US General Tool Cart - 1 Year Review + UPGRADES! - Harbor Freight 

What upgrades or modifications have you done to your tool carts or boxes?

I have used used Walmart Yoga mats for all my boxes. Very effective and cheap!

The fold down side tray you added, I would put an earth magnet on the back so when down, it won’t be flopping as you move it. Your upgrades turned out well.

I changed the two fixed wheels to rotating type wheels. They have the wheels at Harbor Freight. All four wheels will spin in any direction making it easier to move the cart around in tight spaces.

I use this box at work, when using the top tray, just pull out all the drawers slightly, then close the top, leaves access to all the drawers

Accessories i added: glove dispenser, folding side tray, spray can holder, magnetic cup holder. Mods include light strip for my wrench drawer (others will be lit too), integrated power strip, rubber grommets for screw driver / prybar holes, fire extinguisher mount with extinguisher. New liners are a must but im a perfectionist and trying to find one in my fave color and wide enough that i dont have to use multiple pieces for 1 drawer. Will def be upgrading the drawer slides at some point.

I added LED lights and a Bluetooth speaker to mine. Also installed 4 plug electrical box with extension cord mounted so I could charge my drill battery and speaker. Then when I need it I unplug it and wheel it to where I’m going, everything is charged. Lights are battery powered and I can see into my drawers when it starts to get dark.

Great carts for the price, I've had mine almost 3 years and no problems. Purchased the 44" double bank rolling tool cabinet earlier this year and love it also, a little hard to push around loaded with tools, they both hold a lot of tools and in my favorite color orange😁. I remember the video when you purchased the cart.✌🏻

I watched video while putting together my tool cart I got from Harbor Freight... I am 69 years old, and I Thank You So Much for Your Video...Now, I have to wait for someone to help me pick up the tool box so I can get it completed!! Thank You Again😊

I have the same one, like it much better than the larger 9 drawer Yukon 46" roll chest. I installed all 4 swivel casters when I assembled it. Outstanding little product for the price.

Thanks for the great video. I did the same thing with my cabinet. The tray table I put magnets down at the bottom to help hold that wedge in. Also I put magnets (260) on the back of my drawer, so they stay shot when I move it around, but I did cut those plungers out so I can open the doors with the top shot. God bless brother keep believing.

Nicely done! I had been waiting for the big parking lot clearance sale to get the 26" 8 drawer, but I'm starting to like this one more and more. Nice mods and details. Thanks again! 👍

Nice work! Just put my cart together today and I’ll be adding your top surface mat and the side tray, thx for the info!

My harbor freight did not have it in stock. So I pre-ordered it in red to match my box. I can’t wait. Thanks for the tip!

I had one of these for 3 years they are great, I just got the icon triple bank with the stainless top that thing is sweet

Dan when i had that cart i used the western saftey stair tread material for the top of the box for a durable work surface. they have the square and rectangle peices. also looks like you need the 225 pittsburgh tool set. another must have for your collection. i just got it for 99 on sale. and the quinn digital wrenches are nice too. nice channel

Great video I have the same cart but I purchased two more casters from Harbor freight and that makes it even more maneuverable.

I put casters all around. Makes moving much better. Just got mine so watching ur video, I’m going to glue my pads down today before my tool organizers get here.

We removed the lid modified it for installation in the front of our enclosed trailer. The latches work great and it has held up well to the abuse from holding our tools and bouncing around in the trailer.

I have the same cart in the same color. I've owned mine for over 2 years now. No issues. I added all swivel casters to it. It has a side tray and I recently decided to organize and clean up my cart. I added some black trim to it and replaced those foam liners with some MUCH better liners from Amazon. It's CASOMAN Professional Tool Box Liner. I got mine in black, 18x24 and paid $30 for it. I used double-sided tape on the edges and so far it is holding up very nicely. I been thinking about making a video on my cart. But these carts are awesome. I have noticed the crazy price increases on them as well as pretty much everything else at Harbor Freight. I have been thinking about their 6 drawer cart and selling my 5 drawer since the 6 drawer has all the drawers the same size so it gives more room for more tools haha.

I’m impressed. He did a nice job. You transform that box into something nice good luck for your partner…

Just got one a month ago but had a coupon for 225, love it so far!

