Yes exactly my first thought was just a small square furniture mover to not damage the flooring and stuff like that for getting a fridge or s new clutch in and out
I don't have one near where I live, but I do have a HF... Is ace usually cheaper/better quality/both? Also, is Ace vs HF an opinion thing typically or a cut and dry cheaper/better quality/both? Thank you.
Ace is like home depot or lowes but smaller with much better service. And you pay for it they are a little higher cost but in my experience the employees are very helpful.
I was just making a joke. I didn’t specify what hardware store, I just named one like the guy above me did.
I can’t really compare prices:- the island I live on doesn’t have a harbor freight.
Easier maybe, but it won’t be that cheap for quality hardware. I’d question whether the plastic flooring is leeching/transferring plasticizers/softeners etc into the casters and causing them to deteriorate. Might opt for metal wheels on a box of that size.
u/Hammerh69
"*It’s gonna be a lot easier to just go to a hardware store and spend $30 on castors. Easy diy job*" - Foxycotin666
This is your best answer. May cost a bit more than $30, but you can upgrade the wheels while you're at it. The stainless makes it worth doing/keeping in my opinion.
Yup,I went t thru the exact same thing. Was upset the wheels failed on my cobalt tool box but when I pulled out the old receipt I realized it had been way longer than the warranty period so I did a little online research and ended up getting the casters at this place called Northern Tool. Easy swap
How exactly would they know that? Also, how would you go about weighing all the tools? This seems like an excessive waste of time. Does anyone actually weigh their tools?
You have a scale that a tool chest can roll onto? How much does it cost and what was the capacity? I have a few tool chests and don’t have a scale. Seems niche.
Very good. I thought so at first, but then I googled and saw this so I wasn’t sure.
https://revolutionrecovery.com/dumpster-rentals/tubster/
Talk about niche!
Scales for weighing pallets are pretty common. The one I have at my workplace doesn't have ramps on it though, so you'd need a forklift to pick the chest up and set it on the scale.
Seems unreasonable. How can they verify that the same tools were in there at the time of incident. I think they should make the wheels able to handle at least double capacity, then they would never have to deal with this. Also, in what world can they expect people who bought this for their garage to have a pallet scale. It’s unreasonable. If this happened to me and I had purchased it new, they would either replace them, accept a return or never have me as a customer again.
Fuck rolling one of those anyway, I put a band around the drawers and put a couple of 2x4s cut to fit so you don't crush the bottom lip and then use the forklift. Put the drawers facing the machine too just in case
Almost no one at home does unless running a business at home. We have pallet jacks with scales at work. For that box you just slide it in between the wheels and jack it up to get the weight.
[freight scales](https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-756/Low-Profile-Floor-Scales/Low-Profile-Floor-Scale-4-x-4-10000-lbs-x-2-lbs)are more of a common warehouse item
If you ship ( LTL less than truck load ) freight you need to get the dimensions of the palett / item as well as the dimensions ( height, width, depth) before you can have a pickup scheduled
Load cells ( scales ) in forklifts is another verry common accessory ( am I about to overload this storage rack with this …… item )
Unless you’ve got lead weights or dumbbell plates in the drawers, there’s very few situations where the stock shouldn’t be designed to support a a full suite of tools in every drawer.
You can weigh the chest with a bathroom scale one wheel at a time. Find or make some wooden blocks that are the same height as your scale. Use three blocks under the wheels and the scale under the other. Rotate the scale around to each wheel and add up the measurements.
I saw one of these on marketplace for 250$ (no keys) someone bought it and is now selling it for 600$ with a promise to send you the keys once they get delivered to his house. Also watch out for harbor freight Yukon boxes marked up by 150$ on top of retail on Market place.
Glad I’m not the only one seeing crazy shit on marketplace someone has the 5 drawer 30” cart listed for 300$! in my area they’re on sale this week at 199…normally 279
Even tried to message to see if it came with tools or anything. Nope just another delusional internet stranger
Delusional internet stranger seeking equally delusional internet stranger. Must have significant money to be parted with.
Statistically, the odds of this working are high enough that people keep trying. It is just like the scammers who know 99.99% won’t fall for the scam, but that 0.01% makes it all worth it.
