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What's your thoughts on Harbor Freight's rolling tool boxes?

They don't hold a candle to a Snap On, MAC, Matco, or Cornwell. Are they a quality cheap toolbox? Maybe. They are not comparable to a high end box. I had a Waterloo Magnum (Craftsmen Professional) toolbox for a few years. The drawers didn't like all the weight I had in them, and were starting to bow, didn't slide real well, and spot welds were cracking all over. The Snap On boxes I have had since are head and shoulders better boxes, and a Waterloo Magnum box is much better than a Harbor Freight special.

Martin
 
82355 said:
They don't hold a candle to a Snap On, MAC, Matco, or Cornwell. Are they a quality cheap toolbox? Maybe. They are not comparable to a high end box. I had a Waterloo Magnum (Craftsmen Professional) toolbox for a few years. The drawers didn't like all the weight I had in them, and were starting to bow, didn't slide real well, and spot welds were cracking all over. The Snap On boxes I have had since are head and shoulders better boxes, and a Waterloo Magnum box is much better than a Harbor Freight special.

Martin
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I completely disagree, comparing a low end Matco box to my HF box, ( side by side) the cost vs quality is totally asinine. 3500 for a brand new Matco box my buddy bought. Me coming in well under 1k for both mine, similar amount of storage, mine came with drawer liners, came with labels. Not so for the Matco. We have both had ours for just about 8 months now and my box seems just like brand new, so does his, I think my box will last just as long as his box except I could have afforded to buy 2500 bucks worth of tools in addition to my box.

I do think the higher end Matco boxes and for that matter the snap on boxes are better boxes but in all reality for the price of one high end Matco or Snappie I can buy 8 of these.

I have seen these boxes show up in the bays of some mechanics shops, and my buddy says he will never buy a high end box again. He is a 80 hr a week kind of guy too, so his box gets hard use for just over a year and they slide just like my newer one does.

Not trying start an argument but when you see these showing up where guys use their boxes as their living, and see these same guys selling their high end boxes makes me think that this is a good quality box

It may not last 20 years as a pro but I bet as a backyard guy or someone who doesn't use it everyday it will last 30 years
 
I like buying my boxes used:D You might try looking at govliquaditon for a auction near you.

I should add that my boxes at work are all Kennedy and they get used every day all day long for many years, one I've had since 1990, but there all holding up well. My drawers don't slide like butter though but none are the ball bearing type either and they are loaded with machine shop stuff.
My boxes at home came from Hill AFB and they to are Kennedy one of which is a big ball bearing type unit that works great, the other 2 are just regular sliders. I paid 300.00 for all 3 of those roll arounds at the auction and am very pleased with them.

I also have a Home depot unit at home that is holding up just fine, it's probably very similar to the HF unit.
 
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blazinzuk said:
I completely disagree, comparing a low end Matco box to my HF box, ( side by side) the cost vs quality is totally asinine. 3500 for a brand new Matco box my buddy bought. Me coming in well under 1k for both mine, similar amount of storage, mine came with drawer liners, came with labels. Not so for the Matco. We have both had ours for just about 8 months now and my box seems just like brand new, so does his, I think my box will last just as long as his box except I could have afforded to buy 2500 bucks worth of tools in addition to my box.

I do think the higher end Matco boxes and for that matter the snap on boxes are better boxes but in all reality for the price of one high end Matco or Snappie I can buy 8 of these.

I have seen these boxes show up in the bays of some mechanics shops, and my buddy says he will never buy a high end box again. He is a 80 hr a week kind of guy too, so his box gets hard use for just over a year and they slide just like my newer one does.

Not trying start an argument but when you see these showing up where guys use their boxes as their living, and see these same guys selling their high end boxes makes me think that this is a good quality box

It may not last 20 years as a pro but I bet as a backyard guy or someone who doesn't use it everyday it will last 30 years
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My Snap On box retails for over $17,000, so I am well aware of the insane prices. My Waterloo was a top of the line box though. I paid $2,300 for it over 10 years ago with a student discount. That box only lasted about three years of being used every day and it was falling apart at the seams (literally).

I am not arguing that these probably are a fine box for a home garage, or that the tool truck prices are insane. I am just saying that the high end tool truck boxes are head and shoulders better pieces.

Martin
 
I had a 48" Waterloo for 25 years, still going strong today but my buds girl owns it now.
 
82355 said:
My Snap On box retails for over $17,000, so I am well aware of the insane prices. My Waterloo was a top of the line box though. I paid $2,300 for it over 10 years ago with a student discount. That box only lasted about three years of being used every day and it was falling apart at the seams (literally).

I am not arguing that these probably are a fine box for a home garage, or that the tool truck prices are insane. I am just saying that the high end tool truck boxes are head and shoulders better pieces.

Martin
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$17,000 for a toolbox? Thats ridiculous.

I have the 44" US General top box and have had it for about 6 months. I used it 50 hours a week. Its full but not over loaded (if you overload a box you have no room to complain about it being a POS when it falls apart).

That being said I would rather spend $800 on the HF tool boxes and maybe replace them a few times over my career and go out a buy a new f'ing car than spend that kind of money on ONE tool box
 
Stomis said:
That being said I would rather spend $800 on the HF tool boxes and maybe replace them a few times over my career and go out a buy a new f'ing car than spend that kind of money on ONE tool box
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Objective point of view, funny how that works, isn't it? Just like some people would rather buy a tank of gas and ride shotgun with a buddy in a built rig, rather than spend what some people spend on them.
 
i've been hearing this argument for 25+ yrs now....

anyone who hasn't owned a KRL series has no clue... you can justify a cheap box however you want, but it's not even a comparison.. my bosses craftsman, gotta fight drawers open, they sag, etc... my 20 yr old KRL with like 300 lb's in one, opens with 1 finger...

I have found it to be well worth it over my career...
 
ryoken said:
anyone who hasn't owned a KRL series has no clue... you can justify a cheap box however you want, but it's not even a comparison.. my bosses craftsman, gotta fight drawers open, they sag, etc... my 20 yr old KRL with like 300 lb's in one, opens with 1 finger...

I have found it to be well worth it over my career...
Click to expand...

x2 on this info . i love my krl series . had my hands on lots of others and just not the same. :popcorn:
 
and for the record, my rig retails for about 10 g's iirc....



shop009.jpg
 
Take the badge off it and 85% of the mechanics wouldn't know the differance......If your going to make a living out of the box and plan on keeping it for a long time, spend the money on one of the big name boxes. If not, the box your asking about will suit you fine.

This is coming from someone who owns a 25+ year old Matco box that works just fine.
 
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