TPU roofing membrane makes a great drawer liner. I got a bunch of scraps of it for free from a local roofing company.

Nice little cart! Im getting the green one tomoro to match my titanium mig 170. Ill use mine as a welding cart. Tape those drawers off or remove and tape then spray em with bed liner.

Nice upgrades!

I like your Long Island auditor sticker.

Love mechanics that can weld! 🎉

Seems like a better option would have been to just move the handle to the other side, rather than swap wheels. I just bought the cart and had to re-do about every bolt on the cart. (sigh) Nice rubber upgrade! I did the side tray upgrade as well. My driveway is slanted, so I think I'm going to attach some heavy duty magnets to that swingout tray and perhaps the top to help "magnetize" the surfaces to help keep tools attached (assuming the wheels will lock strongly enough that the entire toolbox doesn't run off or even hit other cars in the driveway or the street). Nice work! I drilled one of the larger side holes out to run a plug, put a powerstrip (magnetic, from HF) in the top lid, and use the bin area for a big charging station and holder for cordless tools. I Dewalt tools, and it holds batteries that are charging while the lid is closed (except the 6ah battery, which is pretty thick)

Looks really good man.

18:00 I ended up drilling out the rivets on the back for the plunger covers, pulling the whole locking bar out, and then used a couple of small bolts to put the covers back in place. This way I can go back and add the locking mechanism back in if I ever decide I want or need to use them again.

The damn tool box liner is not cheap, I bought one that I thought would be enough because it said 6 feet but it was not and it was like $30 and I think I got 3 draws done. I am buying the series 3 cart this Friday and the side tray. thanks for sharing your cart and showing how the side tray attaches.

I'm looking at this box for my work truck and will be removing the legs and installing work trays on both side. That lock/lid is what I know I'm going to have an issue with. Old boxes used a drop bar and pad lock. I think I fab something up.

If you do decide to cut the metal where the plungers are, stick the cut off portion into the casing (possibly don’t even need too) then when you need to use the top just take off the caps.

The blue coating is holding up well because it's powder coat and not paint. It will chip if impacted, but powder is chemical resistant.

Can't remember if I had mentioned this before or not, but I bought a set of 20pc non reversible non flex ratchet wrench sae and metric combination wrenches kobalt pro 90 $72 on eBay $74.96 shipped.. and I thought I really liked the gearwrench set of the original design ratchet wrenches sae and metric combination of 20pc also but it was the ace hardware specific exclusive set it has a set of adapters for the 1/4,3/8, and 1/2 inch drive to make a very thin ratchet..I really like the kobalt pro 90 ratchet wrenches better myself.

Dollar store and got carpet to line the drawers. Way better than a cheap mat.

You could always use the foam liner from the tool cart or the rubber liner and glue it down in the spray can tray after you clean the oil residue out and it would be better protected

You can always put a piece of wood on the too to have a better work surface and if you need to use it you can open the top pull the draws out slightly then clise the top that way the drawers will be open

I got me some ratcheting gearwrenches whem they first came along They were so expensive when they first come out. Still use them today. Religiously.

How much clacking does the side folding table do when you're rolling it around in the down position?

The two stationary casters arent bothering you? I lasted maybe a month before it drove me nuts and I swapped them to have all four be swivel 😂

any thoughts on the flux 125 Titanium welder? would you recomend it for beginner doing exhaust work? thanks (I noticed it sitting in your tool cart..lol)

Maybe for on the top of the lid you could have gotten a good rubber mat with magnetic corners that you could unroll and slap on top for when you needed it

Not gonna lie, the backward wheels were bothering me. My OCD couldn’t handle it. After a year I am now at peace. Cool project and some wise updates to the cart.

what the name of the adhesive you used?

