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Milwaukee packout or similar systems?

Used Ridgid and Milwaukee. Both does the work well, Milwaukee definitely is nicer.
 
I have used dewalt and milwaukee. Dewalt was nicer for the hand cart. Milwaukee was better for everything else.

However! I have some bones to pick.
1- the tires on my rolling bin stretched. One was falling fully off the wheel. I don't spend an inordinate amount of time dragging it around. I do have to bring it up and down concrete stairs a fair bit though. The wheel and tire were taken by the local rep, who said he was gonna send them up the chain, since he had never seen it before.
2- this is my biggest complaint. When you're working in the rain, and rain pools on top of the box, you have to drain all the water off the top, before opening. It doesn't shed it to outside of the little sealing ridge on the box itself. Water goes in box, box is sealed when closed...rusted tools. No fuckin Bueno, boys. If there is any water left on the box, it will go inside when you open the lid.

Apart from those issues, I prefer them. Work partner has a set of ridgid boxes, his handle is floppy as shit comparatively.
 
I have the Dewalt because I get a good deal. The Milwaukee is better and easier to use. The Dewalt boxes feel tougher and more solid.
The handle on the Dewalt bottom box doesn't slide all the way down below the box lid. When we take my buddy's F250 with tonneau cover, the only thing that doesn't fit is the handle from that box. Kinda sucks if it's raining
 
So let me ask, I have never used any of the "pack out" stuff. What is the benefit and what do you have to do when using something, spread them out all over a table/counter/truck bed?
I use a lot of my cordless tools during the day, I can't imagine having boxes scattered all over.

ETA: this is what I am using currently, I bungie it to one of the steel shelves in the trailer for transport
www.homedepot.com

DEWALT 16 in. 4-in-1 Cantilever Tool Box Mobile Work Center DWST20880 - The Home Depot

This DEWALT Rolling Cantilever Tool Box offers 88 lbs. of load capacity and 3 cu. ft. of storage space. Heavy-duty wheels and a telescoping handle make it easily portable, while its heavy-duty construction
www.homedepot.com
 
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KacksterK5 said:
I have the Dewalt because I get a good deal. The Milwaukee is better and easier to use. The Dewalt boxes feel tougher and more solid.
The handle on the Dewalt bottom box doesn't slide all the way down below the box lid. When we take my buddy's F250 with tonneau cover, the only thing that doesn't fit is the handle from that box. Kinda sucks if it's raining
Click to expand...
I don't think the packout handle sits flush either. Also, the bottom doesn't have the locking shit in it, so no good for the mounting plate. But I'd assume most aren't going to use the roll around in the back of a crawler.
 
dave_dj1 said:
So let me ask, I have never used any of the "pack out" stuff. What is the benefit and what do you have to do when using something, spread them out all over a table/counter/truck bed?
I use a lot of my cordless tools during the day, I can't imagine having boxes scattered all over.

ETA: this is what I am using currently, I bungie it to one of the steel shelves in the trailer for transport
www.homedepot.com

DEWALT 16 in. 4-in-1 Cantilever Tool Box Mobile Work Center DWST20880 - The Home Depot

This DEWALT Rolling Cantilever Tool Box offers 88 lbs. of load capacity and 3 cu. ft. of storage space. Heavy-duty wheels and a telescoping handle make it easily portable, while its heavy-duty construction
www.homedepot.com
Click to expand...

If you dont get it, I can't imagine anyone being able to explain it :homer:
 
These packout tool boxes & organizers are sweet. They fit pretty good in my service body compartments.
IMG_20220118_232908490_HDR.jpg


I had been thinking about how to organize my service truck tool boxes and reading this thread gave me the idea to use packouts.
IMG_20220118_233928308_HDR.jpg


So I bought a bunch of random boxes and started test fitting them.
IMG_20220118_233422932.jpg

I don't think I could utilize the space better than with these and they weigh next to nothing. Just need to add some metal underneath for them to sit on and then mounts for the feet to lock into.
 
What are you made of money? You going to post a Pic of a stack of plywood you have too? :flipoff2:

Also nice because you can take them wherever and aren't doing trips back and forth to the truck for misc parts or hardware.
 
Would these boxes do well on a snowmobile?

Is the plastic good enough to take mild impacts at -30 degrees? (such as from tools bouncing around inside)
 
Dan said:
These packout tool boxes & organizers are sweet. They fit pretty good in my service body.
Click to expand...

An aluminum service body and packouts what are you made of money.

Muckin_Slusher said:
Would these boxes do well on a snowmobile?

