US General 72"

[upstateny918]

Now before I get the bashing, "go search", etc etc I would like to say, I have searched, and I still have a question!

Im in need of a larger box for work. My current 44" w/side cab is over full, as is the locking storage on the bottom of my bench (large wrenches and 1" drive sockets mostly). I've looked at used Matco's, Snap Ons, etc I havent found just the right price on a used triple...yet...and I may never, thats besides the point.

Id like to see (and hear) real world testimony's to the 72" US general box. We all know and love (and hate) the 44" box, but I want to see real everyday people that work out of at 72" US General box. Anyone??

 

[magicrat]

One of the lead techs where my bro works has one completely filled with snap on and matco tools....it doesnt move just stays in his bay and stores tools so for him i guess it works. He didnt want to spend thousands on a brand new box that was just gonna hold his tools

 

[kctyphoon]

i know you said you wanted real world experience, and i dont have that to offer.. but i wouldnt hesistate to to buy that box if you can get over the stigma that comes with it. i know its a personal choice, and some people feel a toolbox is basically your resume, but i cant see the sense in a $20hr / $30hr mechanic spending $7,000 - $10,000 on a toolbox. (no idea if you fit into that category)

another option is just getting another 44" and joining them together with the additional drawer unit.. this isnt my set-up, but i found this pic online when i was trying to decide how i wanted to model mine at home.. i think its a great idea, but i couldnt give up the floor space.. at least it might give you some more ideas.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have never seen the harbor freight 72 inch box, I did get to see the 56 inch and was impressed. I would really like to see it and then compare it with their old 72 inch box also. I have a space for a new box and it is only 90inches so I have been thinking about the harbor freight 72 inch box with the 18inch side box.

 

[autoxvaliant]

Full time CAT Diesel tech .I have had mine for about 1 1/2 years. Pretty much filled up and move it all over our huge shop.
No complaints.
Holds tools
Moves
Locks
Wish they would come out with a hutch for it though .

 

[oldldh]

www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=234252

Here's my old Harbor Freight 72" thread...

Lots of good information and opinion...

My thoughts---Nice box/worth what they're asking/the folks that bought them seem happy...

And here's what GJ member "Duker" built using 2-56"ers and the 72 hutch he
built...the 72" build starts at post #3...

www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259777

And, I could be wrong here, but I think it's on sale for $999.99, now...

 

[Richard Cranium]

1200.00 here, if you have it for a lower price please put a link up or at least the number for it.

 

[oldldh]

1200.00 here, if you have it for a lower price please put a link up or at least the number for it.

I said, "I could be wrong, but..."

I've seen it on "Sale" recently, in July, for less than $1,200.00...

But that may be over...

 

[Gone Boating]

Just saw one in store today.. If I had the need for one I would be all over it, it is a nice box for the money


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[upstateny918]

Autoxvaliant, thats the type of feed back I wanted to hear! I'd love to see some pics of what it looks like after daily use in a cat shop. We run mostly cat, but our forestry equipment varies widely.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Our new store opened on the 7th of July and I went in on opening day. They had only a sign for it up and the 56inch on display. But it was on sale for 1199.99. If it went on sale after that, I missed it. Would of gotten me one at that price. They ran them on sale for 999.99 when they first came out, but they never had them in stock and sold out at the whse. Now that they do have them they have raised the sale price to 1199.99

 

[kball]

I've had mine for a while now. Works great but I don't wheel it around at all. It just stays in my bay and holds tools. Top drawer is loaded and gets opened several times daily with no issues.

 

[flying eyeball]

something to keep in mind

Many HF stores don't have a forklift and you would have to pay for "freight" delivery...it's $100 or so around here.

 

[balane]

Definitely call your store. You may be best served by renting a local lift-gate truck for a few hours.

 

[bigfunwmu]

I like mine at home. Guy at work has one, sold off his bright green smaller Snappy box for this one and put some cash in his pocket. It doesn't get rolled around since he is doing mostly bench work here. He likes it, first thing he did was to disable all the drawer latches, likes except for those I guess.

Local harbor freight slides the unit into the back of your pick-up from the loading dock. 2 guys can get it out safely. I would wager 2 strong guys could probably get it loaded into a pickup without too much trouble. Stand it on end in the crate, then back the truck up to it and lean it over onto the tailgate. Lastly push and lift the other end on up. Opposite works great to take it out. Second one was easier than the first one though!

 

[bobbycos]

My local HF has the number of a delivery guy who has an old U-Haul truck with ramp who will deliver anywhere in the Bronx for $75

 

[Wamsutta]

The box is only 22-5/16 inches deep. Drawers are even smaller.

