Question for those of you who store their RV at a storage lot.

[Doug427]

Originally Posted by Ericb760

I have every intention of offering a dump station, water fill, free ice, and a washing area.

I'm in a northern suburb of Houston. We pay $275/month for outdoor covered parking. The place is just simple metal row covers, the surface is all dirt and mud. It was previously graveled but its now just dusty dirt in all areas that turns to gumbo mud when it rains. Our coach is always covered in dust, it's impossible not to track mud and dirt into the coach when you enter unless you take off your shoes.

They do have a perimiter fence with a card activated electric gate - that's the good point. They have 15a at every spot, which honestly with all the equipment in these coaches now is not enough. They seem to be on a common breaker, as power goes out all the time by guys overloading the 15a system. There's no dump station, no water, no washing station. I don't know what it would cost additonally to put 30a service`1 at each spot, but that would be a home run. You could even offer spots at a large premium that have 50 amp service. In short, I would suggest you consider a place that has:
- Mud and dust free (or reduced) parking and driving surface. Good gravel that is replenished as needed would work
- Good reliable electric service, hopefully divided by spot so if the goober next to you decides to attempt to run his A/C unit on his 15a circuit (true story) and blows the breaker on a daily basis, it doesn't knock out the power on the rest of the rigs on the circuit. Perhaps look into offering option of 30a and perhaps even 50a at some spots. Extra charge of course.
-Good fence with passcode or passcard entry at the gate. Good security. This is huge. I hate having to get in and out of the rig twice every time I come and go to open and lock the gate.
-Water and dump station
-Wask rack big enough for a 45' rig
-Plenty of room to maneuver a big rig into the spot.



Good luck with your venture.

[Mr.Mark]

Originally Posted by Ericb760

I am in the Southern California desert just north of Palm Springs. Those type of "man caves" have already been done in the area, and, frankly, once you sell them the revenue stream is reduced considerably. Also, insurance on those types of storage is out of my budget.

I'm in Palm Springs and rent a garage in Indio. The place I rent from has about 100 individual garages all connected together. I have my own garage door and main gate opener.

The facility is gated and camera'd with management on site M-F. I have access 24/7.

Eric, you don't have to make it a 'man-cave' but fully enclosed garage storage is surely nice. My garage is 13x50 with a 30 amp connection.

If you are North of Palm Springs you are in the wind tunnel. I would not want my coach sandblasted which happens quite often through the pass.

You can start small, maybe 20 garages, and then add more as time and money present. I would say that you will pretty much be guaranteed full capacity in this area.

Good luck and safe travels!
Mark

[relling]

Have had my motorhome at two places now. Pretty much my biggest complaint on the first one was a too low keypad entry gate with a sharp 90 degree turn. No way to drive strait in without some pain and the wife having to get out to punch code.

Second place has a straight in shot from the road and keypads at low and hi level. Just have to drive in, open window and punch code. Was on waiting list for this one for about a year.

So basically, allow space for the size rigs you want to service.

[Ericb760]

Originally Posted by Doug427

I'm in a northern suburb of Houston. We pay $275/month for outdoor covered parking. The place is just simple metal row covers, the surface is all dirt and mud. It was previously graveled but its now just dusty dirt in all areas that turns to gumbo mud when it rains. Our coach is always covered in dust, it's impossible not to track mud and dirt into the coach when you enter unless you take off your shoes.

They do have a perimiter fence with a card activated electric gate - that's the good point. They have 15a at every spot, which honestly with all the equipment in these coaches now is not enough. They seem to be on a common breaker, as power goes out all the time by guys overloading the 15a system. There's no dump station, no water, no washing station. I don't know what it would cost additonally to put 30a service`1 at each spot, but that would be a home run. You could even offer spots at a large premium that have 50 amp service. In short, I would suggest you consider a place that has:
- Mud and dust free (or reduced) parking and driving surface. Good gravel that is replenished as needed would work
- Good reliable electric service, hopefully divided by spot so if the goober next to you decides to attempt to run his A/C unit on his 15a circuit (true story) and blows the breaker on a daily basis, it doesn't knock out the power on the rest of the rigs on the circuit. Perhaps look into offering option of 30a and perhaps even 50a at some spots. Extra charge of course.
-Good fence with passcode or passcard entry at the gate. Good security. This is huge. I hate having to get in and out of the rig twice every time I come and go to open and lock the gate.
-Water and dump station
-Wask rack big enough for a 45' rig
-Plenty of room to maneuver a big rig into the spot.



Good luck with your venture.

I am in negotiations with a construction company that specializes in RV storage/covered parking. Since the land is vacant desert I have no real choice but to pave the entire parking surface. Additionally, I will be adding solar panels to the top of each storage area which should pay for any electricity that I offer at the individual sites, as well as the overall electric bill. Putting 30a access at each spot is probably not in my budget, and wouldn't be needed by most customers. I agree that I will try to incorporate a number of "VIP" spots that do have 30/50a. Free water and a dump station are being incorporated in to the design.

[bmcgc]

Im my area RV storage fees are all over the map. The place I like is $1 per foot uncovered and $2 a foot covered per month. Gated with 24/7 access with a code.

[Ericb760]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mark

I'm in Palm Springs and rent a garage in Indio. The place I rent from has about 100 individual garages all connected together. I have my own garage door and main gate opener.

The facility is gated and camera'd with management on site M-F. I have access 24/7.

Eric, you don't have to make it a 'man-cave' but fully enclosed garage storage is surely nice. My garage is 13x50 with a 30 amp connection.

