Share thoughts on roll away tool boxes

Butch(OH)

Well-known Member
I need to replace my 35 year old Craftsman roll away and top box. Realy don't care to take out a second mortgage for a Snap On but dont want to be buying a box every 2-3 years either. Places like Greg Smith Equipment in Indianapolis and others sell what I will call mid priced boxes that seem to be a step above the current crop of crapsman elcheapo boxes. Is there a decent quality box for somebody like me who owns a ton of tools but doesnt use them to earn a living?
 
too bad your not close to central Texas. I have a triple bay Matco bottom box that I don"t need since I retired. I would make you agood deal.
 
Tool truck guys often have trade in boxes that they part with at reasonable prices.
Craftsman upper line boxes are pretty good for the money.The bargain ones are crap.
Costco has good prices on boxes of reasonable quality.
 
Butch, I have been looking at heavy Roll-Away Boxes. I Second,.... the Harbor Freight, U.S. General Boxes. They are heavier than most All!!!... Box-Store brands, There are 2 different Base units, a Top unit, a Side Closet unit. and a shelf for the opposite side. About $1200 for it all! if on sale some cheaper! Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.
 

Round her [Georgia/South Carolina ] I'm seeing a lot of "name brand' boxes ,used, reasonable. ecomony??
 
Butch, where in Ohio?

Kennedy makes some sturdy boxes. They used to have a store that carried scratch and dent boxes in Van Wert, OH. Some had minimal damage or damage would be hidden against a wall, but the prices were reasonable.
 
Try to get a used one.
Ebay, or craigslist.

When I was in HS metal shop (a long time ago) a kid in my shop class made his own rollaway box for his project. (looked good)

I almost wouldnt mind getting a set of dressers (wood furniture) and using these for tool storage. Line the drawers with felt, put on a wearable surface for the top. (good to go)
 
My buddies dad bought the US General at HF a couple years ago. We ribbed him for it pretty hard for a few months. Other than having to push the unlock way on the right of the drawer I am impressed with the box.
 
Between Dad and myself we have about 6 oldCraftsman boxes, most of them in the 30 year old plus range, and one large Waterloo box. When we outgrew the Craftsman boxes Dad got the Waterloo as a scratch an dent from J&L when they had a store in Charlotte. It is a really nice box and has stood up to near daily use LOADED DOWN with tools.

That said, don't rely on name brands, etc, etc to make a decision. If you look at all of the different brands, nearly all of them are build pretty close to the same way. The biggest difference in them, and to me what makes a box a nice one or a piece of junk, is the drawer slides. The rest is just sheet metal and one pice of metal of a certain guage is just as good as another, regardless of color or what name they give it. So, check out the slides, make sure they look good, slide good, keep the drawer straight side to side as it slides in and out, and don't let the drawer droop at full extension etc, etc. If they are sturdy enough to accomplish those things, and the guage metal used in constructing the box is sufficient to handle the weight your putting in it, then the box ought to be a good one, regardless of brand.
 
Costco has a really nice stainless steel double set of drawers, its about five feet wide with a hardwood top, (could double as a bench) was under 600.00 (cdn).
Good luck finding one.
Kris
 
Company I work for decided to supply all the tools,so they sent everyones personal box home. They bought big Snap on boxes a couple years back, I dont know too many that dont absolutely hate those boxes. The drawer slides get grinding dust in them so the ball bearings quit rolling. The company has slowly been replacing them by just hanging everything on the wall and painting a shadow of the tool behind it. Its worked very well here, you can see whats missing easily and everything has its place. Im planning on doing the same at the house, its not for everyone but I am impressed.
 
Craftsman offers several versions of their toolboxes. The more expensive ones are better made and have more features.

I have a 25 year old Craftsman box set that has served me well and I cannot complain for the price that I paid. I am not a professional mechanic and would certainly not recommend my set up for someone who is.

I have noticed that the TOL Craftsman boxes offered these days are much better made than my 25 year old set.

Dean
 
"Craftsman upper line boxes are pretty good for the money. The bargain ones are crap."

Agreed.

Dean
 
I've been thinking about updating my boxes too. I recently stopped at Menards and saw they had some boxes there that looked good to me. They had nice large wheels and roller drawers.
 
i dont know how people afford to buy new boxes off the tool truck either. watch ebay. theres hundreds of them for sale. i bought a year old matco 6228rx last july for $3000. it lists new for $8700. the box was as good as new. i wouldnt get one with drawers less than 28in deep. i know the tools are the important part but it sure is nice having a awsome tool box to put them in.if u can afford it. i cant say enough good about matcos toolboxes. imho they are better than the snap on krl 1022s or the macsimizer 1354s.
 
My son and I have Homak boxes from the farm store. They are fine for us. I think Menards has a pretty good looking box. HF boxes look good also. The Craftsman boxes look and feel cheap. There is a company around Kankakee,IL Stor-Lok that builds custom boxes. Really nice and not as high as Snap On etc. They make deals at the farm shows. Have a couple of cousins that have $13000 Snap-On boxes. All of my tools at home and work aren't worth that.
 
I run a KRL snap on, buddy got one from www. strictlytoolboxes. com he got their own brand and uses it heavily as a heavy equipment mechanic and he says it is everything my snappy is at 1/2 the price. I got my snappy new for 1/2 price because it had a little dent in the end.
 
18 years ago I replaced my box with a Sears Pro-set top and bottom. Nice box that didn't break the bank. Plus it's black. I got my fill of red boxes. Lots of colors out there now.
 
To the people who buy used Snap-on and other tool truck boxes on C-list or Ebay, you best require proof the box is paid off before you buy. If it is not paid off, and the seller finds it, it is his, you have no say. They have the serial numbers. I had a friend who was a Snappy dealer, his regular Saturday morning hobby was making the rounds to pawn shops to reclaim his property. All he had to do was call the local police, provide the sales agreement with the serial number. Then the pawn shop manager got to watch his investment roll out the door.
 
I had the smaller craftsman boxes and sold them to buy a Harbor Freight box. I read tons of reviews from them, other forums, magazines. I have been real happy with it and added aside cabinet. They where also sold by northern tool under another name also. I can not vouch for how they will hold up under commercial use, but for my little shop its great and I would do it again. I plan on getting another side and the top box sooner or later.

Jeremy
 
I've had good luck with surplus office file cabinets. Deep drawers, ball bearing rollers, heavy duty, most have locks, and the price is right ($100-$200). Can get 2-, 3-, 4-drawers. But this is home use, no way to know how it would stand up to lots of grinding dust and daily use.
 
If you have a Costco store nearby, you might want to check out what they sell. If I needed to buy a rollaround again, I would probably buy the one from Costco. Pretty heavy, stainless steel and not too bad of a price. Good luck!
 
I have been offered amazing deals on boxes and have had my dealer check them out to see if they are paid off. Last guy was going to sell me a classic 78 for $1000. I did some background, I think he owed over 3 times that., I left it sit. Otherwise it would have been a smokin deal that I could have made some quick money on.
 
Recently got a Kobalt rollaway from Lowe"s. Seems to be a good box. Not up to Snap-on, but much better than Crapsman for around $700 out the door. Stainless steel upper and lower section. Seems sturdy..we"ll see.
 
Snappy credit is setup a lot like a car loan where the equipment is listed as collateral, so the equipment is recoverable. Unless the pawn shop wants to go down as a fence for stolen property.
 

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