 

[timmyisme22]

Our new store opened on the 7th of July and I went in on opening day. They had only a sign for it up and the 56inch on display. But it was on sale for 1199.99. If it went on sale after that, I missed it. Would of gotten me one at that price. They ran them on sale for 999.99 when they first came out, but they never had them in stock and sold out at the whse. Now that they do have them they have raised the sale price to 1199.99

Looks like it was an Intrack coupon. $30 to shave $170 off though isn't bad (plus the tax savings). It's 43153479 and doesn't appear to require the Intrack membership (at least not online where it works currently).

This video was where I got the info from.

 

[toddoky]

The box is only 22-5/16 inches deep. Drawers are even smaller.

Yeah, I'm curious about the organization strategy guys use with drawers of this size. I guess there are varying needs between users in that regard, but It would drive me nuts to have to deal with the constraints of the limited drawer depth.

 

[kball]

Yeah, I'm curious about the organization strategy guys use with drawers of this size. I guess there are varying needs between users in that regard, but It would drive me nuts to have to deal with the constraints of the limited drawer depth.

Yep, that is one downfall to these cheaper boxes. None of them, (craftsman, husky, kobalt, HF) make any really deep boxes. You just have to remind yourself that yes you are missing 10" of depth... but you saved $8K....

 

[toddoky]

Yep, that is one downfall to these cheaper boxes. None of them, (craftsman, husky, kobalt, HF) make any really deep boxes. You just have to remind yourself that yes you are missing 10" of depth... but you saved $8K....

8k? If you're patient you can buy a used deep drawer truck box for only a few hundred bucks more that you don't have to fight with to organize your tools the way you want.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

56" and 72" share a common depth of 22 5/16".
56" is often sold for $699 and is stocked in stores.
72" is seldom if ever stocked in many stores.
72" is on sale for $1199, and about $97 shipping,, add another $89 or so for lift gate service.
For $1398 + tax, you can have two 56" boxes, and haul them yourself.
For $1385 + tax, you can have a 72" delivered .
For that $13+ extra, you get an extra 40" of top surface, and Two Rows of the wider, more desirable drawers.
Downside is that you would also end up with two of those potato drawers with a pair of 56" boxes,, vs only one on the 72" box.... It would be a plus for me if both boxes had the height of the narrow drawers matching the wide drawers...

 

[oldldh]

Yep, that is one downfall to these cheaper boxes. None of them, (craftsman, husky, kobalt, HF) make any really deep boxes. You just have to remind yourself that yes you are missing 10" of depth... but you saved $8K....

8k? If you're patient you can buy a used deep drawer truck box for only a few hundred bucks more that you don't have to fight with to organize your tools the way you want.

If you want bigger/biggest go to www.strictlytoolboxes.com ...

They will fix you up will all the extremely heavy duty 30" deep toolboxes you can pay for...

KBall---For your $8K savings, you could have 3 of the 55" Extreme Professional boxes...(300 and 600 pound drawer weights...)---Or two of the 72" Versions...

I own a U.S.General 56" Roller Cabinet, and for my uses, it is perfect...If I had the money, I would have bought the 55" Extreme, but my wife bought me the 56" for Christmas...

I would assume the 72" HF roller would be of the same quality, and would do a good job for whoever bought one...

So far, I haven't heard anything really negative about the box, everyone who had bought one was happy with it...

 

[kball]

8k? If you're patient you can buy a used deep drawer truck box for only a few hundred bucks more that you don't have to fight with to organize your tools the way you want.

I'm comparing prices for a Snappy that's 72" long like my HF, which is what this thread is about. You think you can find a used 6ft long 30" deep snappy for under $1600? (you did say "a few hundred")

 

[toddoky]

I'm comparing prices for a Snappy that's 72" long like my HF, which is what this thread is about. You think you can find a used 6ft long 30" deep snappy for under $1600? (you did say "a few hundred")

A 30" deep Snap-on (or other brand) box doesn't need to also be 72" long to provide similar storage to your 72" HF box...your box has a storage capacity of 34,300 CI and my 53" KR1000 has 34,158. A clean KR1000 can be had regularly for around 1,200 bucks and a worked one for less than a grand. I'm just trying to make the point that there's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[upstateny918]

I realize that the box isn't as deep, and probably isnt ideal, but Im on the hunt for something. I kick myself all the time now for not trading when my Snap On guy had a used black Matco triple for 1500!!

 

[toddoky]

I realize that the box isn't as deep, and probably isnt ideal, but Im on the hunt for something. I kick myself all the time now for not trading when my Snap On guy had a used black Matco triple for 1500!!

That box might work fine for you, I think it just makes the decision more rewarding if you know what all your options are. You are also the only person on this forum that knows the actual quantity and make-up of your tool set, so your ability to assess fitment and organizational capabilities of a given box to your needs will ultimately determine how satisfied you will be.

