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Dec 19, 2023

The Best Truck Toolboxes For Secure Tool Transport

If you own a pickup that you use to regularly transport tools and equipment, a truck toolbox is something you need to have in the back. Installed securely in the bed, a good truck toolbox gives you a

If you own a pickup that you use to regularly transport tools and equipment, a truck toolbox is something you need to have in the back. Installed securely in the bed, a good truck toolbox gives you a handy place to store whatever you need in a tidy and organized manner, all while keeping the cargo protected from both thieving and the elements.

While truck toolboxes have become indispensable for contractors and trade professionals who need to carry tools for their work, it can also come in handy for anyone who regularly transports all sorts of equipment in their truck. If you like to fish on weekends, for instance, that toolbox should keep all your angling gear safe. Same with athletes who travel with plenty of gear when they go out for training.

With the popularity of pickups and the utter utility of having a truck toolbox in the back, there’s no shortage of options in the category. You want something low and wide? You can find one of those. How about something with more vertical room? Yep, they have those, too. Some are designed to fit deep behind the cab to maximize open space in the bed; others take advantage of the little used space between the tailgate and the wheel wells. Suffice to say, you can find a truck toolbox that fits your individual needs.

These truck toolboxes are some of our favorites.

The saddle box, also called cross box, is the most popular type of truck bed storage. Designed to mount on the side rails of your pickup, it spans the entire width of the truck bed, albeit leaving room underneath, so you can still slip in cargo beneath the box when needed.

This model from Weather Guard is made from aluminum plate that’s thicker than what most brands typically offer in the category, so it should handle the roughest demands of both everyday transport and busy job sites, with powder coating both outside and inside to keep it looking as good as possible. It has a full-weather seal with D-shaped ribbed weather stripping, so there’s no moisture seeping in even when you encounter rain, with four-piece welded construction ensuring it exhibits high strength at all potential stress points.

It’s a well-designed toolbox, with compartments on either side for easy access from outside the bed, as well as one-touch push button opening with dual gas struts on the lid for easily popping it open. Designed to keep your gear safe, it boasts drill-resistant keyholes so no one can tamper with the lock even with a tool in tow, with the C-channel reinforced welded lid construction ensuring it can’t be pried with sheer brute force. This particular model (62 inches wide) is designed for compact trucks, by the way, so make sure to find something wider if you plan to install it in a larger pickup model.

Do note, this is pricier than your usual toolbox, but if you want something tough and weatherized that can hold up to a lot of abuse, this is well-worth the ticket price.

Most cross-style toolboxes use a single lid to give you full access to the entire compartment. If you like accessing your toolbox from the side of the truck, though, this makes opening and closing a little tricky. That’s why this model from UWS puts an access lid on either side. Even better, it’s gullwing-style, which means the lids are hinged at the central part of the box, making them incredibly easy to open and access from either side of the truck.

It’s well-built, so you won’t have any worries about a hinge failing here or a weld coming apart there, with a diamond-plate aluminum build that’s pretty standard for the better options you’ll usually find in the category (0.058 inches). The lids are reinforced with RigidCore foam, which should help prevent warping and bending when people decide to put heavy equipment on top, with an optional lid rail that you can add to have tie-down anchor points for any extra cargo you have. Other features include a MicroSeal gasket, self-opening lids, and built-in sliding tool trays.

Want to keep your truck bed as open as possible for carrying large equipment as you need it, but still want secure storage in the back of the truck? A topside toolbox is a great way to do that. Designed to ride on the bed rail, it opens from the outside of the truck, making it easy to retrieve any gear you have stashed.

This model from Crescent comes with two drop-down doors, so you only open half the compartment at a time, reducing the chances of stuff accidentally falling off. A rotating T-handle makes it easy to open and close with one hand, with cam locks securing your gear under lock-and-key. It has automotive-grade bulb weather stripping that seals the doors to keep moisture out, while a reinforced rain gutter seal around the topside of the doors prevents moisture from gathering (since that water can get inside when you open the doors). Comes in various sizes from 44 to 96 inches.

Another great option for folks who want to keep the bed mostly free is an inner side toolbox, which mounts to the top rail and offers storage accessible from the inner side wall. It gives your truck a handy place to stash tools and supplies without severely cutting down on the amount of room on the bed.

This model is made from diamond-plate aluminum, with a really good build and sturdy construction. While it’s narrow, it’s long enough to accommodate a lot of tools and supplies, even bigger items, making it a great option if you don’t plan on loading it with large equipment that will fit better on a cross-style toolbox. It has gas springs that auto-open the lid as soon as you disengage the dual rotary locking system, allowing for easy access to the contents while securing your gear when it’s unattended, while full weather stripping creates a tight seal to keep dust and moisture out. Similar to the UWS toolbox above, the lid comes with rigid foam reinforcement inside to keep the lid from gaining dents when people decide to use it as a work surface (or even a seat during tailgate parties), so this is a pretty durable toolbox all around.

Designed to slot between the wheel well and the tailgate, it takes advantage of erstwhile hard to use space in the truck bed. Instead of simply sitting in that space, though, it uses a clever hinge mount that lets you swing the entire box to the bed’s opening, so you can access its contents from the back without having to get up on the bed. The box can even be lifted out of the mount with the need for tools, in case you want to bring the whole thing to the job site. Do note, that mount will require you to drill holes in the truck bed’s wall, so that’s probably a major consideration if you decide to go this route.

Construction is high-impact ABS plastic, so it’s not as hardwearing as the aluminum and steel toolboxes out there, but it still should handle the hazards of daily transport and the elements, all while supporting loads of up to 75 pounds. Comes with a built-in key lock, too, so unauthorized individuals won’t simply be able to get at your gear. It’s available for a variety of truck models, with different versions for placement on either the driver or passenger side.