Wheeled tool boxes

The combination of advancing years, increasing weight of tools and buying a spread-out property means I'm thinking of buying a wheeled tool box for my general DIY tools, otherwise I spend a lot of time walking back and forth to the workshop to fetch something else, or I have to carry a heavy toolbox to every job.

This kind of thing;

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Any thoughts?

Reply to
Huge
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on 21/08/2016, Huge supposed :

Just put the tools you need, in a wheel-barrow. I had one of those toolboxes, it never had what I needed in it, so I found it better to use a wheel-barrow

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

That's the point. I think "OK, I need this, that and one of those." I put those things in a bucket and go to the job. Then I find I need a 7.5mm throgget iron, so back to the workshop. Then I get the cover off and find I need a 26lb wibbling nurdler, so back to the workshop. And so on. I present have one of those concertina tin toolboxes that holds 90% of what I need for most jobs, but it's damn heavy. And sharp. And these days, not big enough, even though I long ago subbed out spanners and drill stuff to separate boxes.

And I don't think my wife would appreciate a wheelbarrow in the house.

Reply to
Huge

I've been round and round this issue.

The issues I have with wheeled toolboxes like the one above are:-

The bottom box is just a big bin, not easy to organise things in there though occasionally useful to put other boxes into it.

With this particular design (though not all) there's no access to the bottom without removing the top.

It's not easy to put in a car boot. It doesn't break down into two boxes and the bottom doesn't have a handle.

There are some which improve on the above one a bit. The big Stanley FatMax one that opens out allows access to all three parts together and keeps the top at easy working height. I have one and quite like it but it's a *pig* if you want to take it in the car.

There's a Kennedy one sold by Cromwell which is basically two toolboxes which stack. I'm tempted by this one but haven't quite made my mind up. It doesn't offer the convenience in use of the above one but will be easy to put in a car boot (I think).

I just wish someone would make a decent plastic cantilever toolbox, like the Stanley 19" one but a bit bigger and more robust.

Reply to
Chris Green

And is designed for going over rough ground. The sort of tiny wheels you'd get for a toolbox might be OK on a smooth surface. But useless on grass, etc.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Why noy just buy a fold up sack trolley ? Beware the Axminster one. The axle is badly placed making it impossible to balance he load.

Reply to
fred

Because now I have *two* things to store, transport, carry, maintain and lose.

Reply to
Huge

Maybe something like this?

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Reply to
David Lang

I've got a Stanley one and a cheap look alike which may have come from Aldi @10 years ago. They were OKish for when I worked as a service engineer to carry some tools and spare parts from where you could park a vehicle to where the task was but apart from that use I wouldn't replace them if they broke now, easy to get them top heavy or overload the bottom and unclipping it for access gets a pain.

For what you want I would get one of those four wheel carts such as

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Put existing tool boxes in that ,and many other things such as bags of leaves,rubbish cut off branches,dog with a broken leg ,etc ,etc. You can get ones that tip which may be useful in future years and if e some can towed by a suitable ride on mower or garden tractor if you have one.

G.Harman

Reply to
damduck-egg

Hmm, I had one of these (one with two tote trays). I never really got on with it. It tends to suffer from the 'bottom is just a big box' problem.

I also *cannot* understand why almost every manufacturer puts small parts boxes in the *top* of the lid which is inaccessible when it's open. The above box improves on this slightly because the lid lifts off rather than being hinged but it ends up at ground level then so isn't much better.

Reply to
Chris Green

I got one of these which breaks down into three sections. It is metal const ruction with plastic parts the only problem I have had with it is the lower drawer of the middle section tends to fly open when in the boot remedy is to slip a bar through the top padlock hole to the bottom padlock hole. The bottom box is the usual bin type thing though the front swings open so it c an be accessed without removing the top boxes.

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Richard

Reply to
Tricky Dicky
[snip]

Paint it pink, she won't notice it.

Reply to
Jim White

My son has one he can stand on to work. Something like this:

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But about half the price.

Reply to
GB

BTSTGTT...

Yup the format you link to is not bad. I have a Wickes one that is similar. The handle telescopes down when not wanted.

The good: The big box holds plenty and easy to move about - the wheels do not lose much space inside. You can stack other boxes on top and use it as a trolly for them as well.

The bad: its quite wide, so awkward to get in some doors and past obstacles. The balance can be a bit biased toward the vertical, so you sometimes need to hold the handle lower to the ground that you might like (especially if you are tall).

I also have one like:

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which has all my plumbing kit in it (probably my heaviest tool box).

The good: holds lots, easy to steer about and get through gaps, deals with heavy tool collections (mine probably has 20kg of stuff in it). Nicely balanced. The bad: You can't stack other stuff on it, and it has a pathological design to crash into the back of you ankles and bite lumps out of you! (you soon develop a technique of towing it a bit offset behind you)

Reply to
John Rumm

That actually looks quite decent - certainly for round the home and garden. About the only obvious limitation is if you need to load tool boxes into a car and then wheel them at the other end.

Reply to
John Rumm

I have exactly that one too which I use as my 'main' toolbox at present. It's this one whose disadvantages I'm trying to overcome at the moment.

For me the big disadvantage is its transportability in the car. You can lift off the top two bits and put them in the boot but then the bottom bit is just a pain. Alternatively if you lift them all in one go then it has to lie on its back and all the contents pile up on one side. I don't *really* get on with the swing bin at the bottom either, it is a big wasted space for not much actual useful storage.

... I don't know about their 'Sale' price either, I bought mine a year ago for almost exactly the 'sale' price.

Reply to
Chris Green

Having to bend (the back or knees) to retrieve items from the bottom box at potentially ground level - assuming they're actually there, is poor ergonomics for users of any age; more especially those of advancing years. A few clear plastic boxes of varying sizes specifically chosen to accommodate all the necessary tools and sundries can be stored in the shed or workshop where the contents will be visible at all times; and wheeled around the site in a wheelbarrow possibly specially chosen for the job. Basically the higher the "floor" of the wheelbarrow the better.

Maybe not quite as classy as wheeling a specifically designed and branded black and yellow trimed item around, but nevertheless rather more pracatical in this instance IMO

The above design and similar are compromises dictated by the need to load and carry a large selection of tools and sundries around in a van or car. A limitation which doesn't apply in this instance.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

You haven't met my wife, have you?

Reply to
Huge

Something like

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(Much cheaper at Aldi (£30) when they have them or Costco (a more robust one) £45) might be more useful. I have one of the Stanley ones you referenced and it isn't particularly well made or easy to move around. The 4 wheel device folds down to a small size and carries quite a large weight. I have found it far more useful.

Reply to
Peter Parry

Looks like an oversized granny trolley. Try a sack barrow or a 4 wheeled garden trolley. Or... this is uk.d-i-y... make exactly what you want.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

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