Pianotech

  • 1.  Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Posted 10-02-2021 05:41
    I recently lost my daily ride (Fiat 500!) and purchased a new-to-me Mazda CX-5, which, I believe, is properly classified as a mid-sized crossover SUV. My standard tool collection that I carry with me daily to piano appointments consists of three standard-sized tool boxes plus my tuning kit case, which is a bit larger than the others. All that just fit nicely in the boot of my Fiat and I never really had any worries about tools flying about in the case of an accident. And indeed I was correct as all my tools remained perfectly in place in a recent traffic accident I was involved in (I'm okay, just a good bit battered and bruised....) that left my little baby car totaled.

    However, the rear space behind the back seat in my new ride is maybe six or more times the size and it concerns me that heavy, nasty things could go flying if a really bad thing were to happen (I'm going to try and avoid that better this time....). Has anyone taken effective steps to somehow secure tool boxes in a vehicle?

    The only thing I've come up with would be to build a plywood half-box (three sides and a top) that would be secured to the trunk-area floor. That would allow for easy(-ish) loading/unloading of tool boxes, yet, when the rear hatch is closed, would form a fully-surrounding secure box that would retain the tool boxes in case of crash.

    Any better thoughts? Thanks!!

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    Terry Farrell
    Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
    Brandon, Florida
    terry@farrellpiano.com
    813-684-3505
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  • 2.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-02-2021 10:36

    Hi Terry,

    First and foremost, I'm glad to hear you're ok! So sorry you had to go through that. I've been in a life threatening wreck before, and I know how terrifying it can be - both in the moment and afterwards. 

    Perhaps a bit off topic, but I encourage you to get checked out by a doctor twice. Once sometime soon after the accident and once one to two months later. Some damage shows up immediately; other things show up in time. 

    I use a privacy screen to cover my tools in the trunk. The Kia I drive didn't come with it so I had to order one. It was worth the $80 extra. Not only does it keep prying eyes off my tools, I *think* it would keep everything from flying all over in the event of an accident. 

    A friend of mine built a wooden platform for the back of his car and has permanently attached it I think. He stores his tools under it and sometimes an action of top of it. 

    Either option might be something you could check into. Good luck!



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
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  • 3.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Posted 10-02-2021 12:05
    Hi Terry. 
    Indeed, glad to hear you are okay and I agree with what Benjamin said about having you checked out. 
    I never thought of tool boxes sliding around or, in case of an accident, toolsf fyings around. I think for boxes to be flying around, you would have to be in a very serious accident.
    I have a Honda crv with rubber trunk mat as well as a trunk cover. Usually I have several boxes in the trunk, enough to keep everything from sliding around and of course, the rubber trunk mat keeps everything positioned under normal circumstances. 
    For me, personally, that works and gives me enough peace of mind. 
    Peter

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    Petrus Janssen
    Peachtree City GA
    678-416-8055
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  • 4.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-02-2021 20:50
    Here's what I did on my Subaru Forester, 6 weeks after buying it in 2010. I ran a straight line down the middle of the back, and measured outwards perpendicularly from that line to at enough points to capture the curvature. That was my template for both sides, and it was quite close fitting. On the nearest end of the center board, you can make out a piece of steel angle on its but end, the horizontal part of which has enough of an off-set vertically to allow the masonite to slip between it and the center board. The masonite is locked in place by the bump-outs just beyond the rear wheel wells, and the dividers are locked into the masonite. The only trick on the dividers is figuring out how high they should be, but there are items I can't reduced the height of: a medium-size mechanic's tool box, and an extended version of a milk crate (I love'em!). When I'm picking up an action, they get slide over to one side, and the action has plenty of room to sit on the dividers.

    All you'd have to figure out is the dimension of the sections. Hope this helps. BTW, I had a single car accident for which I figured the chances of walking away from it (which I did) were 2%, add another 3% for wheel-chair-bound, and the rest GAME OVER.


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    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
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  • 5.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Posted 10-02-2021 21:30
    My tool boxes are secured with a ratchet strap behind the rear seat.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 6.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-03-2021 14:12
    cargo net https://www.amazon.com/Floor-Style-Trunk-Cargo-Mazda/dp/B00RIW7KVU there are probably several variations.

    Thanks Bill, your picture gave me a good idea for my hatchback.

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    Steven Rosenthal
    Honolulu HI
    808-521-7129
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  • 7.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Posted 10-14-2021 09:09
    I swapped out the ratchet straps for Velcro yesterday.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 8.  RE: Tool Box Vehicle Security/Safety

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-03-2021 16:06
    I have a Toyota Corolla HyBrid. (Currently getting close to 58 mpg.) The trunk space is solid and it "just" holds my several tool cases and things like my Edwards Grand Action Caddy. But I had to play Tetris with most of it to figure out how to make it all fit snugly. Then I keep everything tied down with a couple of these:

    https://www.harborfreight.com/400-lb-capacity-1-in-x-15-ft-ratcheting-tie-downs-4-pk-63094.html 

    I built a special fitted board that sits across the top of the folded down back seats for carrying both upright and grand actions. Besides giving me a solid place to put the action, it helps raise it above the back seat door arm rests. Both upright and grand actions easily slip right in without danger of the door arm rests bumping into them. I then use the same strap ties, above, to keep it from floating around while I'm driving.

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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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