a small handbox for basics. Or if everyone has small carts they wheel outside or you do the car work inside the garage next to the tools. Its not my house and I'm not allowed to work on cars inside the garage and risk a mess on the floor.

If you put one together I'd be real curious what you put in it. RIght now I just grab whatever tools I think I need and put them in a bucket and carry the to the car, but its kind of a sloppy system and then I'm digging through the bucket to find the right tool scattered about. So a small box for the core basics and then the bucket to add in anything else or just walk back 100 feet for non basics as needed.

Struggling to figure out how to piece together the small box since even though I'll only be 100 feet away from other tools it’s hard to decide.

metric only

- 3/8 shallow sockets
- 6” small 3/8 in 1/4 body flex ratchet
- long 3/8 flex head ratchet
- 2 to 3 extensions maybe just like 1” wobble and regular
- needle nose pliers
- cobra pliers
- small flathead screwdriver as a pick
- 1 or 2 actual micro picks
- combination wrench set 8 to 19

seems like a good basic kit and could put that in a small metal box with some vim magrails I picked up on sale last year

 

[Pinne]

Take the tools you need from your main box and bring them outside. You can throw them in just about any box to carry them. I'd use a silicone mat / organizer or two to contain things while working.

But it seems fully absurd to buy duplicate tools that are within sight of your main tools for the same purpose.

 

[mervyn]

No I just walk back and forth.

 

[Samuel D]

I have a wooden box about the size of a shoebox that I use for a similar purpose.

The bulk of my tools are slightly hard to access (apartment context).

This small box lives with them too but is easier to get out of the small storage area without unpacking a jigsaw puzzle of boxes.

The tools in it are not duplicates, though. They’re just my most-used tools (including a torque wrench, by the way).

I hate using open-ended spanners unless strictly needed, so I have double-ended offset ring spanners in this box instead of combination spanners. A benefit of this is fewer spanners so lower weight. Something to consider.

My advice: make sure this portable box doesn’t get out of hand and weigh 50 lb.

 

[Hohn]

If my driveway was farther from my tools, I might consider it. But as it is, I just walk the 20ft to my box.

 

[AJHD]

I want to buy something like this for similar use, but MAC doesn't sell them anymore.

Tote Tray - Black

20-Gauge steel construction .Tubular steel handle .Available in red, black, or blue

www.mactools.com

 

[Dave455]

I do a lot of work on my drive.

Not that I have a problem working in my garage, but there’s always a vehicle to move out, and it’s easier to work outside if the weather is fine.

No way would I want another set of tools just for driveway work. To do all the different things I’ve done in a drive, I’d need to duplicate an awful lot, and I wouldn’t want to do that to save a short walk.

With experience you get to know what you’re going to need for different jobs, and as you get to know a particular vehicle you even know what sizes.

Some sort of box or tray that you can load up in your shop and carry to the vehicle is useful. A bucket, as you’ve found out, isn’t that great because stuff gets buried. A lot of folks like carts, but they only really work on a smooth surface.

The best solution would probably be something like the traditional Hazet “Assistent”. They present the tools at a perfect height for grabbing, you have a top shelf to put parts on, and you can close them up and carry them over rough ground.



Another solution (which I also adopt) is to have a small set of tools on the vehicle for “emergencies”. If you just have a small job to do you can simply use those.

 

[shoggoth80]

I do all my car work in my driveway. I just walk between my work shed and the car. If you want a little metal portable box, there's lots out there. I've been buying the 20" Work Smart brand from MSC as road call boxes for the guys at work. It's produced offshore, but so is the Blue Point we used to get. Proto makes a very similar box. Top lid, 2 drawers, and locking. Very basic, but you could jam some socket sets, wrenches, and pliers in them easy.

 

[Tchicken]

I thought the Hazet looked interesting, until I saw a price .. for that I'd walk

 

[JerseyBoatBuilder]

Take the tools you need from your main box and bring them outside. You can throw them in just about any box to carry them. I'd use a silicone mat / organizer or two to contain things while working.

But it seems fully absurd to buy duplicate tools that are within sight of your main tools for the same purpose.