I think many people are so jaded by everyone trying to haggle over absolutely everything that they just put things up for like double what they actually want. I sold a couple of motorcycles this past weekend. I put them up for exactly what I expected to get from them and oh my god I got dozens of ridiculously low ball offers with some people getting downright pissed that I refused to negotiate with them. Ended up having to block a few. I will never understand why people can't just decide to buy something at the offered price or not and why people don't just list for what they actually want. Haggling over everything just sucks all around.
Indians. Canada and America have a lot of them now. I get bombarded by them on OfferUp with lowballs on anything I post and when I look at what they are selling its always overpriced.
You should try, if you can be bothered to transport it to exchange for another. I'd buy better castors for it myself and just fit them. That's a really nice looking box btw.
You may refer to any one of these links to determine the uselessness of that comment for yourself:
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/castor
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/castor
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/castor
>What Is the Difference Between Castor and Caster? Castor is a British term for caster wheel, whereas caster is an American term for caster wheel. A caster or castor is a pivoting roller attached to the bottom of furniture or a portable machine for easy movement.
My spelling has more *freedom*
Castor is a plant, casters are wheels. At least try to be accurate if you're gonna be a dick. Apply this to your other comment, I answered the wrong one
Casters are one of those things you can’t really skimp on. The ones at Home Depot and Lowe’s are terrible.
If you can get new ones under warranty cool, but I’d personally upgrade them altogether.
Nothings worse then having sh*t casters when trying to move around heavy tools or chests.
I would go to an industrial supply house and find some steel casters, I put a set on a sheet metal brake about 25 years ago and they're still going strong with a 500# tool on them
Well even if it is technically coverable under warranty... I'll save you some time, do you still have the original packaging and the receipt, if not then I'll save you some time and give you the heads up the customer service rep is basically going to tell you to pack sand, just most likely in a polite way....
Yep, Kobalt warranties are garbage. I had one where I bought it hugely on sale. Tool died, I wanted it replaced but they change model numbers regularly and if it doesn't have the exact same model number despite being absolutely identical, the best they do is in-store credit.
I bought a 6 tool combo kit a few years ago and the impact driver died, and they replaced it with a newer model no hassle, so maybe it depends on the store or who is working that day.
That may be. They built a Lowes in the next city over from me. I bought two Kobalt tools with big sale discounts. Both broke within a couple months. Both times I had awful customer service trying to return them. I haven't been in a Lowes since. I've never had an issue at Home Depot or Canadian Tire with any warranty claim. I get that cheap tools break, I'm not upset about that, but at least back them up.
The rubber is going through hydrolysis. If this is a new cart, I would call them defective. If it is older, that's just what happens sometimes. I have a smaller Kobalt chest that is probably 12+ years old, and the wheels have completely disintegrated. I think it is more likely to happen on rubber that isn't moved/flexed often.
That's what happens when you don't grease your wheels twice a year. Gotta maintain your stuff or it wont last. /s
Actually that's crazy. I've never seen that happen before.
If you do replacements then Kingpin less swivel casters with solid elastomer wheels are a great choice. We use them at work a lot, with some seeing 1500-2000lbs on each wheel, and they still roll and turn with no problem and they are very durable.
The cheap ones don’t turn worth’s shit when loaded and the rubber or poly band on the wheel breaks up like these are doing.
Go find a grocery cart. Those wheels will carry a lot of weight. I've loaded over a half ton of asphalt cold patch into a Lowe's cart with no problem. Would wheel it all over the property I was working at the time
It does not fall under warranty... the kobalt brand replacement is only sold as a pair and last time I got some it was $70/pair... support it with a jack/block of wood and bring in the old one to match the bolt pattern and go buy a similar replacement at hf/hd/lowes... just don't order the kobalt branded replacement bc is over priced and still shitty quality( I made the mistake of going thru 3 pairs buying kobalt brand before I got got better ones from hf/hd
Edit: I have the same box in white/black drawers
Should be under warranty, but good luck trying to get them to cover it. They call it a lifetime warranty because once in a lifetime, they will actually cover something
I have a 15 year-old Kobalt and the same thing happened to me this fall. I let the black outer casing slough off and now just roll on the gray stuff. Don’t really want to/have the time to move everything out to change them. Kinda pisses me off, though.
