Ive always had the saddle or crossover type with single lid but liking the look and lower profile of the chest. What are the pros and cons? Any reason to not buy a weather guard? I’ve always had weather guard, but I don’t think I need a weatherguard. It’s glorified storage for me. I do keep several thousand dollars of tools and I’ve always been told the locks are the best on the weather guards. Thanks in advance

It’s a matter of access vs attention. Many of the chest type can be kept under a retractable bed cover. You can’t get more secure or aesthetically pleasing than that. If you’re not using it daily it seems the way to go. Saddle type draw attention. Most thieves are opportunist. They’re not going to the trouble to climb in your bed, much less if it’s under a hard tonneau.

I like the cross bed low profile variety best due to ease of access, from one side or the other I can reach about 75% of what I need without crawling up into the bed.
The in bed chest type, I have to crawl in the bed every time I want something out of it.

For me it is Weatherguard or nothing.

Saddle box.. had both single a gullwing. i prefer gullwing lids. They offer tool protection when acessing during rain. They also seem to be more secure. Only con I have is visabilty. On a reg cab, no big deal. Extended cab or crew cab, cant see in bed or tail gate from drivers seat.

Chest with single lid... pro is low profile. Good rear visabilty.
Con ...access is limited. If it opened in rain, everything gets wet.

I have had trucks rigged with cross and side boxes, cross with chest behind it and side boxes, a just cross.
Oh yeah , forgot about, i had a reg cab with a work bed topper. Was not a fan. 2 years was enough.

Current truck is crew cab with cross gull wing and a short Extang flip up bed cover. Ordered cover cover from realtruck.com.



As far a security, have you seen cordless angle grinder in action. At least with a gull wing, it takes 2 cuts to open all box.

But the best you can afford. If you go cross mount with no driil mounts, that clamp under bed rail.

This is exactly the idea that I was leaning toward. I was wondering if running a hard cover and chest was possible. Now I have that answered.

Mike. I realize that you didn't ask about drawer tool boxes, but wanted to make sure you were aware of them and the benefits they offer.

I am a huge fan of them. Low profile, heavy duty and secured by the box lock and tailgate lock.

https://www.weatherguard.com/products/truck-tool-boxes-equipment/pull-out-storage?page=1#pf-filters=spec:cat/Pull%20Out%20Storage

The retractable cover takes up space close to the cab. The good new is the chest can be mounted 6” away or 3’ away. Although I wouldn’t go past the axle.


Note: this is an 8 beer answer but I think it’s good.

My welder buddy has that pack rat built into his welding rig, and the pull slides are sweet. I looked at those, but I wasn’t quite expecting the corresponding price tag. If I was physically doing construction and it was a work truck I’d be all over it. Those are pretty amazing. Thanks for the suggestion.

My only question is my truck stays outside and we get a lot of rain. I wonder if there would be any issues with standing water under the chest. I know it’s aluminum, but nonetheless. Assuming I wasn’t going to get the bed cover.

I always got one with one lid. By using a rake I could get anything out of it from the other side.

Yes, they are expensive. The last two I bought were used and I saved a bunch of money. You can find them on Craigslist and other places. They are all steel construction and can hold a lot of weight in them and on them. They do a great job at keeping your stuff dry, secure and out of sight. I suppose that would not be the case if your truck bed fills with water, but most beds drain easily between the body and tailgate.

If you buy used, make sure you pull the drawer out to insure it opens smoothly on the rollers, which can be seen as you look between the drawer and body of the box.

Good luck!