I am moving to a new barn with no tack lockers so am looking for storage ideas for the tack room. I have gone through old threads and Stanley rolling tool chests seem to be the favourite options. Are there any newer ideas? COTH always has ideas I would never think of!
90% of my trainer’s clients use Stanley, Husky, or Craftsmen 50-gallon trunks for both home use and away shows, one person uses the Dewalt 63-gallon, one uses what is basically a half-size trunk but it doesn’t fit nearly enough things for a travel show so I don’t recommend that for sure for at home use.
Even if it’s just for at-home use, I really cannot recommend enough something with wheels. Without, if you load it up one place and need to move it another it’s a 2-3 person job depending on how full you make it.
7 Likes
If you don’t need to move it to travel to shows, etc. I would look at deck boxes. The sides are more vertical, and you don’t lose space to the wheels like on the rolling tool boxes. I made a simple false floor in mine so I can store stuff I don’t need on a daily basis in the bottom, and my grooming gear and stuff like that on top.
Also, depending on barn rules and where it will be, a small vertical shed or floor height garage cabinet might be a possibility. I was allowed to put one in the tack room because it doesn’t take up any more floor space than a trunk (less, actually) but it’s way easier to organize and holds a ton of stuff.
1 Like
I have a big beautiful Phoenix West wooden trunk with wheels. Have had it for upwards of 20 years. Had to replace the hinges, otherwise it looks great. But if I were to do it all over again, I would get one of those big Stanley toolboxes and call it a day.
3 Likes
I don’t use it as a tack trunk these days, but I have a nice deck box with wheels.
(Bonus: it’s in my colors, too!)
1 Like
I admit, I had to Google what a Deck Box is. I thought it was some brand. Silly me.
I bought three Husky rolling boxes on sale at Home Depot about 15 years ago. These days I just use them to store blankets for the summer. I was attracted by price, but also because the only brand label was on the lid, and was the perfect size for it to be covered with a brass stall plate.
2 Likes
you could put casters on it
Bonus, these fit even most Western saddles!
I poked around in Home Depot and found one that I liked. It was huge and had wheels so I could relocate it if I needed to. You can add things to the lid that hold miscellaneous items like grooming tools and first aid supplies. I also got some plastic containers for things like winter shoes and extra straps for blankets.
I’ve had one of the Husky boxes for almost a decade now, through 3 barns. It’s held up great, and holds a lot of stuff. You can pretty easily find covers online too, so that if you want it to look “nice” it’s easy to hide that it’s a big plastic box instead of a fancy wood one. But I’ve sure seen plenty of them at shows, just usually hiding in tack rooms and deep in the aisles while the fancy wood trunks sit by the front 
