DIY: Tool Tray on top of engine compartment fun...

[cn90]

OK,

Whether you live in an apartment or $500K home...
This is a minimalist approach as I don't want to buy a server table or tray table.
My garage has enough junks already.

I often carry some tools/parts in a box to fix the car and usually place it on the driveway (instead of
engine compartment) to avoid knocking it over the engine compartment.
Bending down to retrieve tools/parts is no fun as you get older.

Sometimes, I use the car's windshied plastic cowl as a tool tray, but it is easy to forget stuff there once done.
With tool trays as shown below, it is easy to spot and remove once done.

So, options are:

1. Silicone Tray (Harbor Freight sells them). I bought the medium size Silicone Tray (9" x 10")
for ~ $13.00 or $14.00 online etc...
The silicone tray is sticky and a bit squishy, but if you place it as shown, it is OK.

2. You can also use an Office Letter Tray too.
This is wood, so it is solid.
You may want to use masking tape to tie it to let's say the windshield wiper arm, so it does not slide around.

Anyway, whatever you do, don't drop tools/parts down the engine compartment bc as we all know, it is
no fun looking for them.

Of course, this is for minor jobs such as spark plugs, ignition coils etc etc.
For bigger job (alternator, starter motor), I place these big parts on the ground...

3. Lastly, I list the metal tray table from Harbor Freight for those interested.
It is $100 or so.
Personally, I simply don't want this in my garage (no more junk for me), but this may be someone's preference...

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[BlackBart]

I have to admit the blue HF tray looks pretty handy. But I would likely fill it with too much stuff and inevitably knock it over and spill it, losing the 10mm socket forever.

[MoVolvos]

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Costco provides no bags but reused the product shipping boxes if you want one for the convenience of carrying several items into your home at once. They have a huge bin stack full of them as backup and for customers to pick through.

Since they buy by the pallets and products are sold directly off the pallets, the boxes are very strong. The small ones are ideal as a tool tray and have taller sides. They won't tip and are less slippery than a plastic tool tray. I also have a magnetic bar to keep the sockets and other smaller items in view as things fill up quickly.

For keeping the ground clean I will use the pallet slips. I fold them in half and under the shopping cart while shopping. Depending on the work they last a long long time. Costco has real thick and thin sheets so if the work is really dirty I'll have a thin sheet over other card boards as one time use. My garage is a mess and with age I forget some of the specialty items I have and where I left them so have not bought any tool trays. Yes, the garage is a mess like Scotty Kilmers.

U.S. GENERAL 18 in. Magnetic Tool Holder
https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-mag ... 60433.html
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