Finding the Right Storage Unit for Items and Vehicles
Americans often own a lot of items, from cars and boats to furniture and hobby items or their kids’ toys, and the home or backyard shed will not always have the storage space needed for all these things. The solution is to rent a self storage unit, and there is a wide variety of storage unit spaces that a person can find. Storage solutions vary on price, location, security, and what kind of items can be stored there. On some self storage unit grounds, the campus may even allow for storing your boat or storing a car or recreational vehicle (RV), and more. For residents of coastal areas like in Texas, Florida, and California, some storage units will have the room for boats such as pontoon boats and speedboats, and this can be very helpful for when a boat is stored in the winter or if hurricane season is approaching and an owner does not want their boat destroyed in a storm. Many storage units, such as those in Florida, will probably be built with hurricanes in mind, and the buildings will stand up to these storms to protect everything inside them. Just how big is this industry, and what should a person look for in a self storage unit?
Americans and Storage
This is a big industry, and it may grow in the future, seeing how it has already come a long way. From 1995 to 2012, for example, an impressive 65% increase in Americans are renting self storage unit locations. All this storage adds up to a lot of square feet: about 2.3 billion square feet in the United States today, in fact, and this is among about 52,500 storage units across the nation. Many Americans are choosing self storage warehouses; one in 10 adults in the U.S. today has rented a unit for belongings as of 2012, in fact. Overall, this industry employs some 172,000 Americans who work for storage units of all shapes and sizes, from coast to coast.
Finding the Right Self Storage Unit
There is more to self storage than just four walls and a door. Depending on where a person lives, and the quantity and nature of the items they intend to store, this can affect what kind of storage unit they choose to rent. For example, the owners of cars, trucks, RVs, and boats who want to store these vehicles should make sure that parking spaces are available for them. Many storage unit campuses will have enclosed parking lots where these vehicles can be parked right next to each other, and a boat can be brought in on a trailer and deposited in a parking spot, and the same can be said for an RV (in the case of a motor home, it can be parked there). Cars and trucks can also be driven there and parked.
If an area is prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, or tropical storms, a storage unit will probably be built to stand up to the flooding, strong winds, hail, and flying debris associated with these storms, and vehicles may be parked inside such buildings so they are not ruined when exposed to these storms outside.
A person looking for a self storage unit can also weigh in the factors of distance, fees, and security level. Some storage units may be further from a person’s residence than others, and a very distant one might be a hassle to visit, but based on where a customer lives, a more distant storage campus might get less traffic and will be less expensive to rent. The price itself is of course a factor, and the security is another concern. Proper security will consist of fences, gates, and walls that are difficult to climb or break through, as well as security cameras, strong doors and walls on the buildings, and maybe even armed security guards who keep watch in person. A customer looking for self storage may feel better about storing their valuable items when their possessions are secured behind a strong door with a combination lock key pad, surrounded by high walls and security cameras. This may be an issue in urban or rural areas that see a lot of crime like burglary.