Hot Or Not? Stanley FatMax Portable Truck Box
By Gordon DeWitte
The Stanley® FatMax™ Portable Truck Box (part number 036800R) is a 42-gallon capacity storage system that’s 22-1/4″ H × 44″ L × 19″ W. It has a water-resistant seal, a security system with alarm and code panel, heavy-duty 8.5″ wheels, and locks into a docking station that can be bolted to any truck bed. Pricing and availability information is a bit sparse: the only price estimate I’ve been able to find is $290, which is in the same ballpark as crossbed boxes, and apparently only Lowe’s carries it.
Does its roll-around portability make it more useful than a crossbed or other truck bed box? What do you think?
Stanley FatMax Portable Truck Box [Manufacturer's Site]
Update: The people at Stanley gave us a quick ring with a little more information. First, this will sell for right at $200. Second, this is actually a security box. It locks to a docking station in the back of your truck and is unlocked with an electronic keypad. Basically, the idea behind this product is to keep people from ripping off your stuff while you’re parked at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or a quick stop at the jobsite. You’ll hear more about this product soon — we’ve got one in for test.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Wouldn’t 42 gallons worth of tools be rather heavy to be lifting into and out of a truck bed?
October 6th, 2009 at 9:14 am
@ Blind
That was one of my concerns, too. Not sure that the handle and wheels would help much, and just pushing it off the tailgate seems a bit harsh.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:21 am
We have a couple of a lesser version of this thing (no alarm, headlights, navigation system, etc.) at work used mainly to store equipment. They really haven’t held up all that well. Of course, people tend to use them as benches or step-ladders.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:40 am
the benches and stepladders yes, but i have 3 of the 36″ mobile job boxes and they have been durable, i have one that has approx 250 lb worth of tools and a massive vise for redeployment back to the states, i personally have treated mine well, others have not faired well. i think 42 gallons will be way too heavy for tailgate dropping and it seems really expensive. if you could afford to purchase several and customize each to work with what you need for a particular job that might be cool. besides that seems kind of not hot
October 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
These don’t last.
I fly around 150,000 miles a year for work and take a tool box with me 95% of the time.
I had a craftsman travel box that lasted about 5 months. I bought a Pelican box to replace it and haven’t had in issue in about 5 years.
I wouldn’t recommend something like the Stanley product if you plan to actually travel with the box.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Besides the other concerns, it’s too high to fit under my hard tonneau.
October 6th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Agreed … this box filled to capacity would be way to heavy to lift. You would have to carry around a ramp to safely roll this off your bed and who would want to waste valuable bed space just for a ramp to off load a tool box? I think the concept is good but the execution by Stanley was not that hot.
Tim
October 6th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
[...] Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Hot Or Not? Stanley FatMax Portable … [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
This might be a case of too light for heavy work and too heavy for light work.
We use Knaack Boxes - that when loaded are lifted out with a forklift, crane or more often a backhoe and slings.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:18 am
I used one of these when i used to work on homes. I would carry one of these around with all the basic tools in it. It lasted 5 or more years, which i think is reasonable. Yes it can get heavy, but i think it is important to use the wheels. I used a ramp to walk it up into my Scout. Nice and easy.
ShopMonger
October 27th, 2009 at 11:43 am
How does the docking station hold up after a few loads of dirt?