Masonry Magazine February 2003 Page. 20
Truck ACCESSORIES
WHEN IT COMES TO TODAY'S truck-mounted toolboxes, almost everyone is selling diamonds. Not the jewelry, the non-slip pattern.
Are Diamonds a Contractor's Best Friend?
WHY DO TOOLBOXES, mounted in truck beds, have to be non-slip? Do workers normally walk on them? We couldn't get a definitive answer from any of the dozen or so vendors of these lockers but every one of them offers the diamond pattern in their aluminum toolboxes.
Locking toolboxes are a logical choice for any work truck. The selection is great and the security can be equally good. Let's take a look at some typical toolboxes and try to decipher the variables.
First, where will you put it? The standard box sits at the front of the truck bed, either recessed with the lid top at the side rail's height or spanning the bed from rail to rail like a bridge. If you have any use for a full bed cover, such as a cap or tonneau cover. the over-rail box might get in the way. This goes equally for the side boxes, those that run from front to back of the bed along one or both sides. Raised lids on these boxes can be an obstacle.
Then again, if you are going to cap the back of the truck, maybe the standard fixed-mount box isn't the answer anyway. Several manufacturers offer swing-out or slide-out boxes that can be used with enclosed truck beds, or even SUVs and vans.
Once you get the mounting position determined, the available depth of the bed-determined by the make of truck or by the bed liner or protective coating in use can be considered in finding the largest box you can use. Boxes for front mounting can have single lids or dual openings, with or without removable tool trays and organizers. If several workers share a company truck, they might want to have separate locking compartments for their personal tools so the dual box is another choice.
Most vendors offer diamond-pattern aluminum boxes in natural or black powder-coated surfaces. They also can accommodate standard-size pickups, mid-sized and compact trucks, large bed trucks such as the F-250 Ford Dualie, and even older "mini-pickups."
Owens Products, Sturgis, Mich., has a typical line of boxes in two series or styles. Their Garrison Series is constructed of heavy-duty diamond tread aluminum with fully welded seams, reinforced lids and full-length hinges. PVC gaskets keep tools dry and edges are rolled to prevent injuries caused by sharp metal. This series uses paddle latches that can be easily opened even with work gloves on and the boxes are mounted without drilling into the bed in most cases. The Owens Fortress Series offers the same features plus rotary push-button locks with easy outside access for greater security.
One of the largest toolbox companies, Contico, Bridgeton, Mo., offers multiple sizes, finishes-diamonds and flat-and styles of truck-mounted boxes. Their Tradesman series includes a jumbo box and a deep well box in single and dual lid styles. Unlike many of their competitors, Contico has steel cross-bed boxes as well as aluminum units. If the added weight of these boxes isn't a concern, their white or black powder-coated finish will withstand the rigors of construction life as well or better than aluminum.
Contico also offers job site boxes that can be hauled to the job in the pickup and then off-loaded by forklift to be a fixture at the site for the duration of the company's involvement with the project.
PCI-Stellar Products, London, Ontario, provides all the usual styles of diamond plate toolboxes and a line of Yukon low profile boxes. Claimed to be ideal for use with headache racks (the rack behind the rear window that prevents cargo from sliding into the driver's head!) because they don't obstruct the rear view, these boxes also allow cargo, such as planks and sheets, to be stored under the box more easily.
For ease of access, perhaps nothing beats a swing-out or slide-out toolbox. The two approaches available are swing out over the tailgate, supported by a strong frame, and slide out on rollers, usually with a flat plate supporting the load that runs on rails along the truck bed.
Cargo retrieval from the back of a pickup, van or SUV can be difficult, frustrating, and the cause of many back injuries. IFW, Central Point, Ore., addresses this with the BedSlide system and Dan Marshall, vice president of IFW says, "The Bedslide is designed to make cargo and equipment retrieval easy, convenient and safe from the back of pickups, vans and SUVs. It is now available in Contractor Grade (CG). Like all Bed-Slides, the CG comes assembled and ready to install in 15-minutes. Customers now have the option of the Standard Carpeted Deck, Weather Deck, or the new CG in selected models."
The BedSlide is a rolling platform that extends up to 80 percent of the way from the back of the truck and is completely removable in less than a minute. Extended, the Bedslide will hold up to 1000, evenly distributed pounds of cargo.
Marshall adds, "The new Contractor Grade features a reinforced, powder-coated frame, more bearings, a laminated