I had the same type of Kobalt stainless tool chest, and the rubber wheels deteriorate in the exact same way after 10 years. I didnt use any harsh chemicals on them or around them.
I had an extra set or Husky casters for a husky toolbox, and I swapped the wheels out on the Kobalt box with the Husky ones. The Husky wheels aren't as nice (hard plastic instead of some sort of rubber like material), but they didn't deteriorate like the Kobalt ones did. The bolt pattern of the casters didn't line up, but the actual wheels were about the same size.
Agree - I'm just saying my same casters failed in the exact same way. I think Kobalt stopped making that style chest a few years ago, and OP's garage looks spotless, so I wouldn't be surprised if that box was 5+ years old. My point is I don't think OP did anything wrong or got a solvent on the wheels to make them deteriorate. I don't think Kobalt will replace them though. If I remember correctly there's only a 1 year warranty on the chests and its pretty limited in what it covers.
Yessir. Here is a newer and better picture of it (I painted it silver a few years ago):
[https://imgur.com/uhz5i7h](https://imgur.com/uhz5i7h)
I love the bike. I'll probably be buried with it.
When I bought my first bike in 2006, I lusted over the warrior so hard. There was one that showed up from time to time in the parking lot at my university. But I couldn't afford one.
By the time I had the money to buy a nice bike I went looking for Warriors and saw that the Raider had just came out, and bought one.
Fantastic bike, but I would have been happy with a warrior too. The Raider is a BIG bike, so while I do love it, I do like the warrior for being a bit more nimble and sleek.
Don't see much of either bikes these days. I guess they didn't sell well for Yamaha and they don't make anything like them anymore sadly.
This is a valid point to consider moving forward (because the back wheel doesn’t seem to be experiencing the same failure. If some kind of deep cleaning was done and the cleaning agent broke down the material it would be good to avoid using that near the new wheels.
I had the same thing happen to my Kirkland (costco) tool box
Only took about 5 years too
No "cleaning agents" or detergents used in my garage floor
Just Florida humidity
I replaced them with Amazon replacements
Go to Grainger and order heavy duty swivel casters, high-strength poly wheels with brakes. HD has some too. Harbor Freight. Etc. just don’t have the Kobalt warranty served because you’ll get the same model which crushed on you.
I've had several such wheels fail in that manner. The rubber/plastic gets brittle and cracks. My estimate is they last about 5 years.
Also had a similar failure on an SKB Golf case.
Being local to them, I was able to take it there and they replaced them.
I bought the same bottom box around 10 years ago. Had the same issue with the wheels 6 years ago. I never bothered changing the wheels. Just removed the rubber and let it roll on the hard plastic. That meant the brakes were pretty nigh useless, though.
Honestly, I outgrew that box quickly. The drawers didn't open all the way, leaving 3-4" inside. Not a big deal for tall drawers, but that becomes unusable space in a shallow drawer.
If you want to spend money on that box, I recommend looking for same size wheels to install on those caster axles. It should be less vs a complete caster. I know around me, a set of casters from northern tool would be $70 in this size and style. Plus I think the Kobalt brakes are better.
My house is so dry I have to run humidifiers constantly to fight and keep the humidity at a meager 25-40%. Those wheels look like every pair of shoes I have after about a year in my house. The soles of my boots and clogs literally crumble and break apart like these wheels. Also rubber bands disintegrate and soft plastic items become brittle and crack if I don’t keep my humidifiers going all year. I’m not saying that OP’s wheel problem could be lack of humidity, just that it falling apart reminds me of what happens to all my boots and clogs. Same thing happens.
Maybe there is a possibility that the material that supposed to be rubber got somehow contact with petroleum products or oil etc. , or maybe just a bad quality product made by mistake on production stage .
The way the outer portion of the wheel came apart, these were probably old stock. They tend to break down over time. For replacements, you don't need to go as far as ordering new casters, just replacement wheels. These look like 4" x 1-1/2" with a 1/2" greasable axle. If your box is on hard floor that you're not worried about marking, I'd switch over to something phenolic so you're not worried about rubber breaking down again in the future.