If you are North of Palm Springs you are in the wind tunnel. I would not want my coach sandblasted which happens quite often through the pass.

You can start small, maybe 20 garages, and then add more as time and money present. I would say that you will pretty much be guaranteed full capacity in this area.

Good luck and safe travels!
Mark

Do you mind telling me how much you pay each month? The reason I ask is purely financial. If I start small I will still need to cover the monthly loan payment, which will be upwards of $14k a month. To counter the wind the design is for there to be end caps on each row of storage. Again, this decision is financially related to the cost of the loan. I have room for approximately 150 RV's with just covered parking. Enclosed parking would most likely reduce that to less than 100. That's almost doable if I can charge $300 to $400 per month. I just don't know if that will price myself out of the market.

[Ericb760]

Originally Posted by bmcgc

Im my area RV storage fees are all over the map. The place I like is $1 per foot uncovered and $2 a foot covered per month. Gated with 24/7 access with a code.

Wow! Where do you live? Considering that a 12 X 40 space would be $480 uncovered and twice that for covered? Is that right? Or, do you mean $1 per linear foot?

[Arch Hoagland]

Ericb760...I'm curious if you've ever owned a business.

[Ericb760]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Ericb760...I'm curious if you've ever owned a business.

My wife and I own a salon and I have previously owned a specialty medical clinic. I will admit, however, that RV storage is a bit out of my wheelhouse. Once it is safe to travel I will be attending one of the many "Storage Academies" offered in various parts of the country.

[Cooperhawk]

As a matter of fact my DW and I built and ran a storage facility a few years back. We only had a couple of acres but we put in more than forty mini storage units as well as two 60x60 buildings.

One building was closed and paved the other was gravel and open ended.

We had a six foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire and an automatic gate.

We also had a dump station and fresh water.

Our small office was heated and had bathroom facilities.

We built it in 2003 and even before completing it we were 90% rented. (I couldn't believe what some folks pay money to store!)

My brother who was to operate it passed away and we sold it in 2009. It was too much hassle for me as it was almost ninety miles away.

I don't remember what we charged, but that is determined by the area you are in anyway.

Just be advised of all local ordinances and taxes that apply.

[HighDesert]

Originally Posted by Jerrilynn

We store our 34’ class A at a local RV Storage location.

The location has
1) High fence which surrounds the lot.
2) Locked automatic gate, passcode provided.
3) Covered and non-covered spaces are available.
4) Covered is a metal structure, divided into parking spaces. Each structure has two rows of spaces, which covers front and both sides of RV.
5) Cameras throughout location - very visible.
6) Gravel in parking space and throughout entire location. Well kept.
7) We have covered space. Important to me to protect the RV.
8) We pay annually, approximately 80.00 per month.
9) Electricity is available for extra $.

It requires a little planning when returning from a trip, or packing to go on a trip. But very doable. It would be awesome to have the ability to dump tanks, or fill with potable water. Current solution is to go to local RV park to winterize RV. They charge $20.00.

We check on RV once a month when we exercise the generator. When RV is not Winterized, I go over and clean inside the RV before/after a trip.

We bring the RV home for a few days to wash the outside of the RV. Or perform simple repairs.

Having the RV at home would certainly be more convenient. Just not enough space.

Wishing you success!

Had the same storage setup and someone stole the Onan generator out of my RV. attendents had no idea what went on. I no longer use theses and store on my property, so real security is the biggest deal breaker for me.

[Mr.Mark]

Originally Posted by Ericb760

Do you mind telling me how much you pay each month? The reason I ask is purely financial. If I start small I will still need to cover the monthly loan payment, which will be upwards of $14k a month. To counter the wind the design is for there to be end caps on each row of storage. Again, this decision is financially related to the cost of the loan. I have room for approximately 150 RV's with just covered parking. Enclosed parking would most likely reduce that to less than 100. That's almost doable if I can charge $300 to $400 per month. I just don't know if that will price myself out of the market.

I've been renting my garage in Indio since 2007. The owner says I'm his longest term tennant! LOL! I think my price is low because I rent ALL year long and don't store during the summer months (too hot), so I don't want to say the price to jinx it.

But I can tell you, if you had enclosed garages, you could get at least $500 a month per garage easy! (w/30 amp connection).

I also rent space in my home city in TN. I store it in a big warehouse with other RV's..... I do have a 50 amp plug but there are too many RV's sucking power that I can barely run one A/C in the summer as I try to stay above 110 volts on each leg. I pay $300 for indoor warehouse storage there, it's gated, camera'd and manager on duty M-S.

Mark

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by Ericb760

Do you mind telling me how much you pay each month? The reason I ask is purely financial. If I start small I will still need to cover the monthly loan payment, which will be upwards of $14k a month. To counter the wind the design is for there to be end caps on each row of storage. Again, this decision is financially related to the cost of the loan. I have room for approximately 150 RV's with just covered parking. Enclosed parking would most likely reduce that to less than 100. That's almost doable if I can charge $300 to $400 per month. I just don't know if that will price myself out of the market.

I pay less than 500 a year for just about everything that people have stating. 300 to 400 a month? Are you sure about your figures. Maybe the area you live in can support those costs.
However why don't you call storage facilities in a 50 mile radius and pose as a potential customer. This will give you an idea before you go with this venture.
To ask on this site about cost you'll get prices from the Mexican border to Alaska.
The only thing I can add is my storage facility is 2 miles down the road and I live in the city.
Good luck with your venture

[Mr.Mark]

Oh Ted, you must be living in a very reasonably cost area...... the word California and reasonable cannot be in the same sentence! LOL!

Mark