RV Storage facility i.p.o

Hello ya'll. My partner and I are wanting to construct an RV storage Center in Sunflower, Arizona. Sunflower is halfway between Scottsdale and Payson, on highway 87,  the Beeline Highway. The nearest RV Storage Center is in Rye, 10 miles south of Payson and 35 miles North of Fountain Hills. We think it is a perfect place for an RV Storage Center but we are asking for any information or sources that we could go, to determine if there is a desire for such a place at that location.

The best way to approach starting any business is to start developing a business plan. Then start thinking about ways to obtain data about number of RVs in your area. Census tract data may give you an idea of the number of above average income households. Find out if there are a lot of housing developments that restrict storage of RV. Visit nearby RV dealers to get an idea of the number of RVs sold in your area. Visit RV dealers on the weekends which are usually the busiest days and ask to browsing customers where they store their current RVs or, if new to RVing, where they plan to store a newly purchased RV.

I'd also check a number of different commercial RV storage companies to get info on how much they charge for storage.

You'll also need to calculate how much it will cost per square foot to acquire and build a storage facility. Don't forget the cost of providing security and lighting.

There are probably other methods for gathering data that I can't think of right now. Once you've gathered enough data, you can start doing estimates of the one-time cost of construction and ongoing costs of operation (taxes, electricity, insurance, staffing, etc.). The data you've gathered will also give an indication of how many RVs and the average number of months of storage for each RV to be able to make a reasonable profit and to pay off the construction loans.

Good luck. Please keep us updated on your progress.

Thank you IBTripping. Good information. What are your thoughts on the need for a security fence? We are in a very isolated area. The property is not very accessible except for the Entrance. The borders are a major highway, a National Forest Wilderness area and a Tow company with a 10 foot chain link fence. Is security a major issue for RV owners? What are some of the amenities that separate an OK facility from a very desirable one?
We really appreciate your input and patience with our questions which I'm sure sometimes may have obvious answers.

I would not leave my rig in a storage lot unless it had a fence with barbed wire on top and cameras everywhere. Also someone living on the property would really help.

Just my opinion. I think a security fence is necessary because it is what most customers are likely to expect. You may not need a fence for portions that are blocked such as the tow company fence. I also think you need good lighting during dark of night hours. Working security cameras are a service customers would welcome. The good news is that security cameras are not as expensive as they were even just a few years ago.

Also, in developing the construction plans you'll want to include good signage that touts the security fence and security cameras. You'll also need a secure automated access and egress system. One where each customer can be given an individual access code.

Also, you may find that potential customers want a place to store vehicles like my classic Firebird.

Another thing to develop is a marketing plan so RV owners know about your storage facility.

Again, this is just my seat of the pants opinions and suggestions.

Were I to consider building an RV storage facility I would absolutely include security fencing and alarm/surveillance. That said, there is a large storage area immediately adjacent to the high end RV park in Fountain Hills that is nothing more that a scraped piece of desert with a few lights and it runs pretty full. The local Indian reservation police run a car through once or twice a night. No fence. When I was there I decided against storing there, opting for a fenced storage lot in town.

I'd also post a sign that says "Proud Member of the National Rifle Association." Just kidding.  ;D ;D ;D

P.S. You owe me $2,500 business consulting fee.  :

IBTripping said:

P.S. You owe me $2,500 business consulting fee.  :

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I want half 

Let's split it evenly. 33-1/3% each

I store in my back yard, but if I did store away from  home, security would be my #1 concern.  High fences, good lighting, security cameras and secure access are REQUIRED.  You may want to consider 3 types of storage:  Covered and enclosed garage type for the T Bird,    Covered open front storage    and just open lot - no cover storage.  One other amenity to consider is power so customers can plug in to keep batteries charged.

grashley said:

I store in my back yard, but if I did store away from  home, security would be my #1 concern.  High fences, good lighting, security cameras and secure access are REQUIRED.  You may want to consider 3 types of storage:  Covered and enclosed garage type for the T Bird,    Covered open front storage    and just open lot - no cover storage.  One other amenity to consider is power so customers can plug in to keep batteries charged.