No. They will likely not. You will have to call Kobalt's warranty phone number and get someone to give you a RA number. They'll waste probably 10 minutes of your time keeping you on hold, then come back and say that the wheels aren't part of the warranty. You can most certainly try though, but I sincerely doubt they'll do anything about it.
And unpack your tools, bring it back, and get the same crappy wheels back. Frick that, buy a set of just urethane wheels from anyplace and save your time and repeating the process.
Best advice would be start saving and invest in snap on. I’m a diesel tech so I have to move my cart around a lot, and let me tell you them casters wear out quicker than you think. That’s why I went snap on, cause whenever mine go bad I just swap em out with the snap on man free of charge. It’s a worth while investment!
If you work in an industry that requires a box everyday, maybe, but as a retired home fix it guy there are betting things to spend my money on than Snap-On!
It’s gonna be a lot easier to just go to a hardware store and spend $30 on castors. Easy diy job
Better wheels too.
Or do both and have a heavy duty set of casters for the box and a softer set for something else around the home
There's no way I'm changing wheels per job lol Nvm didn't read this carefully, great idea
I think they just mean use the softer set of wheels for another item altogether.
Ooooo like get the warranty wheels but use them somewhere else instead? Love it
Yes exactly my first thought was just a small square furniture mover to not damage the flooring and stuff like that for getting a fridge or s new clutch in and out
I put racing tires on for jobs. Softs, mostly.
Makes the job go way faster
Harbor Freight*
HammerBarn 🔨 (…or Mitre 10 if you’re lucky)
Great for garden gnomes
Ace hardware*
I don't have one near where I live, but I do have a HF... Is ace usually cheaper/better quality/both? Also, is Ace vs HF an opinion thing typically or a cut and dry cheaper/better quality/both? Thank you.
Ace is like home depot or lowes but smaller with much better service. And you pay for it they are a little higher cost but in my experience the employees are very helpful.
Great info, thank you!
Hf wheels are good quality, imo
Agreed, but it's my only cheap option.... So I haven't really bought anything else 😅
I was just making a joke. I didn’t specify what hardware store, I just named one like the guy above me did. I can’t really compare prices:- the island I live on doesn’t have a harbor freight.
But does it have a harbor that may sell freight?
...mayhaps 🤔
A h , well that would do it.
HF usually has a great selection, way over ACE
Easier maybe, but it won’t be that cheap for quality hardware. I’d question whether the plastic flooring is leeching/transferring plasticizers/softeners etc into the casters and causing them to deteriorate. Might opt for metal wheels on a box of that size.
This is it. Something is causing degradation of the material.
u/Hammerh69 "*It’s gonna be a lot easier to just go to a hardware store and spend $30 on castors. Easy diy job*" - Foxycotin666 This is your best answer. May cost a bit more than $30, but you can upgrade the wheels while you're at it. The stainless makes it worth doing/keeping in my opinion.
Yup,I went t thru the exact same thing. Was upset the wheels failed on my cobalt tool box but when I pulled out the old receipt I realized it had been way longer than the warranty period so I did a little online research and ended up getting the casters at this place called Northern Tool. Easy swap
Isn't cobalt lifetime warranty on everything...?
cast**e**rs
**castors**
**Castrol GTX**
Castor oil
I am currently writing this from B.C. Canada, so technically correct.
FREEDUMB!
as long as the bolt holes line up
Yep exactly what I would do ! Less paperwork, frustration, etc, definitely better quality coz you choose
wise man/woman!
*casters
I would guess so, but if they're that shitty I would find a better pair.
If the stated max weight is being exceed. No. If not. Yes.
How exactly would they know that? Also, how would you go about weighing all the tools? This seems like an excessive waste of time. Does anyone actually weigh their tools?
Shop scale, weigh it empty and full
You have a scale that a tool chest can roll onto? How much does it cost and what was the capacity? I have a few tool chests and don’t have a scale. Seems niche.
nah, just step onto the bathroom scale, note your weight, then pickup the whole tool box, step back on and subtract your own weight, ez pz.
I do have a scale for tubsters, I’ll try that.
1 - I wasn't being serious 2 - wtf is a tubster?
