Our team wants to better use the resources we already have so want to find a plastic shelf that holds the FIRST-issued totes two across. We’d like the orientation to be “hot dog” with two totes parallel to each other on the long side and with two per shelf. We use these totes for storage at competitions so want a shelf unit we can put up and take down easily for our pit.
Home Depot has a shelf unit in their HDX series that holds their 12 gallon flip-top totes but not the FIRST ones. U-Line doesn’t have something. Any ideas? We could build something from PVC but not before next year.
Ikea IVAR should work, but they are wood, and very sturdy. I have a wall full of flip totes. What’s the top outside dimensions and I’ll check for you. Is the plastic a hard requirement? I like the solid shelves to keep things from falling down and into other boxes.
Other thing I’ll point out is that the FIRST KOP totes are quite large to be maneuvering around in the pit. 12 gallon totes are easier to handle and less likely to be overfilled. I put those on a shelf like this – not sure if that is the exact one that fits those totes well, you’d want to check dimensions.
We like to put things in smaller, clear plastic totes with latch handles. We try to find ones that stack and combine nicely to fit inside the big grey totes. We bring the big grey totes to the pit, unpack the clear totes that we need most and put them on shelves or on the table. The ones holding equipment or tools we rarely need, stay inside the grey totes until needed.
We also bought a bunch of Stanley-style storage organizers with the little removable containers (both actual Stanley parts organizers, and the knockoffs from Harbor Freight), which we use to organize all the small hardware like nuts, bolts, washers, shaft collars, crimps, etc.
Bottom line: KOP big grey totes stay on the floor or under the table, and we organize everything else in smaller containers that are easier to work with.
The IVAR shelves are 31 3/4" from post to post. Looks like the FIRST totes are huge at 26.9" x 16.9" x 12.1". So two of them won’t fit on the IVAR shelves. You need to find something with a 34" shelf.
I got my last set of tubs off of Woot, they are only 15 1/2" wide at the top, so I have lots of room to slide in and out.
You can get creative and do one tub up, one tub down and that would fit.
(Down tub gets bolts or zip ties to keep the top from opening up)
Good luck, sorry about sending you down a rabbit hole.
We appreciate the fast replies and creative thinking. We’ve got a tote from HomeDepot to try out for durability and size. It fits a plastic HDX line shelf that HD sells. Also looking for totes on Craigslist.
Sounds like the project I started working on last year in CAD land, but never had time (yet) to get it completed… someday If you’re interested, take a look here.
My goal was not only a cart, but to have the ability to pull them out on sliding shelves. I’m planning on rotating them to the way that you want them, but you could take my design and easily modify it to fit your needs.