Trail Tool Storage

frankenyoter

frankenyoter

No Rain, No Rainbow
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
DARK CITY
Just curious how everyone packs and stores trail tools on their rig. Any good tricks that folks are willing to share? I'm tired of pulling all the sockets and wrenches out of my tool box and filling a bag. Looking to create an organized, compact and dedicated set for my rig.
 
A bunch of lowes or walmart tools in (non crappy) tool bags like you already have. Dont bring good tools on the trail, they will get lost, loaned out permanently, and rattled apart. That being said, Im always amazed when I come across people out in the woods in a cobbled together rig without even a screwdriver.
 
I use a tool bag, and just grab an assortment of tools out of my box and throw them in there.
 
I have not set up anything specific for the trail, but I do have my pull-a-part set up. It is basically a free kobalt tool box I got with impact sockets, breaker bar, full assortment of screwdrivers, and a few specialty tools and thats it. For my trail truck I am looking at getting a rocket ammo box and set it up bascially the same set up.

Alot of it is going to depend on the space you are wanting to store your tools. I have seen some people use a tote and it be located under their seat. i have seen others use a big tall ammo can and bolt it in the back or on the rear fender well. Once you figure out where you want to store your tools then the peeps here can probably give you a much better idea of how to store it and what tools you need to make sure to include. There is always this:http://www.armyproperty.com/Equipment-Info/GMTK-Modernized.htm

hope it helps.
 
I used to carry a craftsman tool bag with an assortment of tools... heavy tools..., and bungee corded the bag in the rear of the jeep. When I rolled, the bungees of course didn't hold, and the nice thick canvas bag ripped, spilling all of my tools, which in turn pelted me and my passenger as well as spilled all over the trail. From now on, I will have a metal box secured to the roll cage and make sure all of my tools stay in that box if I were to ever roll again.
 
Ammo boxes. I carried 2 ammo boxes in my cj. 1 had all the tools I needed, and the other held misc bolts, lines, and stuff. Then I made a mount that held them down using j-bolts, wing nuts and a metal strap.
 
tool bags....i use electrical tape to secure wrenches together, i have a bag that sinches together that i throw a random assortment of bolts, washers, springpins and ujoints in as well.
 
I've got one of the medium sized Action Packer bins and keep my tools/gear in separate bags inside the bin. I'm working on a home-built version of the mounts like SWAG off-road makes.
 
Good ideas. I am sick of loosing my "good" tools or finding them rusting in a muddy bag for 3 months. I am putting the finishing touches on my bed. I have built it around being able to have some storage space for tools low in the back. Originally planned on using some soft bags and/or ammo cans with ratchet straps. Steel ammo cans fit perfectly. I have tie down points figured in, but j-bolts with wing nuts will probably be added tomorrow before rattling some paint.

I was thinking about making or purchasing something that would roll up my wrenches to keep kinda keep them organized and then put the sockets on a couple of the strips.

Going to piece together a dedicated set of cheap tools. Where is the best place for cheapies?
 
One of the handiest things I carry is a 64-piece Husky tool set in a plastic case I got free with a tool chest purchase. It's a little limited in it's scope, but it's got 1/4 and 3/8" ratchets and sockets, a couple of extensions, and covers most metric and standard sizes. I carry a handful of ratcheting and combo wrenches and some sockets to compliment that kit, then screwdrivers, hacksaw, hammer, cordless drill, cordless impact, giant channel locks, drill bits, some fasteners, and about 50lbs of assorted other tools in a box strapped down. I'm working on condensing that, though. My problem is I don't like to be out on the trail, futzing with poorly-fitting tools or getting caught without something I need to fix a rig quickly. There's so much more I'd like to carry.

As to carrying cheap tools, ask yourself this: Would you rather have a nice wrench stolen, or not be able to fix a broken rig because your cheap wrench just broke or rounded off the head of a bolt?
 
And if you're determined to carry cheapies, look at Sears. The Craftsman stuff is going on incredible discounts lately. Like half price. Pick up a 100 piece kit for like $50, then some wrenches from Horrible Fright. They carry a lifetime warranty, and actually work pretty damn well.
 
reznory said:
Only bad thing about Craftsman is wondering if there will be any Sears stores around in 5 years when you need something replaced under warranty.
Click to expand...