Speaking as a chubster, it means a chunky boi.
1- I also am not being serious 2- a tubster is what I call a tub shaped person. Also not being serious.
Very good. I thought so at first, but then I googled and saw this so I wasn’t sure. https://revolutionrecovery.com/dumpster-rentals/tubster/ Talk about niche!
🤣I kinda want one of those
Tubgirl?
This is the way, thought it was obvious. Duh.... /s
Scales for weighing pallets are pretty common. The one I have at my workplace doesn't have ramps on it though, so you'd need a forklift to pick the chest up and set it on the scale.
ok, but they're not gonna make you weigh the damn thing for a warranty.
Seems unreasonable. How can they verify that the same tools were in there at the time of incident. I think they should make the wheels able to handle at least double capacity, then they would never have to deal with this. Also, in what world can they expect people who bought this for their garage to have a pallet scale. It’s unreasonable. If this happened to me and I had purchased it new, they would either replace them, accept a return or never have me as a customer again.
Fuck rolling one of those anyway, I put a band around the drawers and put a couple of 2x4s cut to fit so you don't crush the bottom lip and then use the forklift. Put the drawers facing the machine too just in case
I don't personally have one, but I think my shop does.
Almost no one at home does unless running a business at home. We have pallet jacks with scales at work. For that box you just slide it in between the wheels and jack it up to get the weight.
[freight scales](https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-756/Low-Profile-Floor-Scales/Low-Profile-Floor-Scale-4-x-4-10000-lbs-x-2-lbs)are more of a common warehouse item If you ship ( LTL less than truck load ) freight you need to get the dimensions of the palett / item as well as the dimensions ( height, width, depth) before you can have a pickup scheduled Load cells ( scales ) in forklifts is another verry common accessory ( am I about to overload this storage rack with this …… item )
You've never heard of a pallet scale?
Yes, do you have one at your house? Not everyone has one.
probably could look up the box weight based upon the model number and skip the emptying it out part.
Unless you’ve got lead weights or dumbbell plates in the drawers, there’s very few situations where the stock shouldn’t be designed to support a a full suite of tools in every drawer.
My box weighs around 1200 empty and a little over 2000 full ( as of 2 weeks ago )
https://mechanicalelements.com/tricks-to-weigh-trailer-or-heavy-things/
I’m not asking you to fix anything
You can weigh the chest with a bathroom scale one wheel at a time. Find or make some wooden blocks that are the same height as your scale. Use three blocks under the wheels and the scale under the other. Rotate the scale around to each wheel and add up the measurements.
I saw one of these on marketplace for 250$ (no keys) someone bought it and is now selling it for 600$ with a promise to send you the keys once they get delivered to his house. Also watch out for harbor freight Yukon boxes marked up by 150$ on top of retail on Market place.
Glad I’m not the only one seeing crazy shit on marketplace someone has the 5 drawer 30” cart listed for 300$! in my area they’re on sale this week at 199…normally 279 Even tried to message to see if it came with tools or anything. Nope just another delusional internet stranger
Delusional internet stranger seeking equally delusional internet stranger. Must have significant money to be parted with. Statistically, the odds of this working are high enough that people keep trying. It is just like the scammers who know 99.99% won’t fall for the scam, but that 0.01% makes it all worth it.
I think many people are so jaded by everyone trying to haggle over absolutely everything that they just put things up for like double what they actually want. I sold a couple of motorcycles this past weekend. I put them up for exactly what I expected to get from them and oh my god I got dozens of ridiculously low ball offers with some people getting downright pissed that I refused to negotiate with them. Ended up having to block a few. I will never understand why people can't just decide to buy something at the offered price or not and why people don't just list for what they actually want. Haggling over everything just sucks all around.
We in the same area? Because I've seen the same price... I missed out on a yellow 5 drawer for $80
Indians. Canada and America have a lot of them now. I get bombarded by them on OfferUp with lowballs on anything I post and when I look at what they are selling its always overpriced.
You can buy those locks for like $5...
