You guys seem pretty knowlegable about maintenance and such. The dealer that we are currently purchasing our RV from has been extremely helpful with advice on maintaing our rig (30 ft. travel trailer).
My question is: Do you guys have any advice as to what we need to look for when searching for storage facilities? What do we need to be on the lookout for when walking through these places.
Picking out our dealer was a no brainer. They were the only clean cut, professional group at the show. Then when we visited their facilities, it was the same. With that said, I'm assuming that storage is the same.
If anyone has any referals for the Denver metro area, we'd love to know. We're "newbies" so looking for any advice we can get.
Neil and Connie said
01:43 AM Mar 23, 2012
If you're talking about storage for the "stuff" you're keeping; then I think the musts are climate control and indoor storage. Outside doors tend to have water run under the bottom into the storage unit and non climate controlled units tend to be harder on any fabric or wood furniture you leave in them. The inside and A/C and heated units tend to cost a bit more but it isn't extravagantly more.
azrving said
04:19 AM Mar 23, 2012
My wife and I run a 600+ unit storage facility, we also have 40+ rv storage sites too.
If you want a place to store your rig or personal belongings, these are the most important questions you should ask the storage company/owner. I got this list from Public Storage & Extra Space Website
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1.
When you call, can you talk with the on-site manager, or are you routed to a call center?
2.
Are the site managers professional, knowledgeable & easy to reach by phone or email?
3.
Are the managers available on site 7 days a week (except major holidays)?
4.
Does the website feature a full photo gallery, all sizes & rates & a pay online option?
5.
What do customers say about the company? Check out our reviews on Google, Yelp, YP.com. We have the highest rate of referrals & repeat business in the industry!
SECURITY
6.
Do you need a security code to enter & exit, so the managers know who is on site when?
7.
Is the facility well lit & equipped with multiple security cameras & color video monitors? Most storage facility theft is from the inside, like one tenant cutting other tenants’ locks!
8.
Is each unit individually alarmed?
9.
Do the managers seem trustworthy—people you’d feel confident leaving your valuables with?
10.
Most importantly do the managers actively use this technology to provide real security?
11.
Have you checked local police reports for recent break-ins?
ACCESS & MAINTENANCE
12.
Can the manager explain to you why just having pest control service is not enough? Food in just a single unit can lead to rodents, ants & other pests infesting an entire facility!
13.
Are there any signs of leaks? Water stains on the walls or ceilings can mean risk of moisture damage to your possessions.
14.
Are there extended gate hours, so you have access at time convenient for you?
15.
Do the managers encourage you to visit the facility? They should!
PRICING
16.
What is the rate for the first full 30-day rental period? Beware the $1 move-in 'special'!
17.
Are there admin or move-in fees, deposits, or other hidden add-ons?
18.
Can you lock in your rate by paying in advance, regardless of rate increases?
19.
Do the rates include insurance?
20
If the unit has obstructions like pipes or ductwork, is the rate discounted?
BOTTOM LINE…. You can find plenty of horror stories online from people who just got a price quote and didn’t bother to check out where they were storing their valuable possessions before it was too late. Visit the facility & meet the people in charge before making your final decision!
If you are storing your rv be sure the facility has onsite managers, spots big enough to accomodate your rv, rv dump & wash, good lighting, covered storage is better, electricity available (so you don't need to remove the batteries or install solar to keep them charged when not in use), 24 hour access is good, make sure there isn't a rodent/insect problem, make sure the spots are wide enough, etc.
Vehicle self storage
Self-storage units are a convenient place to store vehicles of virtually any type. Keeping your car, truck, van, RV, ATV, golf cart, boat, motorcycle, jet ski or trailer at a storage facility frees up valuable space on your property or in your garage. Since most storage facilities rent on a month-to-month basis, this makes storing vehicles during the off-season or during extended periods of travel an excellent solution.
Accommodations for vehicle storage vary from facility to facility. Some offer uncovered areas; others provide parking lots with roofs. Smaller vehicles like jet skis and motorcycles can be stored inside a typical enclosed self-storage unit. Certain facilities have a dedicated area for RVs, with a choice of covered or uncovered parking spaces.
At Extra Space, we recommend our customers consider these questions before signing a lease agreement:
What types of units and open spaces they offer for vehicles ( e.g., covered or uncovered)
What size units or spaces are available (what is the maximum length of the vehicle that can be stored in those areas)
Whether the facility has a service station for cleaning and maintaining vehicles on the premises
If electrical outlets / RV hookups are available for charging batteries, heating or cooling, and lighting vehicles while you clean or fix them
Whether climate control is available (regulating the temperature in a storage unit can be important if you live in an area with extreme hot and cold temperatures)
Acceptable ways to transport your vehicle to and from the facility
Hours of operation for bringing, removing, and accessing your vehicle
Is the facility clean and neat?
