broken tough system boxes

was wondering if any body has ever had to replace the plastic locking tabs on the tough system boxes,[ the ones that lock the boxes toghther] i have a couple of boxes that need repair, i really like the new metal pin style they have on my new tough system radio, cant seem to find any replacement parts on the dewalt site

mohawkdec wrote:

was wondering if any body has ever had to replace the plastic locking tabs on the tough system boxes,[ the ones that lock the boxes toghther] i have a couple of boxes that need repair, i really like the new metal pin style they have on my new tough system radio, cant seem to find any replacement parts on the dewalt site

They’re lifetime guaranteed. Call DeWalt Monday and they will mail you a pack of them.

I love the metal ones too. I can’t seem to figure out if they will go in the tough boxes though.

thank you ricky

RickyMcGrath wrote:

On July 16, 2016 at 4:33 PM, RickyMcGrath said:

They’re lifetime guaranteed. Call DeWalt Monday and they will mail you a pack of them.

I love the metal ones too. I can’t seem to figure out if they will go in the tough boxes though.

Mr McGrath to the rescue.. I love this forum! 

Something fell on one my tough boxes today and has made a hole in the top, surely this isn’t covered under lifetime warranty?

dano_uk wrote:

4 hours ago, dano_uk said:

Something fell on one my tough boxes today and has made a hole in the top, surely this isn’t covered under lifetime warranty?

You never know. Give it a try. What can it hurt . 

They are supposed to be pretty durable. I would try claiming the warranty on it.

Mine has a crack that runs from the back hinge, down to the bottom of the box.  I didn’t even think about replacing it.  Just keep using it.

I’ll have to think about that.

Course, it’s been broken for a couple years.  Maybe longer, I just noticed it one day.

I’ve never had to replace them but if you contact dewalt they will probably help

i did contact dewalt, they told me i have to pay, which i dont have problem with, doesnt seem to be any kind of waranty on the tabs, 7.98 each. [ for plastic ] lol

Well shipment from Israel isn’t cheap 😛

mohawkdec wrote:

On 7/16/2016 at 1:28 PM, mohawkdec said:

was wondering if any body has ever had to replace the plastic locking tabs on the tough system boxes,[ the ones that lock the boxes toghther] i have a couple of boxes that need repair, i really like the new metal pin style they have on my new tough system radio, cant seem to find any replacement parts on the dewalt site

DeWalt is great with customer service and I’m betting they will send you a new one if it broke.  

I haven’t had this issue yet, but did somehow break a piece of plastic off of one that doesn’t affect function or compromise the IP rating.  Also, one of the metal latches broke loose after I stumbled and grazed it one evening (it wasn’t latched shut).  This broke the plastic that retains the latch but I managed to reattach the latch.  Considering I’ve barely used the DeWalts but have used and abused the Ridgids without an issue for three years, I’m kind of disappointed.

mohawkdec wrote:

On 7/22/2016 at 2:17 PM, mohawkdec said:

i did contact dewalt, they told me i have to pay, which i dont have problem with, doesnt seem to be any kind of waranty on the tabs, 7.98 each. [ for plastic ] lol

This tag is hanging off one on my new boxes. I would not be happy with paying $8 to replace a plastic tab that can’t hold up to daily use.

i took the two metal pin ones off the tough system radio and put them on one box and they work fine.i did a live chat thing with them just last week, metal pin ones are unavailable ?, and the plastic ones are on back order. they never broke from carrying, i had five of them stacked together on the jobsite, and they got knocked over, the top three boxes broke the tabs on the box that was attached too it, then same thing happen in my van. they work for what they are intended for, they just cant take much abuse. i still havnt giving up on getting the metal ones, dont know what they.cost. my local runnings store has the new tough box that is attached to a wheeled cart, and that one has metal pins also of yet another style. i just seen those a few days ago. im going to inquire about getting those. the radio still has the best style .Iim going to inquire about the warranty thing, and see if i can work out a deal for the metal ones, i reall dont want the plastic again if i dont have too. ill pay for an upgrade

