Decked Truck Tool Box Review: The ladder makes all the difference
These days having an empty truck bed is a rarity. Whether you own a tonneau cover, a cap, a tool box or drawer system, the bed of a truck can be more easily utilized with an accessory or two. Truck tool boxes have been around almost as long as pickup trucks. They’re a great way to haul your gear and keep it safe from the elements as well as tool thieves.When I think of a truck bed tool box the first thing I think of is the glossy, metal, diamond plate variety, usually accompanied by rust in the bed. Thankfully, that’s not at all what you get with the Decked box. Let’s start from the top. The lid is injection molded and made from a high-impact resin that the company says is impervious to both dents and punctures, and while I didn’t take an axe to it the week I was testing it out, I didn't take it easy on it either. It feels sturdy without being too heavy, which is exactly what I like to see when it comes to my tool boxes. For more visit https://www.autoblog.com/2022/08/04/decked-truck-tool-box/ #pickuptrucks #toolbox #decked
Video Transcript
CHRISTOPHER MCGRAW: Hey, everybody. Autoblog senior producer Christopher McGraw here to review this decked toolbox. So it's actually sitting in the bed of a Nissan Titan XD, and that's what this is installed in. And I just want to go over some of the specs of this toolbox before we dive right in to our review. So we've got the lid here. The lid is actually a steel reinforced injection molded resin. So it's pretty tough.
The base is also injection molded. It's impact treated high-density polyethylene. So we're talking a high density plastic on the bottom and a resin up top. This toolbox without the ladder, which I'll show you in a little bit, weighs roughly 101 pounds. So if you're installing this in your truck, you're going to want some help. It'll be a lot for one person. One person can do it. But at 100 pounds, better off having a buddy come and help you.
With the ladder, it is 113 and a half pounds. And as far as dimensions goes, the length of this one right here is 76 inches. Width-wise, 22 inches. Total height from the bed-- it doesn't go all the way down to the bottom of the bed, but the total height is just over 20 and a half inches. And then the height above the bed rail, like I said, is just shy of 6 inches, so like 5 and 3/4 inches above the bed rail.
The internal dimensions, which are equally as important because it tells you how much and what you can fit in this thing, just shy of 10 cubic feet or 73.4 gallons. The width at the seal when this lid is open is 17.9 inches. The width of the ladder is 13 and a half inches. The internal length is right at 5 feet. So 60 inches and the depth of it is 17.4 inches. Let's open this thing up and talk about what you get when you get this deck toolbox.
So first things first, let's open her up. Now, it does come with two keys. On this side of the truck there isn't a place for them, but on the other side there is, and that's where you lock and unlock the toolbox. But for now we'll just press the button, it is unlocked. And it swings it open. Now, if I let it open by itself, you hear that. That is actually my least favorite part about this deck toolbox. And that is it can swing open and actually hit the light on this Nissan Titan XD.
Now, for something that's cheaper, maybe 200, 300, $400, which is still a considerable amount of money, I could expect something like that from a toolbox in that price range. When installed correctly in a truck, it shouldn't hit the rear light on my truck. So for something in this price range, which is like 899, so over 900 when you talk about adding shipping and tax, for it to have the possibility to damage my pickup truck, that is my least favorite part of the deck toolbox.
But let's hop in and see what there is. We have a toolbox that can actually be removed, which is kind of handy, as well as a ladder, which for me I'm only 5' 7 as you can tell. My shoulders are at the edge of this pickup truck. I'd have a hard time if this step wasn't here reaching in. So this actually comes with a ladder that you can pull out fairly easily and use that.
So like I said, pulling out the ladder is fairly easy to do. There's actually instructions here on the back. And so what you do first is you pull it out until it clicks. So you can see these parts here are all clicked in. They're not going to move anywhere. And this part still moves because depending on how high the ground is, depending on how high your truck is, you're going to need a ladder that adjusts. So once you click both of those, you position the ladder then vertically to the ground.
So pull it out. And so once it's positioned vertically on the ground, that will allow you to hop up. We get two steps. And that will allow you to reach anything that's in the toolbox itself. Now to put it back, similar, only opposite. So we let it in there. Push all the way in. And so that's as far as it'll go because we have it locked in. And when you're at this point, you can press these black buttons on the bottom.
One there and there. And it folds right into the back of the toolbox.
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The deck truck toolbox is rugged, easy to use, and the first of its kind to include a ladder. That being said, it isn't without its drawbacks. The issue with the lid hitting the lights on the truck is a big one. And with a price tag over $1,000 for some models, there are high quality storage systems on the market that offer more value like the deck draw system. That being said, if you're looking for the best truck toolbox on the market and budget isn't a consideration, your search is over.
The deck truck toolbox will outlast you, probably outlast your kids, and surely outlast your truck.
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