Anyone use gang/job boxes?

[Greg Di]

I'm thinking about getting one to leave outside on site when we are building decks. Especially when the trucks are far from the deck itself. As you know, you need a myriad of tools to get the job done and I get tired of walking back and forth 20X a day and then having to repack everynight.

I'm thinking if I had a job box, I could leave nearly everything we need right there (nothing we use regularly is too big to fit in). I am not concerned with theft or security so it's not an issue.

The issue I forsee is getting the box to and from the site, moving it around on dirt, and loading and unloading it with one or two people. Is any of this remotely possible?

[Happy Home]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

How about a job box on top of a heavy duty yard cart. The ones made of angle and expanded metal and the large rubber tires. There is a thread around here in the last few days asking similar to what you're asking but I can't find it. I think you could easily slide the box on / off from the truck.

[David Meiland]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

Greg, I have a Knaack #90 that I leave on the job when appropriate--either when the job is longer, or on a job where leaving a lot of tools inside wouldn't work well. It weighs nearly 400 pounds but I have 'sometimes' access to a liftgate flatbed and it's not very hard to load into a pickup with if another guy is there to heft it. Since you have a dump trailer you could easily work out a simple ramp in/out and get your box with casters for one-man load/unload. We do not move this thing far from the truck, although it will drag over gravel pretty well.

For me it's invaluable. I've had it on one job for a long time now and it has roughly a dozen power tools in it--some in cases, some in milk crates, some in totes--and quite a few other items like lasers, levels, a first aid kit, etc. It has done a lot to keep us organized and out of the rain.

Good thing you are not too concerned about security because a guy with half a brain can either bust the lock or use a can opener on it.

I have a handful of other Knaack boxes also. One is a large flip top that we can store two chopsaws in. Another is a big drawer unit that is handy but mostly clutters up my shop. I got that one from a contractor who couldn't pay me.

[dave_k]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

Put pneumatic swivel casters on your job box and you will be able to roll it over just about anything. I have 2 metal job boxed and 2 wooden ones all on casters, one of the metal ones is on pneumatic casters. I put them on it for jobs where I don't have an indoor lockup and I am out in the parking lot in a sea can. I can roll it by myself over anything you can drive over, summer or winter. I load them into my E-350 van using a pair of 7' ramp by myself. Loading them onto a trailer or a lower truck would be a lot easier.

[bluemoose]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

I just picked up a couple of Knaack boxes on Craigslist. There are always quite a few listed. If you don't mind unloading and reloading the box, you can move it anywhere you want.

I'm a little worried about theft on the job even though we build in a nice area...you just never know. We started laying out walls on Friday and I haven't brought the boxes to the job yet. But when I do, I think I'm just going to rest the skidsteer arms on top of it when we leave for the day.

Adam

[joseph]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

years back i had a small deck business .I was more trusting ,but also decks were being done at someones home and people were present .i used to put a lot of my supplies in good plastic garbage cans for the evenings .keep it out of sight and dry . I had a lot less tools then ,cannot recall how i dealt with big tools .anyhow makes for good weekend cord storage and then i hauled garbage away in them at end of job if needed.
search craigs list for job boxes ,have been alot coming up in my area

[Dave-A1]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

When I used a gang box regularly I used ramps to roll it into my pickup truck. Fully loaded it was about 300lbs. If your gang box has 4 swiveling wheels it is very tricky on ramps. It is better to have 2 fixed wheels (non-swivel) and 2 that swivel or caster.

I found that I could often find parking spots that were sloped and I would park so the ramps would be as level as possible ie - truck downhill. This made it much easier and safer to load by myself. I never used one on dirt/lawns, but as above, pneumatic tires would be a must and the larger the better.

As per the previous post, Outside I use a Vermont garden cart. They cant be beat outside. My new one came last week and is HUGE (its the largest they make). I can load 3-4 large (55 gallon) garbage bags on it and it is rated to 400lbs. I bought this one for my yard work, but it will go to job sites as needed. Its not real obvious but the front panel is removable so you can load long lumber on these carts - very handy! I would guess it weights about 60lbs so you could probably strap it on top of your truck to transport it. Something you would not do with a job box.

See my previous comments on using a smaller one for the deck repair I did. It saved a LOT of trips and a LOT of work. If you go this route, you may find that you dont need a gang box on site, because the 12 trips you make back and forth to the truck now, will probably be 1 or 2. Instead of leaving the gang box on site you could leave the cart on site and keep all your tools with you. Nice if you need to do another quick job in the middle of a large deck job. Just lock it up. On the repair job I did I was actually able to lock my cart right next to where I parked my truck.

If you want to be creative, you could put the large Vermont cart wheels on a regular gang box. (They sell the wheels separately) They just slide on a 3/4" solid axle. Instead of cotter pins you could use hitch pins and pop the wheels right off. You could just drill the axle holes through the box. If you do this, put the wheels at approximately the balance point of the box. You will have to load your tools around the axle, but you can remove the axle on site. This would give you the strength and security of a real job box with the easy rolling of a Vermont cart.

The wheels come with either real pneumatic tires or "semi" Pneumatic tires that are really solid rubber. With these large tires (26") I opted for the semi-pneumatic so I don't have to deal with possible flats.