this is how they break

I have a broken latch as well but it’s the one that hold box to the rack, the spot were the latch attaches to on the box broke , oh ya it’s one of the parts organizer boxs

i still think the tough system is the best out there, all companies have issues with there plastic boxes, i have two milwaukee hard boxes that hold my m12 fuel system and one locking tab broke in the cold when i slapped it shut. My buddy has all festool with their systainer system, and he had one box actually crack on him when it was in his van. job site and travel are rough on them.all my old electric tools came with metal boxes that still work today/ but i prefer the good plastic over the metal ones, it took me awhile too accept that, but they dont dent, rust, and they are weather proof, while still being affordable.You can still get good metal ones that do the same but they will cost you an arm and a leg

snohiker wrote:

On 3/10/2017 at 9:03 PM, snohiker said:

I have a broken latch as well but it’s the one that hold box to the rack, the spot were the latch attaches to on the box broke , oh ya it’s one of the parts organizer boxs

To Hear Dewalt isn’t repairing tough system with its lifetime guarantee and charging for parts is very disappointing.

A quick story… 

Purchased a Ruger AR15 a couple years ago had an issue a few months ago where the gun needed to be send in to Ruger. Only info I had was the serial number on the rifle. They send me a pre paid box to shop the rifle overnight to them(free). Repaired, and cleaned the rifle to show room condition, included a bunch of goodies( cleaning rags, stickers, magazine) then shipped in back to me overnight the next day (free). Got gun back and didn’t even recognize it looked brand new. Never asked for credit card and never charged me a cent. 

What brand of guns do you think I will purchase for the rest of my life ?

And to top it off Ruger doesn’t have a written warranty they just stand behind their products 

Well, my DS450 is no longer IP65 rated…  I’ve spent the past couple of weekends hanging drywall and used the holiday combo to transport my tools.  Batteries amandd charger go in the DS130, hand tools in the DS300 and cordless tools in the DS450.  

Since buying it the handle pulls out further than it should on one side.  A few days after getting it the spring on one of the side handles stopped working.  Then I accidentally brushed one of the lid latches and broke it off, but managed to reattach it.  

Anyway, I had a teenager helping me out, and rather than carry the loaded box by its top handle, he used the side handles.  Sure enough, it broke off, cracking the side a bit and putting a hole in the box.  I tried contacting DeWalt last weekend to see if it can be warranted, but was unable to submit the question.  I’ll try again tomorrow and post the results here.  I highly doubt the box was even close to its 88 pound rating.  It held an assortment of 20v Max tools and a few smaller handtools in the tray.

One of my 300s has a crack in the shell and if you want to be realistic you need to accept that many of these boxes aren’t as weathertight as they want you to think they are. Plenty of mine seal well enough (and certainly better than competitors) but I think the pressure relief valve is a bit of a joke unless you’re taking them on a flight or something. Pelican cases, they are not. They are high quality affordable boxes though. They even hold up well enough to getting tossed around in Canadian winters lol and that will usually crack plastic boxes with ease. 

mohawkdec wrote:

On 3/6/2017 at 6:53 AM, mohawkdec said:

this is how they break

Yup got one out of the box like that brand new

Well, I received a shipping label to send my box back.  Now I just need to find a cardboard box large enough to ship it in.  Hopefully DeWalt warranties it, but regardless I’ll post the outcome here. 

So, I shipped it in early May and just received the replacement last week.  DeWalt actually shipped the new one within days of the broken box arriving there, but I never received notice, so it sat in my rental office for almost a month.

All interactions with DeWalt were great, though, and they honored the warranty without any questions.  Now I just need to load this box up with tools.

I got rid of my tough boxes after driving a hundred miles down a gravel road with my tool boxes in the bed. When I opened the large tool box it was completely full of dust.

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HiltiWpg wrote:

23 hours ago, HiltiWpg said:

I got rid of my tough boxes after driving a hundred miles down a gravel road with my tool boxes in the bed. When I opened the large tool box it was completely full of dust.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 

Interesting. The local store here in town had the system on sale ( not much of a sale) and I was thinking about purchasing it. I didn’t really even consider how well it is sealed in terms of debris getting into the boxes. Not sure if Milwaukee’s new boxes have a similar design in terms of how well they close?