Nice job Gotta say I’m not a fan of the lift top carts. Just doesn’t make sense to me Lots of the slightly more expensive boxes start looking better when you see they come with liners and a top drawer. Home Depot and Menards and Lowes all have carts that cost a little more with liners and solid tops. You should wait for a HF super coupon and get the polycart if you want something to wheel around with the open bottom no drawers to put jugs on the bottom. A full cart with drawers all the the way and a work surface on top to put tools in I have a cart I riveted a piece of plywood to the back to put hangers on it also has magnetic rails riveted to the side The carts that are open on the bottom you also have to be careful about moving when they get top heavy. Well any cart I like shallow drawers on top for wrenches Screwdrivers stuck to magnets on the side If you don’t want to put holes in your cart. Rivet,screw I guess glue or epoxy 2 magnetic rails together and stick to outside and will hold a bunch even more if you stack a set on top of each other. If you get an organizer that is supposed to be magnetic and stick to the side but slides down just throw a magnetic rail under it Just another comment on that lift top. Had a guy in the shop who had one. He was always kind of frustrated by not being able to have a place to set stuff while getting what he needed out. I took my HF recall stool in and they didn’t have any of the new round ones in. I got the more expensive one with drawers. I like the cheap round one way more. I never have the seat facing the right way. The drawers are awkward to use, I put stuff in them because storage space is always at a premium but would not recommend. Get a cheaper stool, get your favorite wheeled tool storage box and one of their crates to put on top. I have the Ridgid. Could see using a pack out with the drawer unit though. 2 crates and you have a separate place for the parts that like to roll away. I also like the little HF wheeled parts tray, it sits nicely on the ridgid crates and too convenient to pile tools and fasteners on. If I have to go somewhere the ridgid rolling box will be my stool. I always have a couple of the kneeling pads which can use as a cushion. I have some HF kneeling pads but recommend more expensive ones. I don’t know who makes the Menards masterforce ones but at double the price they are way better

Mine doesn't have a matt on the bottom i must have got ripped off again i always have crap luck 😢

On mine I have swivel casters all the way around

Don't take this the wrong way, but the best part about this video was seeing your LIA WtP sticker lol

There is a you tube video that addresses the problem of the lid and how to modify the plunger

Ratcheting wrenches are great. I haven’t had much luck with the Pittsburgh wrenches. Either stop ratcheting or the guts fall completely out.

put the bolts in from the inside and the nut from the outside. No scraped knuckles then.

The only problem is where you put your top lid is where you're movable wheels are you put the handle that you control your car on the fixed wheel side you need to change the handle and you spray bottles to the other side or change those bottom Wheels otherwise you're not using pulling or pushing the cart wright and I would cut those tabs off so you can use your drawers and the top of the same time all you need is a bungee cord to go from the bottom to the back real quick when you move your cart

A lot of the product reviews at AMZN on the drawer liner are really taking a dump on the quality of it now. They’re saying the appearance of the ribs are marred by “booger like” surface defects.

I've had mine for about 10 years now. It's been great. My only complaint is the shocks for the top are shot and I have not found replacements.

just bought the new slate grey on the 12 days of christmas sale for $205

For your plunger issue: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p7AAgUAKMVQ.html To stiffen up doors from opening so easily, put magnets behind the drawers.

Do you by chance have any ideas on resealing a leaky truck box? I bought my truck with a tractor supply box on it already. Its one of there larger deep ones. Haven used it yet cause it leaks like a siv in the rain. Love that box you have there btw

Lol I remember when you did the video with the tool chest and the crawler

Great video but wouldn’t have been easier to just switch the handle to the other side rather then the casters

Heck I bought mine awhile back for 159.00 with coupon.

I think inflation my guy, but starting on the 6th march it is on sale for $220 and I’m going to pick one up hopefully I can work in some sort of a 10% off coupon to

US General five-drawer mechanic's cart: $289. Roll of rubber drawer liner: $63. Guy using tin snips to cut out 27 pieces when there are scissors in the house: priceless.

they need do away with that big drawer and put 2 smaller ones on i saw a guy du that on u tube

How has the rubber on top lasted?

Getting one tomorrow for 249

Bought the same one today. $190

It's been a year? Oh man

3M 90. Super 77 is weak

Hello Daninator..., Here is a link to a video where the guy does a mod for those plungers in the top lid. maybe you could try it out for you, that way you could use your top lid for working space also. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-v3QVHFrrxbA.html

[PAINT IT BLACK!!!!!!!!!!!

The lid is stupid, if it slid off or flipped back to use as a shelf, sure, but it's pretty dumb design.

Man, that chest is a mess. If those were not in there, they could be more messier to be around!