Hey Everyone!
So I will soon be purchasing my first tack trunk 
I was wondering if you guys had any advice or things you wish you knew before you bought yours? I’m looking for a wooden one with a bandage lid, doesn’t have to be huge. Also if anyone has purchased any and can give me the links, that’d be great to! So any advice?
Before you fill it with your tack goodies, flip that sucker upside down and put wheels on one end, fixed legs on the other end, and a very sturdy handle on at least the side w/ the fixed legs (if not both sides).
I have 2 wooden tack boxes- one with wheels, one without- and let me tell you which one is a nightmare to move and which one is only a slightly disturbing daydream. 
I really like these option from a great small company …but they have no bandage lid option that I could see.
http://wallyswoodworkingmn.com/products.asp?cat=11
and these looked nice at a great price point but I have no personal experience with this company
[QUOTE=Jaideux;7619839]
Before you fill it with your tack goodies, flip that sucker upside down and put wheels on one end, fixed legs on the other end, and a very sturdy handle on at least the side w/ the fixed legs (if not both sides).
I have 2 wooden tack boxes- one with wheels, one without- and let me tell you which one is a nightmare to move and which one is only a slightly disturbing daydream. ;)[/QUOTE]
This is great advice. My lovely McGuinn never leaves the barn at this stage. Instead I am all about convenience and my Stanley 50 gallonrolling trunk http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-037025H-Gallon-Mobile-Chest/dp/B000Q5LZT4 is my go to option
Be careful with bandage lids-- they are heavy, which causes all kinds of problems in the short term and the long term. And the biggest PITA associated with them is the requirement that everything in your trays is flatter-than-you-thought-it-had-to-be because the bandage lid won’t let anything stick up. So how many times do you want to close your trunk, only to discover that you need to re-open (the heavy lid) and rearrange?
Full Disclosure: I have not owned one of these, but I have groomed for barns that had us work out of this design of trunk. No bueno.
If you are at a barn and have someone to help shlep the trunk around, I like Sawhorse and they have been around for quite some time.
I recently sold my tack trunk on Craigslist because I could no longer physically move it by myself. When I was 22 it was fine to push/pull and hoist it into my trailer. Now, I’m too old/lazy/afraid of risking a hernia to deal with it.
I ended up getting plastic drawers from Rubbermaid. I have them stacked neatly, and can keep stuff separated and organized. The problem with the trunk is it becomes a bottomless pit if you don’t stay on top of keeping it clean, and the things that end up at the very bottom…I became afraid of sticking my hand down there to root around for something.
Of course, the trunk looks lovely at shows, etc. etc., but I really like the drawers and how easy it is to pick them up and move with them. I have 4 drawers stacked, and it fits perfectly under the saddle rack. The drawers also fit in my little car perfectly, so I have the option of hired transport for my horse for longer distance events or I can just put them in my trailer dressing room when I am doing the hauling myself and still have plenty of room for feed/buckets/stable supplies.
2 of us at my barn have the one from SmartPak. We both love them.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/phoenix-west-starter-tack-trunk-9758p
I then got the cover for mine from SmartPak, which is very nice. Cover was what I consider expensive but it really is high quality (padded top, zipper top, embroidered, etc.)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-37-in-Mobile-Job-Box-209261/203668066
we got one of these and it is awesome. Has a little tray that we put extras in too. It has a lock. When we were at the KY spring classic saw a ton of these. We just made a cover for it with our name/barn on it (used a heavy cotton fabric and got iron on letters)
I have this: https://www.smartpakequine.com/phoenix-west-starter-tack-trunk-9758p. Benefit: fully loaded, I can pick it up (and it even fits in the back of my small, small SUV with the back seats down). It won’t hold everything, but I have a surprising amount of stuff in there and it is more than adequate. No bandage lid, but I do store a full set of no bows and two sets of standing wraps in there along with everything else.
I also have a “normal” large sized trunk that I use as furniture at home, because it is simply too heavy to drag anywhere, even empty.
I had two trunks built, a big one that stays at the barn, and a smaller one for shows. I used Elite Tack Design for ideas on what to include and I can’t imagine not having a “hatch” built in my trunk. It’s a separate box with a lid that’s built inside my trunk that holds my helmets and smaller items. I also have the sliding tray. Instead of a bandage lid, the lid is pretty deep and has a whip holder and mirror. Also, definitely add wheels! I have them on both trunks, and while still heavy, they are at least somewhat mobile now.
