RubbermaidMedium Resin Outdoor Storage Deck Box (73 Gal), Weather Resistant, Brown, Deck Organization for Home/Backyard/Pool Chemicals/Toys/Garden Tools/Porch/Patio Cushions

Usually when I think of making a purchase I read the negative reviews first. That way I get an idea of what trouble I might be getting into, or at least an idea of what to look for if I purchase the product. After reading the reviews I decided to purchase the product and deal with the negatives to have it meet our needs. The specific complaints were that it does not stay together, it is not water proof, flimsy design, falls apart when lid opened, sides "pop" together but don't stay... I could go on and on about all the negatives so I was prepared to address them because we wanted to store all our pool toys, games, life jackets for kids, etc...So when the package arrived there were six sturdy pieces of molded plastic and a small plastic bag with 4 screws and two plastic strips, and of course a sheet of directions. Now being red blooded american male of course I did not read the directions and attempted to assemble the box with my wife. You can say I think I hit every negative aspect of this box that was written in the reviews. However, my underlying thought was nobody would sell something as stupid as this! So I began inspecting each piece and the first thing we realized is the sides were not lined up right. They do not "pop" into the front and back they are put into the wide part of a slot and then slid down into the narrow slot area which "locks" them into the front and back of the box. So we connect the front, back and each side and put it on the bottom of the box. It lined up right but it was not sturdy and as soon as you moved anything the sides would slide up and out of the slots.Again we looked at the box and then I noticed on the bottom inside it said "This Side Down", DOH! So we flipped the bottom over and lined up the sides again and it would still fall apart. So I looked at the tabs on the bottom of the sides, front and back and it was clear that they were not "locking" into the base. Now I am thinking is this a bad design? Who ships out a plastic molded product where the parts don't lock? Ok, I guess it is time to read the directions to see if I am missing anything... That is where I found that you are supposed to take a block of wood, hammer and screw driver and punch out the tabs that are keeping the box from locking together. Huh? They injection mold this product using a mold that requires purchasers to slam the plastic with a hammer and screwdriver?Well I have hit enough plastic in my life with a hammer to know that a hammer will crack, damage or shatter a piece of plastic if you miss your target (i.e. the screwdriver) and hit the plastic. So instead I got my utility knife and put the blade in the thin part of the plastic between the tab and bottom frame piece. If you hold the bottom up to the sun you can actually see where the sunlight brightens the thin plastic. So I cut out all the tabs, which was actually very easy, and then tried assembling again. Every single tab "snapped" into place and the box was very sturdy and did not come apart no matter how we moved it, slid it or even flipped it upside down. We were pleased with this.Next came the lid. This had molded hinges with a pin that needed to slide through the molded hindge in the base unit to connect the lid to the base. It was actually quite simple. When the lid closed there was a small snap, not a sound snap but more like you could feel it snap. It was very sturdy and my wife, daughter and I all sat on the bench and it held together just fine.The way it is manufactured it is NOT water proof, if you submerge it, water will get in. It is water resistant and water will not enter the box from rain, pool splashing or a hose. It is intended to let the water run off the box and not into the box. We had heavy rain a couple of days and when we opened the box the contents did not get wet from the rain.So my final review of this product is 5 stars because it does everything it claims to do and all of the negative aspects reported are a result of user error (my opinion of course) because if everyone assembles it the way I did you will not need liquid nails, it will not fall apart and it will be water resistant.One final note, mine did NOT come with the dividers or lid net. I was told by Amazon that according to their fulfillment center it was supposed to come with them. They were going to send me a new one but I would have had to somehow take apart the box I had to return it and I do not believe I could do that without damaging it so I just kept it and they sent me a partial refund to buy the net and dividers separately. Very pleased with the product and Amazon.