What security features are available at the site?
Most facilities have a few basic rules for vehicle storage:
Wheeled vehicles must be in drivable condition, (i.e. must be driven onto the lot)
Most vehicles must be registered and insured, and you must provide proof of each
Tires must be inflated
Customers are prohibited from occupying vehicles while in storage.
Trabuco said
03:25 PM Mar 23, 2012
Mark & Nancy,
That's a pretty extensive list....good stuff. I will be storing a few items myself and will keep your list handy as I ckeck out various storage facilities.
Do storage facilities give price breaks in you pay for 6 or 12 months in advance?
Thanks again!
The Bear II said
04:58 PM Mar 23, 2012
We stored our RVs at several different facilities during the past 30+ years. The current facility is the best so far, here's why: >Live on the property managers >Coded entry and exit >24/7 video monitoring >Fences have shake sensors (if someone cuts or climbs a fence an alarm goes off) >Completely paved with wide aisles >Wash area & Dump station
The worst was a dirt lot with a padlock gate for entry. During rain storms it would flood and then turn to mud. We went to get the RV one night after a recent rain and I stopped as soon as the headlights of my truck ducked underwater. We had to wait two days for the water to evaporate before we could get to the RV. Luckily where we parked the RV the water only got up a few inches.
2nd worst was a lot where they also rented out moving trucks. Our RV was hit 3 times by inexperienced drivers trying to manuever the rented trucks through the storage lot.
Jim Dean said
05:17 PM Mar 23, 2012
All if the above are great suggestions. In addition, you might consider changing the locks on your storage bins. All RV manufacturers use the same lock for their doors - H751. As Mark mentioned above theft can happen from within. I switched mine to the kind that are used by vending machines. The key is a cylinder type. Any locksmith will carry them. They will need to know the correct length. I ordered one for each door and had them all keyed alike.
53 Merc said
05:42 PM Mar 23, 2012
Jim Dean wrote:
All if the above are great suggestions. In addition, you might consider changing the locks on your storage bins. All RV manufacturers use the same lock for their doors - H751. As Mark mentioned above theft can happen from within. I switched mine to the kind that are used by vending machines. The key is a cylinder type. Any locksmith will carry them. They will need to know the correct length. I ordered one for each door and had them all keyed alike.
That is a good list of criteria for selecting a storage lot.
I have read two schools of thought about the storage bins on an RV. Do you want to repair a door and replace missing items, or only replace missing items? Knowing all door locks are the same will make a thief just rip off the items he wants, or pass up the rig, because if it had really valuable stuff, it would have special locks. Repairing or replacing a storage door is an expensive proposition. Just food for thought. (BTW, I am able to store my rig at my house, inside a locked barn.)
Terry and Jo said
05:45 PM Mar 23, 2012
This isn't related to storage lots so much as security. While it is tempting to change all the locks so that not everyone has the same key, keep in mind that if a thief decides to break into your RV (only a screwdriver is needed), it will cost more to replace the doors to your storage areas than what it costs to replace a lot of the equipment stored within,
While we don't travel much (yet), we seldom lock the basement doors unless we are actually towing the fifth wheel somewhere. And then, only to help prevent the possibility of the door coming open while traveling down the road.
Terry
RVPAINTER said
05:49 PM Mar 23, 2012
Trabuco - the climate controlled storage facility we are using gave us a nice discount for paying 6 mos in advance. When we hit the road on April 5th, we will pay ahead for 12 months as the discount far exceeds any interest the funds could EVER receiver! :>)
Trabuco said
02:54 AM Mar 24, 2012
Thanks RVPainter! I will propose paying in advance to the storage facilities I check out and see what comes of it.
4kidzltr said
03:10 PM Mar 24, 2012
Thanks for all the tips! Certainly helps w/us newbies. azrving, you're list is invaluable. We will certainly use it when picking out a spot for our new baby ;0)
azrving said
07:35 AM Mar 26, 2012
Trabuco wrote:
Mark & Nancy,
That's a pretty extensive list....good stuff. I will be storing a few items myself and will keep your list handy as I ckeck out various storage facilities.
Do storage facilities give price breaks in you pay for 6 or 12 months in advance?
Thanks again!
Trabuco,
Our company will give you the 7th month free with 6 months pre-paid and 13th & 14th free with 12 months pre-paid. I think most self storage owners give breaks to those that pay in advance.
You guys seem pretty knowlegable about maintenance and such. The dealer that we are currently purchasing our RV from has been extremely helpful with advice on maintaing our rig (30 ft. travel trailer).
My question is: Do you guys have any advice as to what we need to look for when searching for storage facilities? What do we need to be on the lookout for when walking through these places.
Picking out our dealer was a no brainer. They were the only clean cut, professional group at the show. Then when we visited their facilities, it was the same. With that said, I'm assuming that storage is the same.