If you know someone who is somewhat handy with tools, Elitetackdesign.com has great trunk plans and you can build them for less than you’d buy them for. My large trunk cost about $400, but would have easily been over $1,000 if I had purchased one the same size.
I have this one - it’s made by Horse Fare. Mine doesn’t have the bandage holder in the lid, but the lid is deep enough that I could rig it up to hold wraps using small screw eyes and short bungee cords. The trunk is beautiful quality and has held up great.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/smartpak-deluxe-wood-trunk-6297p
Like Sugar Cubes, I found that having two trunks is the way to go.
For one, I have the small/light Phoenix West one that Inca linked to. No bandage lid, but it’s the perfect show trunk. It’s light enough I can move it from trailer to show stalls with no/limited assistance. It’s small enough that it doesn’t turn into a bottomless (heavy) pit of misc tack items. It looks nice and with a brass ‘stall plate’ with my name on it, and custom cover, it looks like a million bucks for a fraction of the cost of many other show trunks.
For home use I have a big, with bandage lid, wooden trunk. I’ve had it about 10 years, but it did get it completely refurbished in that time period. Because the lid is so heavy, it did break through at least one set of hinges. Also, it needed special heavy-duty handles to make it barable to handle. Having a home trunk with tons of stuff in it, separate from the show trunk, has made life SO much easier. And agreed with other posters that the bandage lid can be convenient, but also inconvenient, and it puts additional wear and tear on the trunk and hardware.
I have never had a problem with my bandage lid. Interesting that people think they are too heavy and cumbersome.
OP, I think the best place to buy a tack trunk is locally. For example, the husband of one of my friends makes amazing track trunks. Beautiful piece of furniture type construction.
Look around at the shows and notice which tack trunks you like and ask that barn where they got them.
Ask around locally. I had mine custom built and shipped in, and that was a logistical nightmare! I’m sure there’s a local handyman/carpenter who could do a great job for a very reasonable amount with the added bonus that you can get exactly what you want. I know there is a guy around here who makes all the tack boxes for all the farms. Beautiful work, great guy- plus I will always buy locally when given the chance.
And yes, wheels are a must! Also, I have a bandage lid on mine and the original hinges are about to have to be replaced. That does make the lid quite heavy, so make sure to get heavy duty hinges to go with it!
Stronghold Equine Equipment has beautiful wooden trunks. There were several at their display at Old Salem Farm during the Spring Shows. Their web address is: http://strongholdequineequipment.com/contact/
You can go on their site and see some photographs.
I have nothing to do with their business.
PatriotJumpsofGeorgia. Best built tack trunks at below retail prices.
Hi my name is LetItBe and I like trunks:) The McGuinns mentioned above last forever and are wonderful but even the smaller show trunk vs the large trunk is heavy so unless you have help not manageable at a show alone. For a while I was using just their braiding bench at the shows, still heavy but manageable by one person.
This one https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/ho…-wheels–15069 is nice but rather long for most places. This one is a great size https://www.doversaddlery.com/burlin…nk/p/X1-27335/ but is almost as heavy as the small McGuinn. The old Rubbermaid one I have didn’t come with any trays so only good for storing blankets and saddle pads but newer ones have trays and wheels.
I now use this https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-T…8250/207204993 and keep it in my trailer for shows. It holds all I need for 1-2 ponies sharing brushes, braiding gear, shampoo, etc. And I can get it in and out of the trailer without killing my back which is why I stopped using the braiding bench.
LetItBe
This is not what you asked about, but I got a Stanley trunk with wheels and a handle via advice on this board, and I have never looked back. It is cheap and light and easy to move, and you never have to worry about it getting dinged in transit. My beautiful wooden trunk now sits in my house. And, with a nice custom cover, it almost looks like the real thing.
This post is 5 years old and was bumped with what I believe is an advertisement…
I have this same trunk- it’s the best, the little tray makes an awesome grooming tote
Our barn management actually prefers these to the fancy wooden ones because they are easier to move around for showing / if any work needs to be done at the facility and trunks need to be moved.
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