Dewalt has come out with a couple of new heavy duty jobsite tool boxes, designed to protect your tools from the weather, prying eyes, and opportunistic thieves.
They’re built from heavy duty steel, and are powder coated for weather resistance. Each one has gas strut lid stays to hold the lid open, and recessed lock areas to keep things secure. The smallest size has one of each, not two.
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These Dewalt jobsite boxes also feature lid reinforcement, for keeping water and dust out, 4-way legs that are pre-drilled for casters, fully welded seams, and a rear rubber grommet for electrical cords.
The 32-inch size (DXJB3220) is smallest, measuring 32″ wide x 19″ deep x 17.5″ tall, and weighing 67 lbs.
Note: Home Depot’s cubic foot spec for all of these jobsite boxes can’t be right. It says that this small box has 7856 cubic feet of storage space. Maybe they meant cubic inches.
The 42-inch size (DXJB4220) is a lot bigger, measuring 42.13″ wide x 20.13″ deep x 28.38″ tall, and weighing 106 lbs. It’s an intermediate size, if you need more storage space but cannot accommodate the 48″ box.
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The largest size (DXJB4824) is 48″, measuring 48″ wide x 24.25″ deep x 28.5″ tall, and weighing 132 lbs.
Prices: 32″ for $300, 42″ for $350, 48″ for $400
Buy Now(32″ Box via Home Depot)
Buy Now(42″ Box via Home Depot)
Buy Now(48″ Box via Home Depot)
Compare(Ridgid Boxes via Home Depot)
First Thoughts
This is not a market I would have expected for Dewalt to enter. For one, there are already some very well-known brands that have earned solid reputations and followings, such as JobBox and Knaack. Less iconic brands, such as Ridgid, offer jobsite boxes too, and at lower pricing.
These Dewalt jobsite boxes do offer some fresh features, such as gas struts for the lid stays, wider handles (or at least they look to be wider), and recessed lock compartments. And they do cost somewhat less than the JobBox and Knaack options I looked up.
For those of you that use jobsite tool boxes, what do you think of Dewalt’s entry into the market?
David Funk
My guess is these are paint yellow & rebranded from some manufacturer it’s a way to get more money for dewalt ( black and decker ) biggest tool company in the world. They will sell some.
Stuart
Possibly, but I couldn’t find another jobsite box that resembles these.
Dewalt might produce this themselves, it’s hard to say. Don’t forget that SBD has a lot of brands that offer sheet metal tool boxes, such as Stanley, Dewalt (recently), Proto, Mac, Lista, and Vidmar.
robert
I saw this, first, as a ridgid product, and then noticed it in black from a company who’s name I didn’t recognize nor remember.
Both in person.
robert
Strike that,
a.) I skimmed your article. sorry! doh!
b.) The gas struts are an obvious difference.
Tyler
Looks nice, but my biggest concern is the use of gas struts. It’s a nice feature, but in subzero weather it’s not uncommon for them to loose their lift strength. After you are hit in the head by SUV hatches and car hoods, you tend to tread lightly around them. A static strut would help prevent bruised arms and welts on noggins.
Eric
I agree with this 100%. If they’re going to use gas struts there needs to be a secondary locking mechanism to keep it from closing on its own in cold weather or windy conditions.
Nathan
look closer at the angle of those struts when the door is open. see how they are close to flat – I susepct that was on purpose for that same cold temp concern.
that and the fact that the struts will provide their most assistance while you are in mid opening of the door.
So I doubt this would drop on your in cold weather – if you open the lid to 90 degrees. that angle and will require a good bit of extra force to over come the friction in the strut.
your SUV hatch falls on you because the struts are vertical – and gravity is helping the door and the strut to fall down on the shaft.
Tyler
No doubt the geometry is better than a hatch or a hood, but the concern is still there. Wind or uneven surfaces might not always allow the lid to stand or stay at a 90. It wouldn’t be a deal breaker, but a prop rod wouldn’t take much work or cost to engineer into the product. As it sits I’d just plan on dealing with a cut off broom stick. I’ve been taken to my knees by rods that couldn’t muster the strength or cooled off after having been initially warmed by the engine heat. After that you tend to not trust them in cold, regardless of what it’s assisting or supporting.
Tator
I thought Bosch was the largest worldwide company.
Stuart
Bosch has their foot in a lot of different industries, but so does Stanley Black & Decker.
When I have a chance I’ll try to see which is bigger. SBD is a public company, so there’s bound to be plenty of helpful info in their annual reports and such. Bosch is private, so such info is going to be harder to come by.
