Does anybody know of a cheap COTS pit ideas. I would love to use 604’s OpenPit but I don’t think we have the time nor resources to make it work out. Currently, we use a unwieldy huskey cart.
Preferably it would also serve well in season for ease of packing.
What are your requirements? Does something like this work for you?
What problems is the Husky cart causing you? You specify “light”; is the goal to have something that is more easily liftable, or fits into a smaller vehicle? Either way, SuperPit-at-home doesn’t seem to fit this description.
I’ve used a few different pit setups that worked. The one thing I absolutely do not recommend is using the KoP totes for pit storage. They require a ton of space to open (especially if stacked), they tend to create additional stacks inside, and they don’t even make for good seats.
I have seen several people recommend Milwaukee Packout, which is interesting if you’re using enclosed vehicles (car/SUV/station wagon) instead of truck/trailer.
A few years ago, we went to Houston with two 50 lb. suitcases filled with tools. In general, this would not be my first choice, but there are some aspects that stuck: we used zip-up fabric bags to isolate/contain things, instead of hard plastic organizers. For trips, there are still some items that get zipped into bags and put back into their workbench drawers, so they don’t jump over the drawer edges and get lost in the abyss.
How about one you can build out of dimensional lumber? Pic: FRC 1293 New Pit Structure (WIP)
We finally killed that hutch dead this year, but you can absolutely skip it and have a meaty cart capable of bringing a lot of stuff to events.
For clarification, something that could fit in an SUV is what we have in mind. Also something that require minimal setup would be great but we are sill a robotics team
I think that puts you in the old KOP totes and your preferred brand of stacking tool boxes range. Milwaukee packouts are really nice but there are probably cheaper options that would be fine.
If going for packouts I would highly recommended the ones with drawers. We used them normal stacking ones in 2022 and it was very annoying to unstack everything to get something you need from the bottom.
Thoughts on Tstack by dewalt?
Check out Klein as well, if colored boxes are in your budget. Regardless of color - Definitely get mostly drawers, so you don’t burn time stacking and unstacking. The unstack-to-access pack outs are designed for jobsites where you can spread through a whole floor, and we don’t have that kind of space.
$100 of configurable shelves is a pretty good “SUV load-in” option, without shelling out for brand name colored boxes. Foods service Wire racks or pallet style both ok.
Before we got access to a tall school van, we would pack some snap together shelving and then rebuild it during each load-in. With the tall van, we can keep the rolling shelves loaded.
4186 has really nifty collapsible shelves that they break down and throw in the truckbed to travel, and then open up and load with boxes at load in.
Wire rack example (on the small side, I’d go taller and higher weight rating): Amazon.com: HealSmart 3-Tier Heavy Duty Storage Shelves 750Lb Capacity, 24.02" D x 13.78" W x 21.97" H Shelving Unit for Pantry, Garage, Laundry and Kitchen, Chrome : Home & Kitchen
Pallet type example (we used 12" deep MDF shelves, these are more wire rack - which might travel better - but the 24" depth is excessive) Amazon.com: WORKPRO 5-Tier Heavy Duty Metal Shelving Unit, 48”W x 24”D x 72”H, Adjustable Storage Rack, 4000 lbs Total Load Capacity, Ideal for Garage, Basement, Warehouse, Workshop : Home & Kitchen
Don’t get the all-plastic ones, they’re not that much less expensive and too bulky. it’s better to throw two students at carrying a heavier, smaller wire shelf than to lose seatbelts to a bulky but light shelf unit.
It’s definitely not cheap but at home depot the other day I saw the Dewalt Toughsystem 2.0 DXL boxes, they look like they could be really promising for use as a pit.
We are going to with a highly mobile pit setup, it’s been in the design thinking phase for months and just about get shift into purchasing. Basically we want to be flexible enough to use any type of transportation and not have the safety issues of a heavy super pit.
We are making a pit from two things.
Here’s 177’s setup using Milwaukee Packouts:
There are two mechanical stacks including tools and hardware, and then electrical has their own stack as well for both tools and hardware/consumables. We are a team who does not own a dedicated trailer, and since we compete in districts, taking stacks apart and taking them to events works best for us. Allows us to also take stacks easily to small events/outreach/home for additional work.
Our 2nd team, 429, will be using DeWalt stacking toolboxes (we don’t have the drawers yet though unfortunately) because they were generously donated to us.
I’ve used both and prefer the security bars on the Milwaukee packouts that ensure drawers won’t open up during transport. Of course, you can always lock them too.
Ok, how does this sound:
I’d recommend at least some tstak dolly instead - it is much easier and safer/stable to move around your stack using a dolly on all 4 wheels than it is to move around one of the stacks at full weight on a tilted rolling toolbox.
You could do a combo of both wheeled deep toolboxes and a few dolly’s depending on the situation/event.
Side note - go to your home depot with proof of non-profit status - including proof of non profit status from your school, kindly ask to speak to a manager about a product donation/store credit/or gift card. All Home Depot stores are allotted a few hundred dollars a month or quarter in donations at the manager’s discretion.
Quick google search shows your school booster club works for this using this EIN: Langley High School Boosters - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica
We have something like this which I think is somewhat similar. We stack 2015 totes (1 tall per shelf, 2 horizontally, mostly for spare parts), cleaning supplies tub, and our bumpers in there. We then just take our tool carts from home for tool and drawer space.
These don’t actually look that cheap to me…
Also fyi if you do purchase this, looks like the same item or comparable item is almost $30 less on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Capacity-Shelving-Freestanding-Organizer/dp/B0B4NK4BKD?th=1
Remember folks - be Thrifty when it comes to spending money on your robotics team! Stretch your dollars when you can!
Airline carts cost a lot to ship, if you care about price buy locally. I’ve seen them for $100-$200 on facebook marketplace and they’ll sell in a day or two.
This is what LigerBots have been using for a long time, the top piece of wood is bolted to each to lock them together at comp, but they separate for easy lifting into the uhaul trailer and for moving around, the downside is that you have to take them apart for moving between the main area and field side for DCMP and Worlds, because the wheels jam against each other.
What about making a simple flat dolly base for these 3 shelf units with a raised perimiter with 6 wheels total and sized so the 3 shelf units nest together into the dolly base unit? Maybe use bigger casters to more easily roll over irregular flooring, pavement cracks, etc. Just a thought 
I have one big Tstak box that has been kicking around since 2016 and it hasn’t sustained any damage so quality is probably good.
What components you need is up to you to figure out. What tools and parts does your team bring to competitions? I’d use as many drawers as possible for ease of access. Personally I see no point to a shelving unit that isn’t going to be fully loaded during transportation, and lifting a flimsy rack with 100lbs of stuff on it into a vehicle seems like a terrible idea.
There is no such thing as COTS or SUV friendly pit setup that can come close to the functionality of a large custom pit. I’m sure you have good reasons you want to be able to move your pit without a trailer and buy rather than build, but don’t be under any illusions that is going to be user friendly and store all the parts you might want. Super pits often carry over 1000lbs of tools, parts and materials, can be setup up or torn down in 5mins and loaded into a trailer even faster, and provide lighting, TVs and branding. Large pits can arguably be moved much more safely than loading heavy tool boxes into an SUV or Car. The best you are going to get is several Tstak or similar boxes, I’d say about 3 of everything you listed, but before spending hundreds on a pit that is never going to be fun to move or work with I’d want to be real sure that waiting a year to buy a trailer and some cheap wheeled shelves wasn’t an option.