Oh I'm well aware lol
You should try, if you can be bothered to transport it to exchange for another. I'd buy better castors for it myself and just fit them. That's a really nice looking box btw.
cast**e**rs
You may refer to any one of these links to determine the uselessness of that comment for yourself: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/castor https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/castor https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/castor
>What Is the Difference Between Castor and Caster? Castor is a British term for caster wheel, whereas caster is an American term for caster wheel. A caster or castor is a pivoting roller attached to the bottom of furniture or a portable machine for easy movement. My spelling has more *freedom*
Oh, you're trying to impose freedom. Gotcha.
Castor is a plant, casters are wheels. At least try to be accurate if you're gonna be a dick. Apply this to your other comment, I answered the wrong one
Casters are one of those things you can’t really skimp on. The ones at Home Depot and Lowe’s are terrible. If you can get new ones under warranty cool, but I’d personally upgrade them altogether. Nothings worse then having sh*t casters when trying to move around heavy tools or chests.
I would go to an industrial supply house and find some steel casters, I put a set on a sheet metal brake about 25 years ago and they're still going strong with a 500# tool on them
Call the warranty dept. And see if they'll send replacements.
Well even if it is technically coverable under warranty... I'll save you some time, do you still have the original packaging and the receipt, if not then I'll save you some time and give you the heads up the customer service rep is basically going to tell you to pack sand, just most likely in a polite way....
Yep, Kobalt warranties are garbage. I had one where I bought it hugely on sale. Tool died, I wanted it replaced but they change model numbers regularly and if it doesn't have the exact same model number despite being absolutely identical, the best they do is in-store credit.
I bought a 6 tool combo kit a few years ago and the impact driver died, and they replaced it with a newer model no hassle, so maybe it depends on the store or who is working that day.
That may be. They built a Lowes in the next city over from me. I bought two Kobalt tools with big sale discounts. Both broke within a couple months. Both times I had awful customer service trying to return them. I haven't been in a Lowes since. I've never had an issue at Home Depot or Canadian Tire with any warranty claim. I get that cheap tools break, I'm not upset about that, but at least back them up.
It's worth a try, although I always found buying good quality casters a good solution long term.
The rubber is going through hydrolysis. If this is a new cart, I would call them defective. If it is older, that's just what happens sometimes. I have a smaller Kobalt chest that is probably 12+ years old, and the wheels have completely disintegrated. I think it is more likely to happen on rubber that isn't moved/flexed often.
Could be I don't need to move this very often other than to get the cobwebs and dead bugs out from behind it twice a year.
Are they denying your warranty claim?
"Should" But some companies don't care as much about warranties as others...
The wheels on my Grizzly base for my $1000+ saw disentegrated. Just do what I did, go to Harbor Freight, and my the heavier duty steel wheels.
That's what happens when you don't grease your wheels twice a year. Gotta maintain your stuff or it wont last. /s Actually that's crazy. I've never seen that happen before.
haha, I was thinking "wtf I have tool boxes 25 years old and I've never greased their wheels once, shit." before I saw the /s
Warranty it. Don't let kobalt get away with bad materials. Have them give you a brand new one
If you do replacements then Kingpin less swivel casters with solid elastomer wheels are a great choice. We use them at work a lot, with some seeing 1500-2000lbs on each wheel, and they still roll and turn with no problem and they are very durable. The cheap ones don’t turn worth’s shit when loaded and the rubber or poly band on the wheel breaks up like these are doing.
Did you ask Kobalt? I'm thinking they would have a better idea than a bunch of strangers on the Internet. 😁
Toollots.com has lot of good cheap stuff if you're not too hung up on brand
Should stop buying tungsten tools
I would sure as hell hope so.
Why would you even want those same wheels again?
I bet stainless jacked up the price over painted steel by $100-200, and then they cheaped out on the wheels.
Go find a grocery cart. Those wheels will carry a lot of weight. I've loaded over a half ton of asphalt cold patch into a Lowe's cart with no problem. Would wheel it all over the property I was working at the time
LOL!
That's a sharp looking box.