Yep I had a Harbor Freight Five Drawer I would do that with a house with a walk in basement to out in the driveway

 

[Aaron_W]

I work in the driveway, mostly preventive and routine maintenance. Occasionally something bigger like replacing a starter, motor mount etc.

A soft side bag from Home Depot has worked fine for me. I rarely need more than a socket set, combo wrench set, screw drivers, and Allen wrenches. The bag is organized with zipper pouches, and clear plastic organizer boxes.

I'll grab any misc specialty tools as needed, but it is rarely more than one or two.

I don't understand the need for an entire tool cart to do basic work and I wouldn't really want to do major work in the driveway.

 

[zimman]

Tool roll for the win. Has everything I need except a rail of sockets and I've got them handy also.
Zim

 

[BWWgarage]

I have something like this. I like that there are pockets vs tools just thrown into a box and have to sort again

 

[afazz]

I put together a tray for this specific purpose. The sockets are 8-19mm plus 7/16-9/16; wrenches are 7-19 plus 3/8-9/16; bit sockets are hex 4-10 and T15-T40; bits are phillips, Pozidriv, 1.5-3mm hex, and T8-10. A few things are missing in the picture but you can see the empty spots for them. It’s enough for the basics like batteries, bulbs, filters, oil change, trailer adjustments, lawn furniture or grill assembly, and other random stuff that happens outside of the garage.

 

[Jack_K]

I use the big tool bag that stays in my boot. The problem is I've made it too heavy and I'm more often working on other cars so it becomes a mess since I take just the tools I need out.

 

[rust in the eye]

I thought the Hazet looked interesting, until I saw a price .. for that I'd walk

You betcha'!

 

[Dave455]

I thought the Hazet looked interesting, until I saw a price .. for that I'd walk

Depends where you are. Depends what you want.

A very simple trolley from Snap On, Blue Point branded, made in China, will cost me the thick end of £800.


Or I could get the Hazet for similar money.

Or, yes, just walk!

I put together a tray for this specific purpose. The sockets are 8-19mm plus 7/16-9/16; wrenches are 7-19 plus 3/8-9/16; bit sockets are hex 4-10 and T15-T40; bits are phillips, Pozidriv, 1.5-3mm hex, and T8-10. A few things are missing in the picture but you can see the empty spots for them. It’s enough for the basics like batteries, bulbs, filters, oil change, trailer adjustments, lawn furniture or grill assembly, and other random stuff that happens outside of the garage.

That‘s one of the most practical “real world” selections I’ve seen in a while!

Not vastly different to the O.P’s original list, but I note the hex and Torx bits - which are needed as often as anything else.

 

[Dave455]

Sometimes though, however organised you are, you just need to be able to grab some tools, put them in a plastic tote or similar, and go.

I know it’s not relevant to the OP’s situation, but I’m just back from fixing in some cabinets for a friend. However much thought I’d put into it, there’s no way I’d ever have pre assembled a kit with exactly the right implements for this job.

So sometimes, you just have to retain flexibility.

 

[AJHD]

I have something like this. I like that there are pockets vs tools just thrown into a box and have to sort again

I moved back into a house (not mine) in March and have access to a garage and full size tool box again, but I was living in an apartment again for the last few years.

I was using a Kobalt tool tote and later a Milwaukee PackOut box to carry tools out to my car when I was working on it.

Not a perfect solution, but they did the job. Tools add up very fast both in terms of weight and space.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Kobalt-15-in-Tool-Tote/5014456335

Milwaukee PACKOUT 10 in. Compact Portable Tool Box with Adjustable Dividers and Interior Storage Tray 48-22-8422 - The Home Depot

Complement a contemporary and dainty addition to your workstation by choosing this extra ordinary Milwaukee PACKOUT Compact Tool Box. Easy to handle.

www.homedepot.com

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[Houdini5150]

Yeah I just use one of those rolling carts with one drawer from Harbor Frank. I put the sockets and ratchets or whatever hand tools I usually use to do oil changes or brakes in the drawer. Then the torque wrenches, jacks stands, impact wrench, etc on top of the cart or below.

Prior to that I just used a small shallow cardboard box with the hand tools I need for each job and kept my tools in the larger tool box and swapped out what I need per job.