Collection: PACKOUT

How the PACKOUT system works, and where mounting hardware fits

Every PACKOUT component shares one interface. Locking cleats on the base of a box mate with the top of the box below it, and two side latches clamp the pair together so the stack travels as a single unit. Boxes, organizers, totes, crates and the M18 wet/dry vacuum all speak the same language, which is the whole point of the system.

There is a second attachment point that gets less attention: the aluminium side rails running down the flanks of most boxes. Most of the aftermarket hardware on this page clamps onto those rails with set screws rather than bolting through the shell, which means no drilling and no permanent change to the box.

Mounting hardware does one of two jobs. It either copies the box-to-box interface onto something fixed — a wall, a rack upright, the side of another box — so a PACKOUT can hang there exactly as it hangs off another box. Or it adds a hanging point to the outside of a box so cords, levels, hand tools and work surfaces live on the stack instead of on the floor.

One thing to settle before you order. PACKOUT has been through more than one design revision, and organizers, totes, crates and rolling boxes do not share a footprint. Third-party plates, cleats and rail mounts are cut for specific shapes and specific rails. Read the fitment line on the listing and match it to the box in your van, not to PACKOUT in general.

Mounting a PACKOUT to a wall, a truck bed or a van rack

On a shop wall, hit framing. Lag into studs, not drywall anchors — a loaded organizer is heavier than people estimate, and the failure mode is a box of sockets on a concrete floor. On block or concrete use proper masonry anchors sized for the fixing. Set the height so the top box is still reachable with its lid fully open, and hang the heaviest box lowest.

In a truck bed, van rack or trailer the rules change because vibration enters the picture. Bolt through to real structure — a rack upright, a bed rail, a bulkhead — never into thin sheet metal or a plastic bed liner. Use nylon-insert nuts or thread locker, and re-check every fastener after the first few hundred miles. Hardware that felt tight in the driveway will not stay tight through a season of potholes.

One safety point that matters more than any of the above. Mounting hardware holds a box in place for normal driving. It is not load securement. Nothing on this page is designed or rated to restrain a loaded toolbox in a hard stop or a collision, and a heavy box that comes loose in a van is a serious hazard to whoever is in the front seats. If you are carrying real weight, strap it properly as well.

Think about removal before you drill, too. A plate you can reach with the tailgate down beats one buried behind a wheel arch, and a rolling box you have to lift over a rail every morning will be left at the shop by the end of the month.

Cleats, plates and rail clips: what each one actually does

Three kinds of hardware do the mounting, and they suit different situations.

Cleats

A cleat is the smallest unit of the system: one locking pad that a PACKOUT box or a locking accessory clips onto. Because they come in packs you can place them individually, which is what you want when you are mounting a single accessory somewhere odd and a full-size plate would be overkill. Build the setup one cleat at a time, and move them when the van layout changes.

Mounting plates

A plate is the full-size version of the same idea. The anodized aluminium front and side plate here locks in full-size boxes, half-size boxes, crates and accessories, and has a latch hole so nothing shakes off in transit. It fits without drilling: pull the factory rail, slide the plate on, refit the rail and tighten the set screws. That is the version to buy if you want to expand a stack sideways rather than only upward.

Rail mount clips

A rail clip is the generic adapter. It slides onto a factory PACKOUT rail and presents threaded holes, so anything with a bolt pattern and no PACKOUT-shaped mate can still be attached. This is the part that gets you out of trouble on a custom build.

The no-drill point deserves a moment. Machined 6061 aluminium clamping to the factory rail with set screws leaves the box completely unmodified, so the hardware can move to a different box later or come off entirely. That is worth more than it sounds on a fleet where boxes get swapped between vans.

Putting the sides of the stack to work

The flat sides of a PACKOUT stack are dead space until you hang something on them, and this is where the cheapest wins are.

Rail side mounts bolt to the side rail and let you hang half-size boxes and accessories off the flank of the stack. They are reversible, so one part works on the left or the right, and they carry an extra slot for squares and straight edges. Two of them turn a rolling box into something closer to a mobile shop wall.

Level holders solve a problem every trade recognises. Levels are long, fragile, and fit in nothing. The left and right holders here are machined from 6061 aluminium, clamp to the side rail with set screws, and hold the level flat against the box where it cannot be stepped on or slide out of a van door. Each has a second, thinner slot for a square or a straight edge. Sides are sold separately, so pick the side you want free or run one on each flank for two levels.

Cord holders are the other obvious hang. A coiled extension cord at waist height is faster to deploy and far less likely to end up in a puddle or under a wheel. Note the fitment carefully on this one: the cord holder listed here mounts to the Alpha Rail system rather than the factory PACKOUT rail, so check what you have before ordering.

Work surfaces, wheels, and what is genuine Milwaukee here

Somewhere to put parts down is the upgrade people underrate. A folding metal side table mounts to the rail — or to a truck bed, a wall or a MOLLE panel — and folds flat to travel, giving you a flat, wipeable platform for assembly and repairs. The foldable magnetic work table does the same job with a magnetic, foam-lined tray, so fasteners and bits stay where you put them instead of rolling off onto gravel. Folding side storage mounts add a shelf on each flank that drops flat when you roll. None of it replaces a bench. All of it stops parts hitting the floor.

On rolling boxes, two small parts fix two common annoyances. A steel front caster kit converts the box to four-wheel mode so a loaded stack rolls beside you rather than pulling on one shoulder, and folds away when you want the factory two-wheel behaviour back. A handle quick-release pin kit swaps the factory pins for stainless ones with oversized heads, so the telescoping handle comes off in seconds — the difference between a stack that fits a van rack and one that does not.

Plenty on this page is genuine Milwaukee: the boxes themselves, the M18 wet/dry vacuum that stacks into the system, the SHOCKWAVE bit and socket sets supplied in PACKOUT cases, the HOLE DOZER and BIG HAWG hole saw kits in compact organizers, an M12 ROVER flood light with a PACKOUT mount, and the tumblers. The plates, cleats, rail mounts, level holders, tables and caster hardware are third-party. That is not a compromise. Several are machined from anodized or 6061 aluminium, which is stiffer than the moulded parts they stand in for, and for a few of these jobs Milwaukee does not offer anything at all.