Mike
FWIW: The Power Tools Division of the Bosch Group is the world market leader for power tools, power tool accessories and measuring tools. In 2014, its roughly 19,000 associates generated sales of 4.2 billion euros, about 85 percent of which outside of Germany. With brands such as Bosch, Skil and Dremel, the division stands for customer focus and great engineering progress. The core success factors are innovative strength and pace of innovation. The division generated about 35 percent of its sales in 2014 with products that have been on the market for less than two years. In 2015, Bosch Power Tools will again launch more than 100 new products onto the German market in its four business segments power tools, accessories, measuring tools and garden tools.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 360,000 associates worldwide (as per April 1, 2015). The company generated sales of 49 billion euros in 2014.* Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including its sales and service partners, Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. In 2014, Bosch applied for some 4,600 patents worldwide. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to create solutions for a connected life. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.”
John
I didn’t see anything that looked like these in a Google image search but I did see a couple labeled as Williams which makes less sense to me given the two companies’ markets.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the OEM for Dewalt’s line of pickup truck boxes was contracted to make these as well.
For what it’s worth, the small (24″?) Ridgid jobsite box I bought for a project was made by Knaack. I don’t remember the outside of the box marked to say it but it was buried in the manual or literature inside when we opened it. Ridgid through Home Depot was a few bucks cheaper than the comparable sized Knaacks when were looking.
JB
They look like the boxes that lowes has built for them.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_195894-76354-37211296_0__?productId=3019396&Ntt=
The ridgid box is extremely nice and compares well to Jobox or Knaack brands.
SteveR
As a first effort, I would find an unemployed 2×4 and cut it to length to keep the lid upright, then store it in the box. Another option is to go on Amazon; OTC, Ampro and others offer universal lift support clamps for cars that may work on these struts to keep them upright. If the struts would lift up enough to get you past the tipping point (take it to roughly 95 degrees to be safe), this wouldn’t be an issue. You shouldn’t have to add on something to a product this expensive, but perhaps a larger/longer set of aftermarket struts that would do this is possibility.
I don’t know; is this an issue with Jobox and Knaack tool storage boxes?
I actually started to write about the box sealing capability; I noticed the pictured unit doesn’t have a rubber seal or gasket where the lid comes in contact with the box. I would think that would be mandatory to keep moisture out and prevent things from rusting. Everything else being equal, If the other brands offered it and this one doesn’t, I’d be looking to buy their model. There is a raised metal inner lip that should help keep out liquid moisture, but adding a rubber seal would be a plus in areas with high humidity.
Stuart
From what I’ve seen jobsite boxes don’t have airtight seals.
I wouldn’t buy one of these with the plan to prop up the lid with a 2×4 that is kept in the box. If the gas strut lid stay isn’t suitable in cold weather, I’d have it handled with warranty claim. Failing that, I’d replace it with a mechanical support.
Mechanical supports have their own downsides.
Maybe I’m too trusting, but I would assume that Dewalt and their in-house or external manufacturing team would have selected the appropriate gas spring stays for these products.
SteveR
I believe you’re right about the airtight seal; even if you sealed where the lid makes contact, there’s still the opening(s) where the padlock(s) is/are used to secure the box lid when the workday has ended. With that in mind, it can never be made airtight. Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose.
I didn’t mean to imply that using a 2×4 was the first way I’d try to resolve a design flaw with the struts. My intention was to use it after it became a problem several years down the road. If I knew it had that issue when new, I’d look at a competitor’s box before I made the purchase. Of course, they’re all going to fail at some point, and it may be that only one of the two fails, prolonging the agony. If one goes, the other one can’t be far behind, as its now carrying double the load it was designed for.
Not to quibble, but isn’t a 2×4 a “mechanical” support in the full sense of the word? Admittedly, it is low tech. The other one that comes to mind is a prop rod similar to the type used on many inexpensive cars (instead of using gas struts) to keep the hood up. I’ve never cared for those, as I could see myself forgetting to lower the rod, then trying to close the hood while the rod was still upright.
Anyway, just my two cents worth.
cabud
take a look at the Job-Site brand from Northern Tool, they look similar to the new DeWalts, similar enough to draw some conclusions
Mike Lewis
I am looking to purchase the Dewalt 42″ job box. I first read your review and noted that the dimensions were 42.13 wide, 20.13 deep and 20.38 tall. It looked like a good fit for my midsize truck. I went onto the Home Depot site and read the specs and noticed that the height was 28.38 inches tall. A lot of the 42″ job boxes are in the 24″ range and am guessing that those dimensions do not include the feet – but not sure. Would like clarification on the Dewalt if you can.
Stuart
When I wrote this post, the specs came from Home Depot’s site. Either I copied it down wrong, or they had it wrong at first and then changed it.
I would go with HD specs. Or it might be wise to check up with Dewalt if the specs are critical to your purchasing decision.
Dwayne
Thin of 2 tools; drill-the cylinder of the lock is brass (yields easily to SS drill) if the miscreant can access (directly) the lock cylinder, then your tools are gone.
crowbar-if the lid has only one latch (centered, see the picture) then the muscular-miscreant, with his stolen crowbar, will again, make your tools disappear.
It only takes once…