Owner: Corey Burton
Shop: Hoober, Inc.
Location: Middletown, Del.
Most 16-year-olds cruising down the road wouldn't think twice of a Snap-on distributor truck parked in front of a local Dodge dealership, but for Corey Burton, who grew up around tools, it was an invitation. Burton stopped in to talk to the Snap-on distributor, Jonathan Smith, and left with a "pile of tools" that started his soon-to-be Big Time Box collection. Not long after, Burton was meeting up with Smith once a week, which seemed to pay off because he eventually landed a job at one of Smith's clients' car shops.
Now, Burton, 23, has been a tractor technician at Hoober, Inc., a full line Case IH agriculture equipment dealer in Middletown, Del., for a little more than four years. And to this day, he still deals with Smith, or, as he calls him, his "Snap-on Guy."
Sticking to his Snap-on roots, he has a Snap-on Master's Series toolbox with a 73" main box, workstation riser and overhead storage compartment in the arctic sliver color, two full-height side lockers in candy apple red and a 42" split top roll cart in arctic sliver with red drawers to match. All in all, the main box is 8' tall and 10' long.
"The lockers and overhead compartment give me tons of room to fit kit boxes and specialty tools, as I work on anything from planters to tractors to skid steers to mowers, so there’s more than just a basic tool set," Burton says. "The riser is open and has commonly used tools hanging on the back wall. It also has power outlets for chargers and a laptop."
The 50" drawers on the Master's Series are a big plus for Burton, because he's able to fit longer tools.
In addition to his main box, the roll cart is essential, especially when working in a big shop like his where he could be needed anywhere. The roll cart holds basic tools, and some specialty ones.
"I love my job, and having tools when you need them makes it that much nicer!" Burton says. Out of the about 25 technicians at his location, only a few have toolboxes, as most have service trucks. Generally, the reactions to his toolbox from other technicians are: "You're ridiculous!" But Burton says this is what he likes doing.
Burton mostly stays in the shop working on transmission rebuilds, engine removal and basically anything the road technicians can't service without an overhead hoist.
Although Burton keeps his box stocked with Snap-on, his favorite and most used tool is an 3/8" Compact Impact Wrench.
"I have a Milwaukee Tool M18 One-Key impact," Burton says. "I use it more than any other tool in my box. It makes assembly and disassembly a lot quicker."
Burton says he has no immediate plans to expand his box further, but he does want to trade it in for a Snap-on EPIQ toolbox in a few years.