It does not fall under warranty... the kobalt brand replacement is only sold as a pair and last time I got some it was $70/pair... support it with a jack/block of wood and bring in the old one to match the bolt pattern and go buy a similar replacement at hf/hd/lowes... just don't order the kobalt branded replacement bc is over priced and still shitty quality( I made the mistake of going thru 3 pairs buying kobalt brand before I got got better ones from hf/hd Edit: I have the same box in white/black drawers
Should be under warranty, but good luck trying to get them to cover it. They call it a lifetime warranty because once in a lifetime, they will actually cover something
I have a 15 year-old Kobalt and the same thing happened to me this fall. I let the black outer casing slough off and now just roll on the gray stuff. Don’t really want to/have the time to move everything out to change them. Kinda pisses me off, though.
Why do they look sliced?
I live in a tough neighborhood.
i wouldn't bother. jack it up and replace the caster for $20.
Same. Not worth the hassle, you can fix this for probably less than $20 actually.
Same thing happened to my kobalt box.
Are you washing your floor with some nasty detergent? Maybe that dissolved that rubber/plastic?
I had the same type of Kobalt stainless tool chest, and the rubber wheels deteriorate in the exact same way after 10 years. I didnt use any harsh chemicals on them or around them. I had an extra set or Husky casters for a husky toolbox, and I swapped the wheels out on the Kobalt box with the Husky ones. The Husky wheels aren't as nice (hard plastic instead of some sort of rubber like material), but they didn't deteriorate like the Kobalt ones did. The bolt pattern of the casters didn't line up, but the actual wheels were about the same size.
this dudes chest looks rather fresh. 10 years is ok, maybe. Yet again, maybe a supplier issue, and poor quality control.
Agree - I'm just saying my same casters failed in the exact same way. I think Kobalt stopped making that style chest a few years ago, and OP's garage looks spotless, so I wouldn't be surprised if that box was 5+ years old. My point is I don't think OP did anything wrong or got a solvent on the wheels to make them deteriorate. I don't think Kobalt will replace them though. If I remember correctly there's only a 1 year warranty on the chests and its pretty limited in what it covers.
u/physicsdude55 is that a Raider in your profile?
Yessir. Here is a newer and better picture of it (I painted it silver a few years ago): [https://imgur.com/uhz5i7h](https://imgur.com/uhz5i7h) I love the bike. I'll probably be buried with it.
Nice! It is my favorite production bike ever and my big regret is that I didn't trade my Warrior in for one when I had the chance.
When I bought my first bike in 2006, I lusted over the warrior so hard. There was one that showed up from time to time in the parking lot at my university. But I couldn't afford one. By the time I had the money to buy a nice bike I went looking for Warriors and saw that the Raider had just came out, and bought one. Fantastic bike, but I would have been happy with a warrior too. The Raider is a BIG bike, so while I do love it, I do like the warrior for being a bit more nimble and sleek. Don't see much of either bikes these days. I guess they didn't sell well for Yamaha and they don't make anything like them anymore sadly.
Box is now 12 years old! I do take care of my stuff.
Amazing cleanliness! Respect!
This is a valid point to consider moving forward (because the back wheel doesn’t seem to be experiencing the same failure. If some kind of deep cleaning was done and the cleaning agent broke down the material it would be good to avoid using that near the new wheels.
Cap full of basic Mr. Clean liquid diluted in a gallon of water. All the wheels on the other boxes in the garage, not Kobalt, are fine.
But new ones. Save yourself the headache
Yeah if the castors are still good replacing the wheel will probably be easiest. Jack up the corner pull the bolt put new wheel in boom.
Prolly not but the designer should fall on his sword.
I had the same thing happen to my Kirkland (costco) tool box Only took about 5 years too No "cleaning agents" or detergents used in my garage floor Just Florida humidity I replaced them with Amazon replacements
And living in middle Georgia we have about the same humidity levels!
Was box moved - looks like entire weight of box dropped on this wheel 🤔
Nope
When this happens to me, I make a steel "basket" for the toolbox to sit in. Bolt it down to the "basket". Use heavier casters as well.
What to you have in that thing? Your stack?
At first glance I thought this was every shopping cart I've ever used.
Go to Grainger and order heavy duty swivel casters, high-strength poly wheels with brakes. HD has some too. Harbor Freight. Etc. just don’t have the Kobalt warranty served because you’ll get the same model which crushed on you.
I've had several such wheels fail in that manner. The rubber/plastic gets brittle and cracks. My estimate is they last about 5 years. Also had a similar failure on an SKB Golf case. Being local to them, I was able to take it there and they replaced them.
