I purchased my stackable toolboxes online, and one of the things I struggled with was visualizing how much stuff I could actually get in the boxes. This is for others in the same boat. If you're looking at a different brand, obviously size and options will vary – but hopefully this gives you a general idea.
From bottom to top, then.
The Rolling Box
This is the largest of the boxes I bought, at approximately 22" wide x 19" deep x 26" tall. I will be using this for things that are useful to have at the barn but that I don't need often (since it is the least accessible box). For now, that includes a couple rolls of cotton, my clipper set, my bathing bucket, and a few other odds and ends. I have room to put two removable trays on top (the box comes with one – the other is from the other box).
The Drawers
The drawer unit is for my medical, first aid, and hoof care items. I chose the drawers because they are accessible without having to unstack the top boxes. The trade-off is that larger items, like bigger bottles and roll cotton, do not fit in them. These drawers came with configurable dividers, which was very handy. The entire unit measures roughly 21" wide x 16" deep x 15.6" tall; individual drawers are about 3.5" deep.
The Top Drawer
This drawer includes:
- Needles
- Syringes for flushing
- Syringes for dosing
- Exam gloves
- Baby wipes
- Alcohol pads
- Various ointments
As you can see, I'm not exactly maximizing space in the drawer. If/when I need more room, I'll condense things down and keep the spares at home. But since I don't need the space right now, I piled it all in.
The Middle Drawer
This drawer includes:
- Gauze rolls
- Gauze pads of various sizes
- Sanitary napkins (because they are absorbant)
- Animalintex
- Vetwrap
As with the top drawer, I could condense this down if I needed more space.
The Bottom Drawer
The bottom drawer is for larger items and equipment in general. This includes:
- Stethoscope
- Scissors
- Thermometer
- Notebook and pens
- Duct tape
- Rasp
- Twitch
- Chain
The Large Toolbox
The large toolbox measures approximately 21" wide x 16" deep x 11.7" tall. Toughbuilt offers a taller toolbox, which I would have preferred, but it doesn't seem to be available in stores. I didn't have a great experience having boxes shipped to me, so I wasn't willing to try again to get the taller version.
This is the box I will use to store things I need to access regularly.
Currently, that's bottles of first aid items that didn't fit in the drawers, a set of long lines, a lunge line, two leadropes, a couple rope halters, and my helmet.
The box came with a removable tray, but it doesn't fit with the items I currently have in it – one of the reasons I'd have liked the taller version.
Still, it's a decent size and should be very functional for day to day use.
Tool Tote
The tool tote measures 12" wide x 24" deep x 15" tall. Because it's designed to haul tools, it has a very thick/strong bottom that is waterproof, and then two primary interior compartments with some smaller pockets. There is a handle that flips up or to the side. It's much larger than the totes or bags most people use for grooming kits, and it's also substantially heavier. For these reasons, I may end up using a regular tote or bag and just leaving it on top of the box. But I do like that it locks in place, so for now I'm going with it.
For reference, right now it is holding:
- Ten brushes
- Six curry combs and shedding tools
- Three grooming mitts
- A couple mane and tail brushes and combs
- A couple hoof picks
- A bot knife and Slick 'N Easy block
- Probably some other things
Yes, I have a problem with buying too many brushes and curry combs. Don't judge me. The point is the tote is huge and can fit an entire tack store in it.
The Cooler
This is the white box in the main picture; I didn't take additional pictures. They offer both a half cooler (this one, which is 16qts) and a full cooler, which is 38qts and has the same footprint as the larger boxes. I went with the smaller one so it would stack with the grooming tote. This was absolutely an impulse buy and the least necessary purchase I made.
The Accessories
Toughbuilt has a “tool holder” accessory, which are the two pieces attached to the bottom box and drawer box to hold my whips. They work great for that, obviously.
I also purchased some magnetic hooks. Currently I have one set up to help keep the whips straight and a second to hang a halter and lead on. Most likely, the bathing bucket will end up hanging from one of the hooks, and I have a couple others I could add to the back corners if I wanted to – so lots of flexibility there.
General Impressions
The biggest thing with the stackable boxes is making sure you have the right configuration for your needs. Originally, I had a smaller box for the medical/first aid stuff. Everything fit, but I would have had to unstack the top boxes to get to the first aid items. I can already tell I am going to like the drawers much better. As I mentioned, I'd prefer to have the XL tool box on top, but this is ok. I knew I was going to want to hang things on the outside, so when researching brands I made sure I had an option to do that. Some brands have hook accessories; I knew I could add magnetic hooks to the Toughbuilt boxes.
In terms of overall space, I had everything in my Stanley rolling trunk before I bought these boxes. I'm not sure which setup technically has more storage space, but functionally they are about the same for me. Keep in mind I had everything in the Stanley trunk organized in various bags and totes, so I wasn't necessarily maximizing the space in there.
Hopefully this is helpful to give a sense of the possibilities for this type of setup.
