Customer Reviews

Rubbermaid 51-by-42-by-24-Inch Storage Shed #3747

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

So far I have been pleased with my purchase of my storage shed. I received it in good condition and in a timely matter, with using regular shipping. I have put my snowblower and gas container in this shed, it fits nicely with the top handle of the snowblower lowered to fit. The dimensions given are for the outside so be careful when purchasing and make sure you know what the inside dimensions are, they seem to be about six inches less than the outside dimensions.

We bought one of these about a year ago to store misc. items by our plane at the airport. The shed went together easily, keeps items dry and out of sight, but it has several problems that make me want to replace it with something better.

When I first assembled it, it was clear the connections between the plastic pieces were not very sturdy. The worst are the door hinges, which are short, thin plastic "pins". The lid hinges, while somewhat more sturdy, have also loosened up over time as the sun warps the plastic. We always have had to be careful opening the top and doors or they will fall off the body. Occasionally even the non-hinged body panels come apart and have to be snapped back together. The lock is for looks only, because the door hinges are so flimsy that anyone could pry the doors off with their fingers.

The worst was this winter when a storm brought 20-30 mph winds. When I went to the airport a few days later the box had ripped wide open and the contents were soaked. The wind had tried to lift the lid. Because the lock held it to the doors, and the hinges are so weak, the lid and doors both ripped off and flew away. The force of them coming off toppled the shed onto it's back, making it a big rain/snow collector for our stuff. This was no tornado, just a normal winter storm, and not even a particularly strong one.

The box is still usable, but the force of the doors ripping off loosened the hinges still further, so they fall off whenever I open it. I now wrap a rope around the shed to hold the lid down and keep the shed from ripping open again.

I would definitely have purchased a different box if I had known how poorly this one is held together.

We bought one of these even though the store display seemed to have fallen apart. We thought it just hadn't been assembled properly. We assembled ours in about 15 minutes. It fell apart about as quickly. The back separated from the base causing the doors to come off their hinge pins and it was downhill from there. It goes together easily but comes apart easily as well. Today I saw one at a lodge in Lake Geneva, WI that was being held together with retro-fitted steel hardware.

I've seen three. Three had fallen apart. Maybe if you treat them just right they will stay together but it doesn't look like they are suitable for their intended purpose.

After reading the many critical reviews in this space, I almost purchased the Suncast version of this shed, but a variety of factors such as the exact size, color, and getting it quickly and delivered won out. Here's my conclusion after installing two of them: 1) assembles quickly and relatively easily 2 Build Quality a) Build quality not as high as you would expect, as noted by others. This unit has little structure rigidity at the corners and must be on a completely level surface. (I used leveling sand which worked like a charm) 2b) The door pins are molded from the same plastic as the doors and look pretty weak 2c) one door panel each was damaged slightly in transit, but not enough for me to take the time to get new ones 2d) One has a lid whose prop rod drags slightly when opening, again not bad enough to motivate me to do anything about it.
3) Nice colors (tan and green) blend in to landscaping well 4) relatively narrow depth compared to Suncast fits better in my space (between two houses) 5) Fits a Honda Harmony HRR216K3TDA lawnmower in one, and a Toro CCR 3450 GTS single stage snowblower in another with room for other stuff 6) Sloping roof should shed snow or rain better than Suncast 3) Overall I think it suits my needs and am satisfied with the unit (i.e. 3 stars). But I would advise a buyer to think carefully before buying this one.

Update 11/2010:
It is still in service. It is looking abit drab, however, and the roof is bowing slightly. Still, it is doing its job. I don't have a solid surface for it to sit on, i.e. concrete slab or pavers, so it has moved/shifted/leaned slightly as the ground underneath it has. This is not a surprise. I would say that if you have a solid surface it should hold up pretty well.

I bought one of these a few years back. I used it for storage on my roof deck. After owning it for two years I was looking out my 4th story window and noticed something large and green in the tree branches outside my window. To my horror it was the lid of the Rubbermaid unit - 4 stories up! The wind had ripped it off the unit and blown it into the tree about 60 feet away. I had to call the fire department to get the lid down out of the tree before it fell on someone.

I still own the unit but am thinking of replacing it. After years on the roof deck the lid is warped and the hinges on the door were never very good. I have had the same issues as the other reveiwer where even before the lid was blown off the unit, the hinge doors would pop out and the whole unit would have to be out back together. All together I'm very disapointed in Rubbermaid on this one.

We use this storage shed to keep our garbage cans in. After 5 years I am loking for a new one. The squirrels and other little creatures have eaten away at the "hinges" and so the doors fall off if you lift the lid up. The doors are "held on" to the body of the piece by a small piece of plastic that goes into a hole about 1 inch deep on the door. There are no side hinges or anything holding the door on the bottom.

We dont have a garage so we are forced to keep our garbage outside. If you are looking for something to do the same thing you might want to reconsider looking for something that will hold together better.

The item is great, but it took way too long to be delivered and was not delivered within the promised time frame.

This is the 2nd that we have. One is about 4 years old and we liked it soooo much that we purchased another. We expect to purchase another within the next 6 months.

The storage container was ordered, delivery scheduled, paid for, but never delivered. Two weeks after the scheduled delivery date I contacted Amazon and now three weeks later have received nothing but a Run-Around of unkept commitments from Amazon Customer Service. Delivery was to be with ABF Freightways who evidently share the same lack of obligation that Amazon has for meeting it's commitments.