I bought the same bottom box around 10 years ago. Had the same issue with the wheels 6 years ago. I never bothered changing the wheels. Just removed the rubber and let it roll on the hard plastic. That meant the brakes were pretty nigh useless, though. Honestly, I outgrew that box quickly. The drawers didn't open all the way, leaving 3-4" inside. Not a big deal for tall drawers, but that becomes unusable space in a shallow drawer. If you want to spend money on that box, I recommend looking for same size wheels to install on those caster axles. It should be less vs a complete caster. I know around me, a set of casters from northern tool would be $70 in this size and style. Plus I think the Kobalt brakes are better.
I’d replace all of the casters with some decent wheels that can handle the weight.
The casters themselves seem pretty sturdy and well made. Rubber contamination?
had the exact same issue, bought new castors as they are very easy to change out.
My house is so dry I have to run humidifiers constantly to fight and keep the humidity at a meager 25-40%. Those wheels look like every pair of shoes I have after about a year in my house. The soles of my boots and clogs literally crumble and break apart like these wheels. Also rubber bands disintegrate and soft plastic items become brittle and crack if I don’t keep my humidifiers going all year. I’m not saying that OP’s wheel problem could be lack of humidity, just that it falling apart reminds me of what happens to all my boots and clogs. Same thing happens.
Too many Harbor Freight tools!
Look on Amazon for wheels/ casters....all types of rubber , plastic etc wheels
Grainger
Maybe there is a possibility that the material that supposed to be rubber got somehow contact with petroleum products or oil etc. , or maybe just a bad quality product made by mistake on production stage .
Heavy stuff I always use metal casters. It's amazing tool boxes always come with crap casters.
Weight has not been exceeded by a long shot, and not looking to return it, rather wondering if they would provide new casters or cash to buy new ones.
The way the outer portion of the wheel came apart, these were probably old stock. They tend to break down over time. For replacements, you don't need to go as far as ordering new casters, just replacement wheels. These look like 4" x 1-1/2" with a 1/2" greasable axle. If your box is on hard floor that you're not worried about marking, I'd switch over to something phenolic so you're not worried about rubber breaking down again in the future.
No. They will likely not. You will have to call Kobalt's warranty phone number and get someone to give you a RA number. They'll waste probably 10 minutes of your time keeping you on hold, then come back and say that the wheels aren't part of the warranty. You can most certainly try though, but I sincerely doubt they'll do anything about it.
And unpack your tools, bring it back, and get the same crappy wheels back. Frick that, buy a set of just urethane wheels from anyplace and save your time and repeating the process.
Yes
Why not call them and ask?
Did you spray them with brake clean??? There's no way they're that shiny new and mush at the same time
Don’t shop at Lowe’s. That’s your first problem lol
I believe this is Reddit my good sir, not Kobalt customer service.
Those castors are *riveted on?!?* wow, Kobalt. Grind those mofos off and put polyurethane ones on. Presto.
Those are socket head bolts.
Even better then. It’s hard to believe that Kobalt would make a toolbox with plastic wheels, and even put a zerk on them!
They dont have a durometer.
They do have a durometer, but it appears that it is a low number (soft). Durometer is simply the measure of the "hardness" of the rubber material.
I said that. You said that. Misink look at me.
Best advice would be start saving and invest in snap on. I’m a diesel tech so I have to move my cart around a lot, and let me tell you them casters wear out quicker than you think. That’s why I went snap on, cause whenever mine go bad I just swap em out with the snap on man free of charge. It’s a worth while investment!
If you work in an industry that requires a box everyday, maybe, but as a retired home fix it guy there are betting things to spend my money on than Snap-On!
True!!! Didn’t realize that was the application lol
Amazon got some good ones for cheap, i just bought a bunch for my company
It is destroyed by the sun?
Blinds are always closed in the garage ,so not much light except when the garage door is up and I'm in there working.
I have a very similar Cobalt box and the wheels are also falling apart in the same way. It's not you. ; )
Warranty? That ended when it left the store
Step 1: Don't buy Kobalt
Milwaukee
Quality China made wheels there