Hopefully you guys realize the gaskets are friction fit and can be pulled out and adjusted. I have a few boxes that aren’t tight but the two I have in my truck tool box for years are dust free inside, while the rest of the truck box gets a pile of dust on everything. 

Bremon wrote:

Hopefully you guys realize the gaskets are friction fit and can be pulled out and adjusted. I have a few boxes that aren’t tight but the two I have in my truck tool box for years are dust free inside, while the rest of the truck box gets a pile of dust on everything. 

Odd. I used to do 300-400 miles a day when I was doing the service thing and never had a problem with any of my boxes, Ridgid or DeWalt and a good portion of it was off-road. I run a sixteen hour shift now and at least 8 of that is driving off road and my new DeWalt organizers (not toughsystem ones) haven’t gotten any dust in them. Must just be lucky.

Does anyone have tips for replacing the latches?  I’ve tried a few times with minimal success.  They tend to snap on me when I push them in.  I even tried warming them up with a blow drier to soften the plastic but it still snapped.  I’m not sure what else to do and Dewalt won’t give me any instructions or tips.  They just said to go to youtube, but I didn’t have luck.

Would any of you guys be interested in buying replica metal pin latches if I were to make them? Obviously if you live outside of the UK you would have to pay shipping but I would sell them for around $3.50 each. Putting the feelers out. They will be tested before hand via some dropping of and heavy weighted tests.

Thanks and look forward to the feedback

Hi

I have replaced many

Does anyone have tips for replacing the latches?  I’

usa a heat gun for 1 minute, till the latch is good warm

then they are eays to pry out

call dewalt service, mot of the time they will be replaced for free; shipping is always free

I started out with: ” seems like a design flaw, they break often; right now just need three sets”

by the way, they did replaces all the latches to latch with metal pin; on both the tough system and tstak boxes

cheers

All mine are all metal latches. The biggest problem is if it’s unlatched and something falls on the latch which rips it off. As long as it’s closed stuff slides off. The little screw sometimes strips out. That makes it hard to fix.


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Sorry to revive an old thread but has anyone been able to replace the latch? I bought 6 latches, and I already broke 1 trying to insert it. If  I boil it first, will that soften the plastic and make it more malleable? Gonna try this this week but just wondering if there’s a better way.

I’m talking about the yellow latches that are on the sides.

Just get the latches with the metal pins

they are now standard with all Toughsystem boxes

they are fully compatible

2)

on the broken latches/ just call Dewalt service; they should even replace the broken ones, with toughsystem latches

some productmanagers  also says the old version was a “design flaw”

The picture is of a tstak box. Are you talking about tough system or tstak? I just wanted to clarify because you posted a picture of ststak box in a tough system thread. I don’t know how they are supposed to be replaced but I know you can buy some latches with a metal pin. Those are what I would recommend using. As for installation, contracting a DeWALT service technician to give you the recommended way of installing them.

Jronman wrote:

On 2/10/2020 at 6:36 PM, Jronman said:

The picture is of a tstak box. Are you talking about tough system or tstak? I just wanted to clarify because you posted a picture of ststak box in a tough system thread. I don’t know how they are supposed to be replaced but I know you can buy some latches with a metal pin. Those are what I would recommend using. As for installation, contracting a DeWALT service technician to give you the recommended way of installing them.

Sorry about that. The latches looked the same so I posted it here. I have TSTAKs and 5 latches broke when the TSTAK tipped over.

I’ll look for latches with metal pins. If anyone has a link, then I’d appreciate that too.

@onstar You could call or email DeWALT themselves to get the updated latches, and you could also ask about instalation.

Jronman wrote:

On 3/6/2020 at 11:59 AM, Jronman said:

@onstar You could call or email DeWALT themselves to get the updated latches, and you could also ask about instalation.

I tried calling them. No help. Anyway, I figured it out. And boiling does nothing.

1. Insert one end in the closed position. Shove all the way in until the entire yellow side touches the black side (flush).