If anyone has any referals for the Denver metro area, we'd love to know. We're "newbies" so looking for any advice we can get.
If you're talking about storage for the "stuff" you're keeping; then I think the musts are climate control and indoor storage. Outside doors tend to have water run under the bottom into the storage unit and non climate controlled units tend to be harder on any fabric or wood furniture you leave in them. The inside and A/C and heated units tend to cost a bit more but it isn't extravagantly more.
My wife and I run a 600+ unit storage facility, we also have 40+ rv storage sites too.
If you want a place to store your rig or personal belongings, these are the most important questions you should ask the storage company/owner. I got this list from Public Storage & Extra Space Website
We have the highest rate of referrals & repeat business in the industry!
Do you need a security code to enter & exit, so the managers know who is on site when?
Is the facility well lit & equipped with multiple security cameras & color video monitors?
Most storage facility theft is from the inside, like one tenant cutting other tenants’ locks!
Is each unit individually alarmed?
Most importantly do the managers actively use this technology to provide real security?
Have you checked local police reports for recent break-ins?
Food in just a single unit can lead to rodents, ants & other pests infesting an entire facility!
Are there any signs of leaks?
Water stains on the walls or ceilings can mean risk of moisture damage to your possessions.
Do the managers encourage you to visit the facility? They should!
What is the rate for the first full 30-day rental period? Beware the $1 move-in 'special'!
Are there admin or move-in fees, deposits, or other hidden add-ons?
Do the rates include insurance?
BOTTOM LINE….
You can find plenty of horror stories online from people who just got a price quote and didn’t bother to check out where they were storing
their valuable possessions before it was too late. Visit the facility & meet the people in charge before making your final decision!
If you are storing your rv be sure the facility has onsite managers, spots big enough to accomodate your rv, rv dump & wash, good lighting, covered storage is better, electricity available (so you don't need to remove the batteries or install solar to keep them charged when not in use), 24 hour access is good, make sure there isn't a rodent/insect problem, make sure the spots are wide enough, etc.
Vehicle self storage
Self-storage units are a convenient place to store vehicles of virtually any type. Keeping your car, truck, van, RV, ATV, golf cart, boat, motorcycle, jet ski or trailer at a storage facility frees up valuable space on your property or in your garage. Since most storage facilities rent on a month-to-month basis, this makes storing vehicles during the off-season or during extended periods of travel an excellent solution.
Accommodations for vehicle storage vary from facility to facility. Some offer uncovered areas; others provide parking lots with roofs. Smaller vehicles like jet skis and motorcycles can be stored inside a typical enclosed self-storage unit. Certain facilities have a dedicated area for RVs, with a choice of covered or uncovered parking spaces.
At Extra Space, we recommend our customers consider these questions before signing a lease agreement:
Most facilities have a few basic rules for vehicle storage:
That's a pretty extensive list....good stuff. I will be storing a few items myself and will keep your list handy as I ckeck out various storage facilities.
Do storage facilities give price breaks in you pay for 6 or 12 months in advance?
Thanks again!
The current facility is the best so far, here's why:
>Live on the property managers
>Coded entry and exit
>24/7 video monitoring
>Fences have shake sensors (if someone cuts or climbs a fence an alarm goes off)
>Completely paved with wide aisles
>Wash area & Dump station
The worst was a dirt lot with a padlock gate for entry. During rain storms it would flood and then turn to mud. We went to get the RV one night after a recent rain and I stopped as soon as the headlights of my truck ducked underwater. We had to wait two days for the water to evaporate before we could get to the RV. Luckily where we parked the RV the water only got up a few inches.
2nd worst was a lot where they also rented out moving trucks. Our RV was hit 3 times by inexperienced drivers trying to manuever the rented trucks through the storage lot.
That is a good list of criteria for selecting a storage lot.
I have read two schools of thought about the storage bins on an RV. Do you want to repair a door and replace missing items, or only replace missing items? Knowing all door locks are the same will make a thief just rip off the items he wants, or pass up the rig, because if it had really valuable stuff, it would have special locks. Repairing or replacing a storage door is an expensive proposition. Just food for thought. (BTW, I am able to store my rig at my house, inside a locked barn.)
This isn't related to storage lots so much as security. While it is tempting to change all the locks so that not everyone has the same key, keep in mind that if a thief decides to break into your RV (only a screwdriver is needed), it will cost more to replace the doors to your storage areas than what it costs to replace a lot of the equipment stored within,
While we don't travel much (yet), we seldom lock the basement doors unless we are actually towing the fifth wheel somewhere. And then, only to help prevent the possibility of the door coming open while traveling down the road.
Terry
Trabuco,
Our company will give you the 7th month free with 6 months pre-paid and 13th & 14th free with 12 months pre-paid. I think most self storage owners give breaks to those that pay in advance.