Anyone use tool carts

[bowlofturtle]

http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/produc...urce=igodigital

I'm considering getting one of these and using it as my main box.

I'm going back into wrenching after a 4 year break ( personal issues that needed to be handled). I have a standard craftsman box 26in upper/lower. But the shop i'm working at isn't more of a fleet service and we only work on ONE type of car. Also i'll be a mobile tech 40% of the time if breakdowns happen. So a FULL double bay box might not have as much benefits to me as a normal shop is.

From what i gather most people there can work out of a service cart, there are people with full size double/triple bays but thats because they dont have space at home or storage so they just leave it at work.

I used a small 1 drawer cart before and liked it but i still had my big box to go to. How many people work just out of a service/tool cart? You gotta think and plan ahead with your tools. But i think this can work for me. Plus worst case is i bring in my 26in craftsman or buy a used snap-on/matco box down the road.

 

[Trav]

Yep, i use a Hazet 166N.

 

[clinebarger]

That's all I use at work anymore, It would be hard for me to work out of a 3-drawer roll cart without my big roll cab.

I have a Snap-On KRSC46G 6-drawer roll cart I bought used from a young Tech that decided this line of work wasn't for him for $500.

 

[cptbarkey]

my $38 harbor freight special gets a good workout. http://www.harborfreight.com/16-inch-x-30-inch-steel-service-cart-5107.html

 

[andyd]

Kinda sorta , the same thing, only different I'm doing the prep and painting of my house, working out of the trunk of my 528e

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/produc...urce=igodigital

I'm considering getting one of these and using it as my main box.

I'm going back into wrenching after a 4 year break ( personal issues that needed to be handled). I have a standard craftsman box 26in upper/lower. But the shop i'm working at isn't more of a fleet service and we only work on ONE type of car. Also i'll be a mobile tech 40% of the time if breakdowns happen. So a FULL double bay box might not have as much benefits to me as a normal shop is.

From what i gather most people there can work out of a service cart, there are people with full size double/triple bays but thats because they dont have space at home or storage so they just leave it at work.

I used a small 1 drawer cart before and liked it but i still had my big box to go to. How many people work just out of a service/tool cart? You gotta think and plan ahead with your tools. But i think this can work for me. Plus worst case is i bring in my 26in craftsman or buy a used snap-on/matco box down the road.

Awesome. Depending on needs. As a aircraft mechanic I really don't carry much so a carry box works for me. I've got a six drawer craftsman to carry stuff I rarely use.

 

[ktmrider]

Most of the techs at our truck dealership and our leasing company use tool carts. In the heavy/medium truck industry it seems hard to get away with just a cart but they usually operate with their most commonly used tools in the cart and work out of it 80% of the time.

I'm not a professional mechanic but I do most of my own work on my vehicles as well as my daughters and help friends a lot. I recently purchased a tool cart as well. I have an older 26" Craftsman lower, middle and top chest set up which became a pain to move around the garage. I looked at the Matco posted in this thread and also the Mac version. Very nice boxes, if I did this for a living I would buy either one. But I couldn't justify the expense for something that would never leave my garage. So I ended up with a HF 5 drawer. I moved all of my sockets, automotive scanners, test tools, ratchet and metric & standard combo wrenches that I commonly use. It's much easier to work out of. However, as good as it is for the money (much better then the Craftsman tool carts) I don't think it would hold up for professional daily use. The Matco and Mack carts I looked at are a lot sturdier but the $800 + for one is hard to swallow for a tool cart.

 

[Trav]

Thats the nice thing about the Hazet 166N You can fold it all down into the box and its a handle to pull it along.
They cost good money but good used ones sometimes show up on ebay. I bought one new many years ago and its still as good today.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Automotive-Shop-...ols&vxp=mtr