Packouts And Printers

I have an addiction to Milwaukee Packouts. There is no cure and I’m perfectly happy about that. As addictions go, attraction to irrationally overspecialized toolboxes is pretty tame.

I began by using Packouts for everything but tools. As soon as they hit the market I bolted a half size Packout to my dirt bike (a Yamaha TW200 named Honey Badger). That initial foray into Packout-land was just meant to hold tools and “survival” gear. But Packouts stack and I had to test that out! I added and swapped various “modules”, a soft cooler, extra space to carry more stuff, etc…

No sane person expects anything to stay stacked while bouncing around on a dirt bike. Yet somehow it works! I’ve stacked Packouts in all sorts of configurations, then rode my bike like I hate gravity. I’ve fucked up and hit trees and sunk into swamps and so-forth, but the toolboxes never fail. Aside from one I into which I drilled holes, they stay sealed; internal contents are always dry. The individual boxes never fly off. It’s uncanny how such highly abused boxes hold together like dirt bikes are their true purpose.

Here’s a post from 2021. I was testing a 1 gallon RotoPax gas container* and a 1 gallon RotoPax water container in addition to the Packouts (in this case a stack of a regular half box and a thin half box). (*Links are for Amazon, they may still be valid or they may have expired. If you go to Amazon via a link on my blog and buy anything, I get a small kickback. You won’t pay anything more. So feel free to buy a bar of gold or something.)

This photo is from (Dirt Bike Americana: Pics Or It Didn’t Happen):

Here’s a post from eleven months ago. (I was a much healthier Curmudgeon just that short time ago. It’s hard to imagine how much can, and did(!), change.) I was wandering around the Wyoming high country like a man with zero shits to give. I had the usual Packout and matching set of RotoPax but it was buried under Nelson Riggs Hurricane Dual Sport Saddlebags a Tusk Olympus (Large) tank bag, and sleeping bag & tent. I looked goofy but my unkillable little TW200 did an admirable job under difficult circumstances.

It was a good time. I was riding solo, living my dream, and happy. Eleven months can be a very long time or the blink of an eye. I will be that strong again; I’m just not sure when. The post was called WYBDR: Seeking The Groove:

In addition to the bike, I’ve been using bigger Packout boxes in my truck as “camping gear boxes”. I posted about using one for a “chuckbox” in early 2024 (For No Apparent Reason, I Went Camping: Part 6: Chuckbox):

If I ever join a cult, it’ll be based on Packouts.

As to details, the chuckbox is a Milwaukee Packout 22 inch Modular XL Tool Box. (I’d offer an Amazon link but for some reason Amazon sketchy about that one piece of Packout kit). It’s identical in size as the Packout Rolling Tool Box which I use for “tent stuff”.

Based on all that, you might think I’m missing the point. They’re toolboxes. Am I so obtuse as to not put tools in them?

Of course not! I just didn’t post it when I used toolboxes to hold tools.

In fact, I fiddled with my 3D printer, and made a thing called a “Gridfinity” base for some of my Packouts. “Gridfinity” is nerd-speak for a modular system of organizing space to hold stuff (like tools). 3D printing your own “Gridfinity” bases for Packout boxes is two dimensions deep into the deep well that is American nerd-ness.

In case you’re wondering, Gridfinity within a Packout works exceptionally well.

I didn’t take any photos because… well because 2025 has been a tough year. Also I just wasn’t ready to share. A man posting his opened toolbox might as well be posing in his knickers. I’m well aware the internet is awash in such things, but y’all don’t need to see my socket set just yet. That day may come, but it isn’t today.

(*Do I date myself saying “knickers”? I feel like that makes me sound like an extra from the Beatle’s Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. In 2025 should I say “thong”? In my Squirrels story I refer several times to “mink speedo”. Where was I?)

I just recently did another thing. I used my 3D printer to make stupidly simple Milwaukee Packout labels… and they look fabulous!

If you wandered into some dude’s garage and saw Milwaukee Packouts you might think he’s actually capable of using all those tools. If the Packouts were sporting the silly little labels I just cranked out you might think he’s a “pro”.

Of course, I’m hardly a “pro”. I might very well be just some goober with fancy toolboxes and a high opinion of himself. The best I can say in my defense is that when I made a boat, it floated.

Anyway bask in the glory of cheap 3D printed labels and how they make nice tool boxes into awesome toolboxes!

Here’s an generic stack of Packouts. (Forgive the dirt, I actually use them.)

Looks pretty good, but could it be better?

Here are some labels coming out of my 3d printer. A nerd details is that some labels stick out forward when mounted on the box. For those the text is invisible because it’s on the downward side of the print. Other labels nest deeper into the box when mounted. For those you can see the text as it prints.

3D printing, when done well, isn’t expensive. I used my cheapest PLA filament which is plenty good for this application. The slicer says the cost of filament for this “plate” was around $1.20. I’d suspect each plastic label costs a bit less than a quarter.

Here are the same toolboxes as before but with the pretty new labels. I think it spiffs things up nicely.

Here’s another set of Packouts with labels. They look great!

I was fooling around with some labels sticking out forwards and others nesting in backwards. I think the nested ones look cooler. Also notice that the “inter-handle-hinge” width of various Packouts varies. You need to pick the right size, which isn’t rocket science.

Final note, I didn’t design these myself. I downloaded them from MakerWorld. (It’s easy to edit the text within the Bambu slicer.) You can find them there too. If you do, make sure to “boost” the designer. He earned it!

Happy garage-ing y’all.