Chris Enright, owner of Enright Automotive in Alexandria, Ohio, has been an automotive technician for 15 years and has owned his own shop since 2020. As the sole employee at his shop, Enright runs the show from every angle, and he likes it that way. That sense of freedom and control is part of what led him to open his own repair shop.
From his time in the automotive industry, Enright has learned a thing or two about tool storage — trying out different sizes and setups —and has landed on a setup that works well for his everyday use.
The star of the show
Enright uses many tool carts and boxes for storage at his shop. There’s his biggest box, the KRL 1163 Master Series from Snap-on, the 85th Anniversary edition; a Mac Tools Macsimizer Tool Cart; and the KRSC 46 from Snap-on. Still, in Enright’s eyes, none stand a chance against his Snap-on EPIQ Series Mobile Workcenter Tool Cart.
For about 80 percent of his work, Enright uses his EPIQ Series tool cart which he’s had for around seven years. At 37” wide, 30” deep, and 42” tall, the cart fits his tools well with five drawers to work with. Even after testing out several different toolboxes, some smaller and more compact, Enright continued coming back to the EPIQ series.
“You get all the additional storage space in it,” says Enright. “The EPIQ series is a very well-built toolbox. For me, I was… so used to having everything set up in my cart that it was hard for me [to switch].”
In addition to its storage offerings, Enright finds the stainless-steel top on his EPIQ series tool cart invaluable to his work as a technician. The worktop allows him to work from anywhere in his shop, moving it as he goes without carrying all his tools from one place to another.
Maximizing your space
Despite the cart’s many useful features, Enright favors his own organization of the cart above all else. As a social media content creator, he has shared many parts of his technician life including the organization of his tools. Using modular organization systems from Toolbox Widgets and Toolganizer, Enright feels he is able to utilize the space within each drawer of his tool cart more efficiently. Making more room for sockets, wrenches, extensions, and more.
“I was able to maximize every square inch of the cart throughout the entire organization series,” says Enright. “And that was my goal. We always assume that we need a bigger toolbox once we run out of space and my goal… was to show people we don’t always need something bigger.
Getting the best bang for your buck
When it comes to buying a toolbox, there are many things to consider before making your purchase. Enright believes there are three things a technician should ask themselves when buying a toolbox or cart: is it made from quality materials, will I get good service from the company, and can I afford it?
Enright advises those in the market for a new setup to buy the toolbox in full, preferably in cash, instead of taking out payments on it. It was something he made sure he could do for the carts and boxes he uses in his own shop. Don’t dig a hole that you might not be able to get out of.
“I just started my shop, so I didn’t want to put the business under [financial] stress,” Enright explains.
Though Enright doesn’t plan on updating his tool cart any time soon, he would like to eventually upgrade his Snap-on Master Series toolbox to the Snap-on EPIQ series to match his cart.