Is the plastic good enough to take mild impacts at -30 degrees? (such as from tools bouncing around inside)
Click to expand...

The plastic doesn't hold up great to shock and cold, the other day I left one if my box's out and some water froze the handle to the box. Ended up cracking some of the interior gussets trying to hammer it loose with a mallet. It was only 10-20 degree f not even crazy cold.
 
I used to have a few pelican cases full of tools and parts, but they got so heavy to move around when they are full.

I ended up picking up some military surplus aluminum boxes that are sweet, they are similar to the link below, only at a fraction of the cost when I got them surplus: Amazon.ca
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Also nice because you can take them wherever and aren't doing trips back and forth to the truck for misc parts or hardware.
Click to expand...

These are super handy for hardware, fittings, etc. Nice to have a couple dedicated boxes for something like plumbing, metal fab, carpentry - just grab the box for the job.

These packouts would be great for a trail truck. Have an organizer for cooking, clothing, tools, etc. and then stack them up when you're done.

Pocahontas said:
An aluminum service body and packouts what are you made of money.



The plastic doesn't hold up great to shock and cold, the other day I left one if my box's out and some water froze the handle to the box. Ended up cracking some of the interior gussets trying to hammer it loose with a mallet. It was only 10-20 degree f not even crazy cold.
Click to expand...

The service body is not aluminum yet, haha. Sometimes if I can't work on my projects I buy parts for them to make me feel better.

mano002 said:
I used to have a few pelican cases full of tools and parts, but they got so heavy to move around when they are full.

I ended up picking up some military surplus aluminum boxes that are sweet, they are similar to the link below, only at a fraction of the cost when I got them surplus: Amazon.ca
Click to expand...

This stack was $315. About the same as one of those boxes you linked, assuming you can't find them milsurp and need to buy new from Amazon. A few more options for these plastic boxes for mounting and organization vs a regular box, the stacking feature is great too. The ones with black lids are tool boxes, clear lids are organizers.
IMG_20220110_212342745.jpg


Not saying I wouldn't buy military surplus boxes, but if I couldn't find any and had to buy new I'd go with the stacking boxes.
Pretty cool how the lids interlock in the shut position to keep everything in it's place.
IMG_20220110_212500285.jpg
 
I went and finger fucked the HF boxes while I was at the store the other day and I was actually fairly impressed. They don't show it in the pics on the website, but down in bottom of the big bottom box, there are dividers and compartments for hand tools - they look specifically shaped for things like pliers and screwdrivers and whatnot to keep them vertical and organized. There's even a run of a bungee-like cord above them that you can tuck them in to to keep them in place. Also had spots that appeared to be designed for cordless tools and batteries. I haven't seen the Milwaukee or Dewalt ones up close yet to know if they have anything similar.

The plastic is some type of glass reinforced poly something or other and seemed very strong. The latches were the only things that seemed a little inferior to me.

For the price difference, I'd be tempted to give them a shot. I may try one to see how it fits in my wheeling rigs. Not sure I'll have enough space with my normal load of gear, but may be able to make it work.

I wish they had more, smaller 1/2 size organizers like the Milwaukee ones.

1642713293111.png



I looked a little closer at the Walmart ones the other day too. Pretty shitty. I could see specific uses for them where you needed something cheap and light duty - like for my RC plane parts and gear to drag out to the airfield.....but I couldn't see them holding up to one trim with heavy tools in them.
 
Dan said:
This stack was $315. About the same as one of those boxes you linked, assuming you can't find them milsurp and need to buy new from Amazon. A few more options for these plastic boxes for mounting and organization vs a regular box, the stacking feature is great too. The ones with black lids are tool boxes, clear lids are organizers.

Not saying I wouldn't buy military surplus boxes, but if I couldn't find any and had to buy new I'd go with the stacking boxes.
Pretty cool how the lids interlock in the shut position to keep everything in it's place.
Click to expand...
Oh ya, I wouldn't pay full price for them, I wish I could find more. It was just a cool product if you can find them at a reasonable price.
 
Dan said:
The service body is not aluminum yet, haha. Sometimes if I can't work on my projects I buy parts for them to make me feel better.
Click to expand...

For some reason I thought yours was aluminum, maybe it because its just not a rusty pile like most older service bodies.

I use the hf storehouse bins for all my smaller organization but thats when hf was actually cheap. I have a whole tower in my step van, I think they were around $4 when I built it, for light storage I think they they are hard to beat.
IMG_6663.JPG
 
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Pocahontas said:
For some reason I thought yours was aluminum, maybe it because its just not a rusty pile like most older service bodies.