Honestly, at the rate I use tools if I broke a wrench in 5 years I would think about the good service it gave me and enjoy the drive back to the store.
 
i have a long flat ammo can that i put my smaller ammo cans in and all my smaller spare parts in. I strap it down with ratchet straps to my cage.
 
If you have a Harbor Freight or Northern Tool store nearby, go actually look/handle the tools. The Pittsburg PROFESSIONAL line at HF feels/looks/works just as good as most of my more expensive tools, but are cheap enough that you wont get your feelings hurt if you leave a wrench or socket laying on the trail in the middle of the night.

I like to use a couple small tool bags to keep the wrenches, socket/ratchets, screwdrivers/pliers all seperate, then throw all them in a bolt down larger ammo can or ATV size tool box.

I have an ATV front rack size diamond tread aluminum box mounted on my buggy and i can put tool bags, teh small spares I carry, fluids, and a small 12v RV compressor all securely.
 
I bolted a water proof plastic box in the back of the XJ. Inside that I have a green tool bag with standard wrenches and sockets on rails. I have metric in a blue one and pliers screwdrivers and other miscellaneous tools in a black one. The box is big enough to carry a quart of oil, trans fluid, gear oil and all there other little stuff like zip ties, black tape, WD 40 and other odds and ends.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
 
I'd go buy a cheap husky or Kobalt tool set and toss it in a bag. When I get the money I need to do this, ended up having most of my tools in my truck instead of my toolbox.
 
Make a list of every tool you have used to wrench on your rig, tools that you would use on the trail for repair. you may never use a 11mm wrench, so why carry it. A full set of about anything is a waste of space(but don't look in my tool box) That said, I carry a lot of stuff, but I am usually the one who has what EVERYONE else needs.
thick plastic freezer bags are good to protect things from the elements like bolts, nuts and u-joints. I also use plastic jars to carry stuff too. Mine has all kinds of fuses, lights, and solenoids in them.
 
My favorite things to keep tools in the Jeep are Dewalt drill cases with the insides gutted out. They are tough plastic boxes that stay closed and keep tools dry if a rain storm comes up. The handles are tough enough to fill them up and tote them around and they open up nicely to find what you need and keep things out of the dirt. I have got them for 3 or 4 dollars a piece at Lowes or Home Depot after they put out new floor models.
 
I kinda roll like upnover as far as over preparedness. I'd rather never use it and have it than need it and not have it. All a yota needs is 8-10-12-14-17 wrenches and sockets plus a 54mm socket. I have set up an ammo can with spare parts, wire, nuts, bolts, etc. Fluids (oil, power steering, brake, wd 40) in another ammo can. Tools (metric and standard) will be in a soft bag with sockets on rails. As of now all will be secured with ratchet straps in some small compartments on either side of the fuel cell. Heading to Harlan next weekend and with any luck will not need the tools!
 
I've gone the full gammit of tools and storage. I try to go light weight now. I used to carry way too much. I had a great tool box that carried everything. The box itself was 40lbs. Then I put way too many tools in it.

Here is what I started with.
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I sorted through my parts a tools. All my sockets were falling off the metal holders and were in the bottom of the tool bag. Takes forever to find what you need. Plus I figured I had too much crap.

I just dumped everything out of the bags onto the garage floor and sorted form there. Turns our I had 14 screwdrivers and 3 of them were the multi ones. Plus I had a ton of duplicate sockets. I also got tool rolls from hf (only place I could find them at the time) for my box wrenches. I ended up taking a ton of these out as there were duplicates of these as well.

I got these really cool socket holders from www.offroadtrailtools.com. The hold the sockets real well. Are flexible and came in 2 colors, so red fo rmetric and black for standard. I spoke with the owner and seemed like a great guy, starting a new business with made in the USA products.

This is still probably too many tools but at least I took a bunch out. People will still look to me for repairs as usual.

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I carry a lot less than I used to. Everything is either wedged under a seat or strapped with ratchet straps. I have rolled my jeep several times and nothing has come out. It is a little inconvenient though. So I'm currently trying to plan my strapping. I really like the swag off road action packer bin.

http://www.swagoffroad.com/Action_Packer.html
 
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