 

[Vigo]

I kick myself all the time now for not trading when my Snap On guy had a used black Matco triple for 1500!

Wow, yeah... i paid almost double that for mine off CL and am willing to spend another $1500 to add a matching 2bay next to it now as i've filled it completely and still constantly add tools.

I got spoiled by a nice (but very small) Matco as my first toolbox and couldn't force myself to settle for the HF stuff, but i consider that an unhelpful neurosis and not an actual diss on the HF stuff. It's pretty good.

I would echo the earlier thought of buying 2 56s over one 72. You could also then add two 56 top boxes if you decided you really needed that much space one day!! lol

If you DO want the deeper drawers, you can almost always get a deeper drawer truck-brand 50-something inch box for the same price as a new HF72 on any big city CL.

 

[bill pedersen]

I have a Snap-on 72" sitting next to a US General 72". The HF box isn't as deep, the drawer slides are quite as heavy and the drawers only latch on one side. I modified a metal workbench top and put it on the HF box. The bench top is a few inches wider than the box and allows both boxes to be flush on the front side. The Snap-on box is definitely a nicer, better built tool box, but cost many times more $$. I've had the HF box for 9 months and feel like it was a good value for the price.
View media item 52253
View media item 52254If you look close, you can see some difference in the slides.

View media item 52255There is about 6 1/2” difference in drawer length.

View media item 52256The wheels are very similar.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Five years and only one post, Bill?! C'mon now, you can do better than that!

 

[kctyphoon]

im sorry, but i never get tired a reading posts when a guy that owns something from BOTH snap-on and the comparable HF model, says he's happy with his HF purchase.

 

[toddoky]

im sorry, but i never get tired a reading posts when a guy that owns something from BOTH snap-on and the comparable HF model, says he's happy with his HF purchase.

It's hard to argue with the value of a HF box...he also said the Snap-on box was definitely a nicer, better built tool box.

 

[89GLH]

Don't be afraid to ask the staff about returns, FWIW. Buddy of mine bought a 72" for $300 because someone returned it without keys (it was locked). 3 minutes with a tubular lock pick and it was open and in the back of the truck.

 

[Leoruiz]

im sorry, but i never get tired a reading posts when a guy that owns something from BOTH snap-on and the comparable HF model, says he's happy with his HF purchase.

Lets just all agree that EVERY tool company has desirable items. Some just happen to have many, many, many more than others.
I'm diggin' this new Irwin clamp onto a bench vice. Handy little sucker !

 

[kctyphoon]

It's hard to argue with the value of a HF box...he also said the Snap-on box was definitely a nicer, better built tool box.

just making the point - its a bit obnoxious when people write posts that basically state they aviod ANYTHING from HF like the plague, regardless of what it is, because its all junk and beneath their "greatness".

when someone buys a TOOLBOX that costs close to what it would cost for a 2 year old ford focus, id hope you could at least say its was built better then one from harbor freight.

 

[ibedayank]

for guys just starting out what is the better option.... $10,000 box with $1000 of tools in it or a $1000 box with $10,000 worth of tools in it what will help the guy get more done?

 

[stage20]

for guys just starting out what is the better option.... $10,000 box with $1000 of tools in it or a $1000 box with $10,000 worth of tools in it what will help the guy get more done?

 

[kctyphoon]

for guys just starting out what is the better option.... $10,000 box with $1000 of tools in it or a $1000 box with $10,000 worth of tools in it what will help the guy get more done?

its the whole, "$5,000 rims and tires on a $500 car" thing.

 

[toddoky]

just making the point - its a bit obnoxious when people write posts that basically state they aviod ANYTHING from HF like the plague, regardless of what it is, because its all junk and beneath their "greatness".

when someone buys a TOOLBOX that costs close to what it would cost for a 2 year old ford focus, id hope you could at least say its was built better then one from harbor freight.

This is a polarized group of tool users here on the subject of Chinese tools/tool boxes, and the obnoxious comments come from both directions for sure (I know I've made a few of my own). We all post our replies without usually taking into consideration that they will be read by guys with far ranging upbringings, lifestyles, ages, experiences and most definitely income levels. Although I personally dislike Chinese tools/boxes for multiple reasons, I understand that the purchase of them makes good financial sense to other users here. If someone buys a HF 44" box, fills it full of Chinese tools and enjoys it then that's just fine by me. I'll continue enjoying the use of my mostly American tools and speaking well about them to others.

 

[redbarron57]

I have a 56 and it is very similar to the 72. I seriously considered buying the hf 72.
I love my 56. They use alot of the same construction processes to build these boxes.