I use the hf storehouse bins for all my smaller organization but thats when hf was actually cheap. I have a whole tower in my step van, I think they were around $4 when I built it, for light storage I think they they are hard to beat.
Click to expand...
I thought those were just stacked at first and I cringe at how much of PITA it would be to get the bottom one out. Then I noticed the individual sliders and fell in love. :laughing:


FYI - HF has doubled the price on those to $10 apiece. anyone looking for something similar, HD has these in 2 packs for $10. They're also stackable and lock together but would work perfect on the rack setup above too. Walmart has red & black ones that are basically identical....and I've seen others on Amazon under different brands.

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I use one of these for my "crash kit" in my wheeling rigs. Double sided and it packs a lot of storage in a small box. One side is loaded up with electrical - fuses, relays, terminals, heat shrink, etc. and the other side has mechanical stuff - random air fittings, ARB fittings and o-rings, small hose clamps, vac fittins and caps. Pretty much all the small random trailside repair stuff. It's saved the say multiple times so far. I think HD discontinued this one, but you can find them elsewhere under other brands for about $10.

1642727767859.png
 
Hf is far from what it used to be, I'm not sure what is going on but it seems like everything has doubled in that store. Not a great precedent when you are a value store and your prices rival milwaukee.

have two of the last one you posted full of drill bits. It's great for what it is, its dented in a few places but is going strong 3 or 4 years of getting thrown around every day by 200lb gorillas.
 
Pocahontas said:
Hf is far from what it used to be, I'm not sure what is going on but it seems like everything has doubled in that store. Not a great precedent when you are a value store and your prices rival milwaukee.

have two of the last one you posted full of drill bits. It's great for what it is, its dented in a few places but is going strong 3 or 4 years of getting thrown around every day by 200lb gorillas.
Click to expand...

They're trying to step up a level or two in quality. And some of their stuff really has. But they're still selling the other old shit for 50% more, did away with the coupons and are pushing Inside Track as hard as they can. I called it early on that they'd start filtering coupons again once sales dropped and enough people bitched.....and sure enough, they're regularly doing the 30% off items under $10. I've made it a point to only go when they have those just to stock up on small item supplies.
 
Benny said:
Even people that have DeWalt tools are buying the Milwaukee pack out system. It is the best. But yes, it is expensive. I dont have as much as I would like, because the cost so much.
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Raises hand. I’m stuck in the dewalt rabbit hole for cordless tools because batteries. That said I bought the Milwaukee pack rat things middle of last year. I have the dolly wheeled bottom box and a bunch of uppers different storage boxes. I like how easy it is to lock snd unlock the stack and it’s hard to beat the quality of the boxes themselves. Sure you can find cheaper stuff out there but it will never hold up to what the Milwaukee boxes will IMO
 
After reading the this I decided to ditch my ammo cans because I didn’t like having everything just thrown in them.

I looked at the harbor freight but went with the craftsman one because it felt better.

Most everything from the big ammo can and some from the bag and some from the smaller ammo can fit the shortest craftsman box
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A2DAD4AA-2221-4D50-BE92-609A46CE165F.jpeg
 
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I have a half rack pack out I just mounted in my buggy. I didn't have much room back there and was only carrying enough to do basic stuff and no spares before in a tool roll shoved behind my seat. It seems well built and fit where I needed it.
 
94toytruck said:
I have a half rack pack out I just mounted in my buggy. I didn't have much room back there and was only carrying enough to do basic stuff and no spares before in a tool roll shoved behind my seat. It seems well built and fit where I needed it.
Click to expand...

Is the hold down system strong enough for buggy wheelin? Or do you throw a strap over it also?
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Is the hold down system strong enough for buggy wheelin? Or do you throw a strap over it also?
Click to expand...
I think it would be ok in my case cause it kind of sits down inside a storage area but it'll get a strap over it as well just in case. Openly exposed I think a good hit might knock it loose or break the cleats on the bottom.
 
bgaidan said:
Seems like everyone is getting in on these types of systems. Ryobi just launched theirs. HF has had one out for a couple months and I even noticed that Walmart has a Hart branded one now.

(Pictures off brand pack outs)


For a similar 3-piece set they're like $180, $150 and $90 in the order posted.

The HF stuff actually looks reasonably well built form the pics. I haven't seen it in person yet.

I'm half tempted to check out the Hart ones and see if they're reasonably stout enough for the wheeling rig. I can't justify $4-500 for the red shit when it'll only get used a handful of times a year.
Click to expand...

Where the freight and Dewalt need to get competitive is made a mount so you can secure those to the floor or wall of a truck without straps. That's where they're getting steamrolled in the trades
 
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