2. Slide the other side down until it goes in. It is angled, so sliding down isn’t too hard.

3. When you open up the latch, the first side will pop up out a little automatically so that the latch will be centered.

This is the same for both tstak and tough system.

I know this is an old post but for durability the AEG boxes are half the price of Milwaukee and DeWalt and twice as strong. I abuse the hell out of them and they are still mechanically perfect. Anyone considering tool boxes I highly recommend them. The latches that lock the boxes together are super strong, as is the main handle and case itself. 

thx for info

but the dewalt latches with the metal pins solve the issue 100%

the latches with pins are available in yello and black

even from craftsmann boxes 100% compatible

cheers

method wrote:

I know this is an old post but for durability the AEG boxes are half the price of Milwaukee and DeWalt and twice as strong. I abuse the hell out of them and they are still mechanically perfect. Anyone considering tool boxes I highly recommend them. The latches that lock the boxes together are super strong, as is the main handle and case itself. 

paulengr wrote:

On 6/8/2020 at 9:42 AM, paulengr said:

I can’t even find anything by that name.


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I think our AEG is your Rigid? This is the brand I’m talking about:

https://www.aegpowertools.com.au/power-tools/products/details/quickstack-organiser-aeg-proorg?list=all_products&list_name=All+Products

Owned by Milwaukee I believe, I’ve been told their factory is literally opposite Milwaukee’s in China and most components are the same. They are mid-ranged priced tools, although some are just as expensive as DeWalt and Milwaukee now with the difference being that you get a 5y replacement warranty on the tools. You can walk into the reseller (Bunnings exclusive) 4 years and 11 months later with the broken tool and you walk out with the same or new equivalent tool no questions asked. It’s a reason why they have become popular because of the replacement warranty as opposed to having to send tools off etc.

Imo they are the most underrated tool here and are often bagged solely because our big warehouse Bunnings sell them and smaller trade tool centers do not.

I just checked. The company is TTI.

They own Milwaukee, AEG, Empire. They make Ryobi which is strictly a Home Depot house brand so I’m not sure if they own it or just have the contract. So AEG boxes if they share designs should be the same as Milwaukee.

Emerson owns Ridgid. Ridgid is independent. You can only buy some items at Home Depot but for instance most plumbing distributors carry Ridgid brand pipe wrenches and they make the RE-6 cutter/crimper/expander which is similar to the Greenlee which Emerson also owns. They sell Ridgid branded boxes that are clearly different from Milwaukee, Bosch, or Dewalt/Craftsman.

HOWEVER just to confuse things TTI also develops and makes Ridgid power tools under licensing with Emerson. They don’t make boxes which would be Emerson. So it makes sense that the Ridgid building is right next to Milwaukee but no reason to expect the tool boxes from there,

That’s right I forgot they were owned by TTI which is probably the biggest home/commercial tool related company globally I would imagine. Bunnings also exclusively sell Ryobi so that makes sense also. To confuse things even more, tti hand tools can be found at total tools so I would imagine they are made/owned by TTi? I’ve never looked into it but the quality/price is quite reasonable being around half the cost of sidchrome tools etc.

From memory when I posted photos of the boxes in here they were made in Israel I think..

TTI is a little smaller than SBD but not by much. It’s a little hard to gauge some of them like Chervon (Fluke owner) or Emerson because they are not pure tool companies. Another big name is Apex Tool Group but they are a shell of what they once were. They were in deep with Sears among others and when the retailers went to China ATG was left for dead.

Is there a replacement for the front latch? 
 

I clipped mine walking by and the little plastic but holding part of the latch cracked. 

Got a replacement clip but any idea how the new ones go in?

I am running the TStak system for my little cabinetry service vehicle – The yellow plastic clips have broken on one of my boxes. 

I purchased new clips, but now how to replace them? Anyone done this? 

It is a bit difficult, put one of the pin ends in the hole and then bend the middle of the hole plastic up (gently) and push the other pin in place. they are a bit flexible, the new version has two metal pins it seems, easier to change, which versions have you got?!