Milwaukee has launched a a new low-profile handle upgrade for their Packout rolling tool box.
With the new low-profile handle installed, the Milwaukee Packout rolling tool box has a fully collapsible height of 19.75″, allowing it to fit under most pickup truck bed covers.
When Milwaukee announced the new handle last summer, they said that the new design doesn’t sacrifice any durability, and that it was actually testing even more durable than the original.
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The handle extends in the same manner as the original, and has a max load rating of 250 lbs.
Removal of the old handle and installation of the new low-profile one can be done in 4 steps with just one tool, a Phillips #2 screwdriver.
The handle is designed to fit the Milwaukee Packout rolling tool box, model 48-22-8426.
Price: $59.99
Model: 48-22-8027
ETA: July 2024
Milwaukee says that “all PACKOUT Rolling Tool Boxes will come outfitted with the new Low-Profile Handle,” starting around late 2024.
In other words, the retrofit handle is launching soon, and all Packout rolling tool boxes will come standard with the new low-profile handle by the end of this year.
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Packout users – are you going to upgrade your rolling tool box?
Here’s a quick video intro to give you a sense of the size comparison:
If you prefer vertical format, here’s a Short:
Joe H
Good to see they are addressing that issue.
Rog
“…it was actually testing even better than the original.”
Well I would hope so!
Stuart
With respect to durability.
Mike McFalls
I’d be pretty mad about having to spend another $60 to fix what was such a glaring error one day 1. I know they’d never credit existing owners; but there are cheap 3rd party solutions that are tried and tested on the market.
Jared
Not cheap, to be sure, but at least they offered existing users an upgrade path. Wouldn’t you be even more annoyed if you had to buy a new box to get the new handle design?
Jason
My thoughts exactly. That was such a huge miss from the start and now they’re charging effectively enough to make it a$200 rolling box to correct their error
rj
Exactly. They release the $60 handle upgrade but still haven’t released the rolling box with the new handle. So if you need a box now and want the new handle, you have to buy the old box and the handle upgrade. They should offer the handle upgrade for free with the purchase of a rolling box.
Saulac
I want cart/handtruck setup with 4 small casters and 2 big wheels. (Note that this set up is different from the two big wheels two smaller casters found on some hand truck). Normally the two big wheels are an inch or two off the ground. They are only touch the ground in hand truck mode, which is for outdoor. When indoor, the big wheels do not touch the floor to keep clean. I found this setup in some vintage equipment, not sure what they are called and why they are not around anymore.
James
I did this for my big barrel vacuum. Took a plastic Rubbermaid barrel dolly and bolted an aluminum hand truck to it. Works great to go upstairs or over rough terrain in hand truck mode, and indoors it rolls around smoothly.
Harrison
How they didn’t figure this out during R&D, or in the first week of sales is beyond me. Packout was released in 2017.
I’m not a Milwaukee guy, but their industrial design team has usually been really good at identifying these ‘pain points’ whenever they enter new sections of the tool industry.
Stuart
Product design often requires deliberate decisions, and sometimes mutually exclusive choices.
Other times, design teams can get tunnel vision.
Years ago I spoke to the Dewalt ToughSystem and TStak team, and asked them when they were going to launch organizers for those platforms. The answer was something along the lines of “no, because we already have other organizers.”
Demand built up over time and became apparent, and they launched organizers.
I’ll try to ask a Milwaukee product manager why they took so long to redesign the handle.
Frank D
I sold mine last week. Never used it. Could not use the space inside efficiently and the lid only opened part way. Which I don’t think the new handle will solve, will it?
Leo B.
Do you mean not more than 90 degrees from the top rim? If you mean around 30-40 degrees, you need to push harder. There’s a small detent to push past.
Julian Tracy
That’s what I always want – having to stoop over more to maneuver my tools around.
Or – they could do a quick release handle like stack tech that doesn’t loose the height, yet comes off in seconds.
Upgrade = downgrade.
blocky
I don’t have a pickup so no, but cool that they offer a backwards-compatible solution.
TomD
Hmm I need to measure this but it might make the box fit just under luggage requirements for checked baggage …
Tim
I check this rolling box with the existing taller handle several times a month on Delta and never get refused. They have, however, managed to return it to me with a bent axle, crushed aluminum grab rails, and broken off side handles at various points over the years.
Trevor
I was expecting more packout announcements, so far just totes and a handle
Dean VanderWal
They need to come out with the exact same rolling box with front opening 1 or 2 drawers. Having to remove everything on top to get inside is just crazy.
Dave (not here)
This is the Achilles heel – 20 years ago I had a Stanley stack where the bottom was a hinged tip-out – flimsy as hell, but at least it was accessible without tearing the whole set apart.
Dave (not here)
I suppose it’s a nice upgrade, but useless to me. A couple of years ago I abandoned my rolling base box in favor of dolly bases with drawer units in the bottom and middle positions with an XL standard box (basically the rolling base without wheels) on top for tools like circular or recip saws that don’t fit in drawers.
I hated scattering boxes all over the place to access stuff, but now two rolling stacks contain 90% of what I need for a down-to-the-studs interior remodel and my old top-hinged boxes carry specialty tools that don’t need to be on site for the whole job.
Nathan
So was packout the only one with this affliction?
Another Bob
I can’t speak to other storage systems but if you’re referring to the too tall of handle the Dewalt tough system 1.0 bottom box has a collapsible handle but I had to lay it on the side to fit inside my pick up bed. It was just slightly too tall. But I do have a low profile hard cover on my truck bed. I think with most other covers you could squeeze it in there.
The 2.0 has a quick removable handle and will fit for me. You push two tabs and it pulls out. I don’t believe it fits with the handle attached you have to remove it.
Honestly I only bought it because it was a Black Friday deal and the two top boxes were cheaper and I got the third box for “free”. I mostly use my two wheeler base with the fold out handles DWST08210. Then I don’t have to unstack everything just to get to the bottom box.
60 bucks for a new Milwaukee handle seems a bit steep but everything’s expensive these days. At least they are offering it as a separate part and will put the improvements on the new ones. Maybe they could offer a discount code if you could show proof of purchase on the old one?
Stuart
No. It’s a common complaint, but brands’ modern and second-generation systems have started to address it.
Nathan
Guess that’s why I hadn’t seen or heard such. It would be a minor issue for me. But mine wouldn’t ride in the truck too much
NoDak Farming
I’ve been in the market to buy one more Packout rolling tool box. I wanted to buy it and put it to work this summer. But it’s not completely necessary and I’ll hold off on the purchase until the updated model comes out. My pickup has a tonneau cover and I’d definitely like all my boxes to fit under it.
Im feeling trepidatious about updating an older box, and bringing that single boxes investment close to $200. I think the only way I’d get the update kit would be if Acme Tools was having some sales that could be stacked together.
– I’m glad I saw this article. Thanks for keeping us updated!
SamR
Banking on a problem they created, and for $59.99 you could fix it by yourself. Nice.
Richard
I would rather see new models with drawers or front access. I keep my “hope I don’t have to use it” stuff in mine because I don’t want to have to take everything else off the top of it.
I’m glad they’re iterating though