Need a toolkit for my pickup

[jtcarm]

I keep this one in my 4Runner. The tools are OK, the box can be a PITA- clips fall off when open. Tools have a lifetime warranty from Crescent. It's come in handy more than a few times.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Attachment 32647

Now that looks like a winner. Crescent is good stuff.

Thanks!

[RevolverRob]

Most of the packaged toolsets are SAE box-end wrenches. Whereas most cars and trucks today are Metric.

Bear this in mind.

I bought one of these - https://www.amazon.com/Husky-H4PCSTS...51285749&psc=1 a few years ago and added a pair of lineman's pliers, a set of metric box end wrenches, and a hammer to a tool bag and tossed it in the trunk.

[mmc45414]

But getting sort of back in topic, how does everyone store all their stuff in their truck? I originally thought the bed has so much space there'd be no problem putting a tool box in it, but damned if I haven't already used the entire bed for hauling stuff a few times.

I bought a couple of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-02800...re-bullets-btf
and just have them in the front of the bed, then a piece of lumber in the slot that creates a partition that gives me room for the two tool boxes and all of my plate racks. I currently am using 2x6, but bout a couple of 2x12 so they will be tall enough that I should be able to slide 8' long boards or sheets and be higher than the tool boxes.

I have a Bakflip, so it is covered and could be locked, but mostly relying on them being hidden.

[Hambo]

I didn't think anyone would bother trying to get into a beater '84 Chevy to steal three crappy toolboxes that they might get $50 for at a pawn shop. But someone did.

It beat holding a sign for five hours to buy $50 of crack. Fuckers will steal anything.

I feel that I'm going to be fairly limited on what I can or want to fix on the side of the road, so I don't carry a lot of tools. However I have needed tools for hunting stands and other things. A 20oz claw hammer, an old school set of pliers, screwdriver with a few bits, Crescent wrench, and my Leatherman are sufficient and fit under the seat.

[jtcarm]

Most of the packaged toolsets are SAE box-end wrenches. Whereas most cars and trucks today are Metric.

Bear this in mind.

I bought one of these - https://www.amazon.com/Husky-H4PCSTS...51285749&psc=1 a few years ago and added a pair of lineman's pliers, a set of metric box end wrenches, and a hammer to a tool bag and tossed it in the trunk.

I actually have an older one of those and it is fairly handy. I might get a couple more for the vehicles.

Yeah we’re a Toyota family, so it’s all metric. But I’m also buying a piece of land where you always need various tools. I’ll probably have to put together my own set for that.

[ragnar_d]

I've got a cheap-o set of tools that I got as a "gift" at a company Christmas party one year (looks kinda like this). That plus a breaker bar and socket for my lugnuts has taken care of everything I've needed to do on the side of the road or in a parking lot. Anything that would require my heavier-duty tools needs is probably going to necessitate a call to AAA and a ride to the nearest Enterprise.

I broke a cheap Taiwanese-made wrench, in the early Eighties, and been suspicious of cheap tools since that time. Of course, since that time, the Taiwanese have learned to make VERY good steel, and the tools I now avoid are “Made In China.”

Similar experiences, I tried to undo a bolt to a rear seat bracket on my second first car in high school (got rear ended 4 days after I got my license, that's a whole 'nother story) and destroyed two sockets. Since then, I have spent the extra money to buy decent tools. Of course, that's hampered a wee bit when my folks "gift" me tools . . . at least their heart is in the right place.

That's actually how I lost The World's Shittiest Satnav: left it (accidentally; it was a long trip, I was tired and had a lot to unpack) in my vehicle connected to its charger. Some asshole broke a window, grabbed the satnav, and instead of unplugging the charger decided to cut the cable with something that from the marks on the cable looked to be about as sharp as a butter knife. Value of the device, when new? About $60. Value, once the proprietary charger was destroyed? Fuck all. (One more good reason I moved out of the city.)

But getting sort of back in topic, how does everyone store all their stuff in their truck? Does everyone use a toolbox in the bed? (I got a new to me truck last summer and have ever so slowly been trying to configure it the way I want it. I originally thought the bed has so much space there'd be no problem putting a tool box in it, but damned if I haven't already used the entire bed for hauling stuff a few times. So now I'm hesitant.)

I've been truck shopping and have been considering the Decked systems as opposed to a toolbox as, whatever I buy, I'm looking to install a camper shell/topper on it. I'd still be able to use the bed for truck stuff, but it would keep most of that stuff hidden in the bed so that the casual thieving shitheel will keep walking. As it is right now, all of my tools and roadside stuff are in two 17 gallon HDX totes in the rear cargo area of my Explorer.

[Darth_Uno]

Being a carpenter, I tend to have everything I need in my work truck. What we use on site more than anything is 1) jumper cables, 2) jack/lug wrench, 3) tire plug kit.

For everything else you will probably be ok with a thorough socket set. Make sure it's imperial and metric, and has extensions for the sockets. It will save you some cursing.

I got a 100-ish piece Kobalt set a couple years ago and it's the best money spent (by someone else, it was a Christmas gift). Granted a few sockets have walked away over time, so keep an eye on that.

[fixer]

Pre packed tool kits are nice and convenient but as @RevolverRob alluded to it may be missing key pieces.

I recommend considering the following and then crafting a tool kit:

Age and mileage of vehicle. Aka probability of repair.
Make and model. What can typically break that will strand you.
Special tools. Does your car have any unique parts that requires something special or is there a tool that will make a certain task easier.

[That Guy]

Something that occurred to me, that may or may not be in any way useful:

I keep this one in my 4Runner. The tools are OK, the box can be a PITA- clips fall off when open. Tools have a lifetime warranty from Crescent. It's come in handy more than a few times.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So if I'm interpreting things correctly, at least part of the sockets are those 12-pointed ones? Are they the same as "universal" (ie. both metric and, err, yardic in one) sockets? Because if they are, I had a bitch of a time trying to undo a very old bolt on a very old Ford, in order to remove the now deceased starter motor from it, using one of those. Ended up not getting the job done until I got a proper, 6-pointed, inch-sized socket that matched the bolt.

Just a single experience from someone who is not really very mechanically inclined at all, but I've been distrustful of those types of sockets ever since that incident.

[That Guy]

I've been truck shopping and have been considering the Decked systems

Those look friggin' awesome. You guys in the U.S. get all the best toys.

(Might make the bed a little shallow, though? Depends on what sort of stuff you usually haul, I suppose.)