My new cart is a true "Carts Vermont" cart and it is really well made. Weather proofed Marine plywood, T-Nut connections and 26" (ball bearing??) Wheels. They easily roll over curbs, pavers, branches etc. If anything they roll a little too easy sometimes! My property slopes and the cart will roll away if I am not careful how I place it. Being made of wood you could even customize it easily if you wanted to .
You can see/buy them at the Allendale nursery.

www.cartsvermont.com

[Joe Adams]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

We've used a Greenlee job box from Home Depot for years. ($249.00 SKU 182351) It is 24x24x48" and weighs 156 pounds. It is set up for adding casters but we've never bothered. Two strong guys can move it around pretty easily. We usually chain it to something and hope for the best. We also bought the next smaller size for use on less tool intensive jobs. I've had empty five gallon buckets, brooms, dustpans, and boxes of trash bags disappear off my jobs but no one has ever messed with the job box.

One tip - We siliconed the inside corner seams and weatherstripped around the top lip to weatherproof it.

http://contractorservices.homedepot....3-478616bf97fb

[Hickorywind]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

Get the smallest one that will work. Figure out the tools that you would be
constantly using and buy for them. Don't store fasteners in them....just takes
up space and adds plenty of "pig iron" weight. Cold weather, you might want
to keep batteries in a warm place. Theft? Ask other contractors about the area you are working. (One does see alot of boxes hanging from the crane hook on more isolated outdoor big jobs) As deepcreek said, weatherproof.
Of course, am speaking from point of view of inside guy, where we usually have a lockup for personal tools. Was working on mega house awhile back
... come in Monday morn, all the gang boxes are canopened (partnersaw?)
all chains for chopboxes, tablesaws and ladders were clipped. But then the
alarm must have clicked...(they had about a 45 minute window) so nothing
was missing.

[smtitmas]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

we use a Jobox 48" piano lid box with heavy duty casters to hold all the tool that we leave on the job and even with a good amount of tools in it we can still drive it over rough terrain and in and out of the trailer with out too much trouble.

we always keep it locked up to something solid like a column or tree. just dont forget the key because if you do you'll be surprised at just how easy it is to break into one of them with a cordless drill and a 1/4" bit.

i also wipe motor oil or spray some kind of metal lube on the hinge and lid every once and a while to prevent rust.

either buy or make some type of topside shelf or box to hold all the small tools that would otherwise fall down to the bottom and require you to pullout everything just to get it.

we also put the company name on it for a bit of free advertising.

as an added bonus it can serve as a jobsite table for reading the plans.

[TSJHD1]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

I'm thinking about getting one to leave outside on site when we are building decks. Especially when the trucks are far from the deck itself. As you know, you need a myriad of tools to get the job done and I get tired of walking back and forth 20X a day and then having to repack everynight.

I'm thinking if I had a job box, I could leave nearly everything we need right there (nothing we use regularly is too big to fit in). I am not concerned with theft or security so it's not an issue.

The issue I forsee is getting the box to and from the site, moving it around on dirt, and loading and unloading it with one or two people. Is any of this remotely possible?

I bought one a long time ago to leave on my framing jobs. Great decision. I got a Knaack box I believe was about 4'x3'x3', which is large enough for cases of gun nails, slide saw, circ saw, nail guns, tool bags, hoses, cords, etc.

The locks are inset into the front face of the box, so they can't be easily cut, it is large enough to fit everything I needed and become heavy enough that it is not easily moved, but small enough that it fits easily in the bed of my truck, and can be moved by 2 people when empty.

When I later bought a small trailer (5x8), the job box went into the front of the trailer, still for all the tools, and the generator and compressor went in the back. Pull up to the job, back the trailer near the action, pull out the comp and generator, and go.

I highly recommend one.

Tom

[TSJHD1]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

as an added bonus it can serve as a jobsite table for reading the plans.

Speaking of that..., my brother uses rare earth magnets to hold the plans down on top of the job box. It allows him to still get stuff out without having to move the plans, and of course keeps the plans from blowing off.

Tom

[jeffaah]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

I have 2...but haven't used them in a while. We generally look up tools in a room on the job. Both are pretty light and when unloaded they are fairly easy for 2 guys to carry. It may seem like a PITA to carry...but it will save on the time it takes to pack up for the day. Even a small box would be worth it. Plus, you can put some bigger wheels on it to move around rough terrain better.

The bigger one is in my side yard. The wife has been after me to get it out of the yard....it'll be gone someday.

These are the two styles I have....mine are not Ridgid. I think mine are Husky and Knaack

[smtitmas]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

Speaking of that..., my brother uses rare earth magnets to hold the plans down on top of the job box. It allows him to still get stuff out without having to move the plans, and of course keeps the plans from blowing off.

Tom

and here i thought i was being really smart by using the lid for the plans and you go and one up me with the magnets idea. ;)

its a really good idea and i'll bring some magnets to work on monday, thanks

[S. Donato]

Re: Anyone use gang/job boxes?

i have the little 32" Ridgid box and i use it to store supplies on some job sites so i have a safe place to drop a case a screws or something since they are the heaviest thing i have to carry around. the 32" box i can lift by myself empty or with help full. i never trusted leaving important tools in it just in case i needed them for another job but for job site specific supplies that i don't want to carry around its perfect.

it's also good for giving a sub the key and say all the supplies are in there.

where would someone get these big pneumatic tires your talking about? i would love to get a set for my box and for a bigger gang box too.

i used to use an my old pickup box attached to a try for a 2" hitch receiver. it was a great thing i back up two guys lift it into the hitch and away i go.