I purchased this deck box even though I was a little worried about the negative reviews. We've had multiple Rubbermaid products, though, and have always had good luck with them.My husband came home right after the package was delivered so we got to putting it together right away. Each piece was clearly marked, the directions were OK to follow, and everything fit together nicely. It took us about ten minutes to put it together. We used a screwdriver, a rubber mallet, and a drill. The only part that was a little tricky was getting both hinge pins to stay in at the same time, and that was a matter of hitting one hard enough to lock it in but not so hard as to knock the other out. The drill was just to screw in the four screws for the lid straps. We assembled it in the garage and threw the kids' balls, bats, frisbees, etc. into the deck box. We then carried it to the deck and set it in place. It is sturdy, with two adults sitting on it there was no movement. It poured that night and we had some high winds but everything inside stayed dry.I can't say enough about this deck box. We got the 16 cubic foot model. It is large and sturdy, it has a place to install a padlock, and it gives us some extra seating outside. The colors are nice and match our deck perfectly. The kids no longer have to search the basement and garage to find their balls and toys that they play with outside. It was fairly easy and quick to put together. We would not hesitate to buy this product again.

Pros:-It shipped in a smaller package than anticipated, which makes it possible to sell such an item and have it delivered from the internet.-It was easy enough to put together, and the process was quite efficient and ingenious - it's strength is mostly derived from leverage; the leverage coming from each and every side (imagine folding the flaps over one another with a cardboard box).-There is a solid amount of space; much bigger than I thought it would be when I first got the pieces out of the box. Quite deceptive, even in person!-It's probably reasonably durable, though it's winter here now, and I'm not sure how much that durability is dissapated in the cold.-It can be locked.Cons:-It's probably not completely waterproof considering how easily it was assembled - all the sides slide into one another and have edges that snap into the bottom; that's it... I'm mostly concerned about water getting in from the bottom, as I have it stored in an area that has a potential to flood slightly. I fear that if water reached a level higher than the bottom (flat) panel it would probably seep in from all sides. I can't say this for sure, yet. Only time will tell, and I'm not really willing to wait and find out. I plan to lay some pieces of wood underneath to keep it off the ground.-While it can be locked, ultimately it is entirely made of plastic. My particular concern is the hinges, which are cheap plastic tubes that are tapped/hammered through the hinge. Basically, if someone really wanted something stored in one of these, it wouldn't take much effort to penetrate the "security."-The price - even at ~$150, which is $30 less than my original purchase price, it's quite an expense for some pre-fabricated hollow plastic panels. Honestly, I think that $60 would be a fair price for what is actually being sold. And this has nothing to do with Amazon, nor Rubbermaid. I compared this to other similar boxes by other manufactures, with size in mind, and it seemed to be close enough to the going rate while meeting all my needs.-As far as the "seat" goes, I don't know why that's even advertised. I'm sure it would hold me, but I can't imagine I'd ever make a habit of sitting on it. I could sit on the top of my desk as well, but it was never mentioned in the benefits as to why I should buy it...Overall:In my case, I have very limited storage. I am on the ground floor of a condo with a patio and no outside storage. I'd rather not keep something like my hockey bag inside because it stinks. It's also not a bad place for some tools and fluids I use on my car. However, I'm not sure that I'd recommend this for someone with more options mainly because of the price. I feel I could probably have something made of wood, etc. and customized for at least half the price. Of course, that might require a bit more effort than a few clicks!****05-01-2012****Update:Well, I've had the chance to pull some of my stuff out after the winter (lack of snow), and plenty of rain over a period of months, and I was pleasantly surprised to find everything has remained clean and dry and mold free! I'm also happy to find no bugs in my hockey equipment!I had anticipated that water could easily find its way in through the bottom because the panels do not seem to fit together air-tight, and the four walls all rest just an inch or less off the ground on the base. The area where I have this stored tends to flood a bit during heavy rain. I figured, it was only a matter of time before my things got soaked, moldy, and likely ruined. I was happily proved wrong, and for that, I've improved my rating to 4 stars (from 3 stars), with the biggest drawback still being the price, IMO.