What Small Tool Box to Carry in the Truck?

[homeputter]

I need a small tool box to carry behind the seat in my Tacoma PU. I just carry the tool box in my vehicle when I travel between my house and cabin. I was using a canvas bag with 3 zip pockets, but it is too hard to find the tool I am looking for in it. I want a rigid box now. I am trying to keep it under a size of 24"x12"x12 or so.

The only small "quality" tool boxes I have found are the 2 and 3 ball bearing drawer tool boxes by Matco, but they cost about $150 -$175. Has anyone used these? Are they worth the money? Any suggestions. I may just go with a cheap Stanly or Husky (HD specials).
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[plung]

http://pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1460TOOL
Interior Dimensions:
18.54" x 9.92" x 10.92"

I've been eyeing this box, but at $220, its a little hard to swallow.

 

[toolmaker1]

I use the $20 waterproof stanley fatmax box from walmart in the bed of my truck. They have an 18" and 24" long version. Made in Israel. They have worked well for me.

 

[Syndicate]

Snap on makes a few. I like green so try this one out for size.
And for the price, it is a good deal!
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=13678&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

[bobemmerich]

Here's what i have in my truck...18 bucks at for the box Ace.
It holds a decent amount of tools. I have a 30pc socket set, pliers, a deep socket set (all pictured) a couple screwdrivers, a few extra sizes of sockets, a utility knife, extra extensions and some wrenches. If i actually took the socket set out of its packaging box, I could probably hold more tools, but I like it that way.

 

[blue dog]

I use a pelican 1500 case. Has everything i need. 1400 case is my first aid kit.

 

[Drisco Z71]

I'm guessing a crossbed toolbox is out of the question? I love mine and hate it at the same time in that I can keep a pretty complete set of tools and misc items in there but it does take up a large amount of space. If you want to go real cheap you could buy a couple of ammo boxes from the local military surplus store, many different shapes and sizes to choose from and less than 10 bucks each usually.

 

[dieselmike]

theres low profile craftsman at sears made in usa
oh wait here it is
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965119000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

 

[plung]

theres low profile craftsman at sears made in usa
oh wait here it is
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965119000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I actually just bought that yesterday. I put in a 1/2" breaker bar that I use at a tire iron and I'm going to stick in a few more emergency items and spare tools. It's long and thin and wont take up any space. The stuff had originally been stored in a cardboard box/cheap tool bag.

I just threw in a bunch of tools so people can get an idea of the size.

 

[Outlawmws]

Unless you are fond of rattles and what not, I'd stay with the plastic boxes. you can get them with or without drawers and while they will not take a ton of weight, the better ones work OK. Being plastic it also doesn't rust, and in a road box that can be important. (tools inside you have to pay attention to however...)

I have an old Plano box I recently retired as it was my "SAE" road box, as I cant really justify a full set of SAE for road use any more. I simply have a few of the more common SAE wrenches in the Metric box. But the Plano worked well for over twenty years.

The metric box I picked up as a "complete" 90 pc craftsman set from Sears and it came with a blow mold box than keeps things organized and from rattling around. As it has some extra storage space, I added to it to make it complete to the level I needed (second set of wrenches, screwdrivers pliers...) and it works well for me. the only thing I added was some 3/4" low density foam sheets to keep the tools in place while it gets banged around in transit and handling.

 

[Andy Griffith]

theres low profile craftsman at sears made in usa
oh wait here it is
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965119000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I've had two of these for perhaps twenty years now and they work really well for an infrequent use, very compact, tool box for under or behind the seat. I used them in my old regular cab truck as they fit perfectly right behind the bench seat and didn't slide around any. Currently I'm using them in my 2000 extended cab truck and they fit just barely up against the back wall of the cab underneath the back seat. The nice thing is they fit there whether the back seat is down or folded up.

 

[Andy Griffith]

I use the $20 waterproof stanley fatmax box from walmart in the bed of my truck. They have an 18" and 24" long version. Made in Israel. They have worked well for me.

These are really a pretty good value. Not as nice as the pelican cases of course, but serviceable none the less. We use them around the farm for outside/semi-outside use because they are pretty water resistant. They ride on the 4-wheeler and/or in the farm trucks and can sit outside for weeks at a time and still keep the tools dry. You should be careful when picking one out though and make sure the lid is not warped as that will obviously affect sealing.

There is nothing like the quality of a pelican case. I use one for transport of firearms. I think I may look into using one for the truck first-aid kit as Blue dog posted. My current first-aid box is pretty hokey.