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We store our coach for a month or two to head back to snow land for Thanksgiving and a Christmas. We absolutely prioritize the security and fencing over location. I am more than willing to drive out of my way to find a safe storage location. You can?t expect people to leave hundreds of thousands of dollars just sitting in the open, no fence or security. Multiply that by the number of rigs, and I think you see the issue. Even if the rig isn?t as expensive as new DPs, it is still usually a sizable chunk for the person storing the unit. Having a variety of unit types is a good way to maximize the number of customers - closed, roofed, and open.

Much Thanks to all for your input. You have confirmed our thoughts on security fencing, lighting and cameras. We are off the grid, all solar, well need to investigate power needed for charging batteries but sure do agree this would be an added benefit.

Some covered storage is a necessity in my opinion. I have used a storage lot for the past two years and recently changed companies so that I could get a covered space. We sold our 7 year old class C and bought a Tiffin class A and I didn't want it in the sun all day.

Also, when you lay it out, make the covered spaces 13' wide rather than 12' because where we are now is so tight that pulling in and backing out is no fun at all. Those mirrors on class A's really make the rigs a lot wider.

Another thought that I forgot to mention. I am familiar with the area you are thinking of and if it were my money, I would rather invest it in Payson rather than Sunflower. Think about this: Where are your customers going to live? My current lot is almost 6 miles from home and that is too far to suit me. However I had no choice if I wanted a covered space.

The Sunflower location would probably only draw from Fountain Hills whereas a  Payson location could also draw from Pine. The property will undoubtedly be more expensive so that is a consideration.

For covered sites consider north/south orientation to reduce sun exposure.  I think the cover height would need to be greater than 14 ft. with 16 ft. good for all but need to triple check!

viejoaz said:

Much Thanks to all for your input. You have confirmed our thoughts on security fencing, lighting and cameras. We are off the grid, all solar, well need to investigate power needed for charging batteries but sure do agree this would be an added benefit.

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I'm sure an off-grid property is more economical, but I think you're going to find that running security cameras and ample flood lighting will require a substantial solar farm and battery bank to be reliable, which will offset the land savings to some extent. You could use the panels to create covered parking, which could slightly offset some costs.

Is there cell coverage at the location? You'll need it for alarm monitoring

Are you hoping to pull business from Fountain Hills? articfox2005 talks about this - in my opinion since there is storage available in and just outside Fountain Hills, I don't think you'll be able to pull people even to Payson -  I know I would not have considered going to Payson (at any price) when I lived in Fountain Hills.

We truly are in a learning mode about RV life ,wants and needs. Our thoughts on pulling in customers vacationing in Payson, the Rim country and beyond is providing a facility that allows storage at a location that will save driving or hauling your RV all the way to Fountain Hills, Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix and beyond. We would really like to hear your feelings about having the unit close to home versus the dollar savings and relief of dropping the big guy off, much closer to the next journey.

The bottom line is - I would never even consider a storage location that is
30-40-50 miles from my home.

In my opinion, your plan does not have much of a chance of success. People want to have the rig close by, not an hour away.

viejoaz said:

We would really like to hear your feelings about having the unit close to home versus the dollar savings and relief of dropping the big guy off, much closer to the next journey.

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I agree with articfox. As I mentioned I lived on the NW edge of Fountain Hills and was not supposed to keep my rig at the house. I looked at three storage options in the Fountain Hills area. Even though $40/mo less, the "scraped desert" one I mentioned was rejected due to lack of security (plus it was further away). I settled on one in town in an industrial area behind a locked gate. Even though I lived in the same town and you'd think it would be a quick trip to go pickup the rig, if I had to do it without getting a ride it involved driving 20 minutes to the rig, pulling the rig out, hooking up the truck behind the rig, towing it back to the house, disconnecting the truck and getting the rig in the driveway, leveled and hooked up. Probably ended up taking 90 minutes of fussing around. There is zero chance I would have considered storage out of town, adding another 1-2 hours (or more) of prep time. As it was, I often left the rig in the driveway for days at a time if I had trips within a couple weeks of each other (fortunately I had friendly neighbors).

Having the rig at or very near home always outweighs prepositioning the rig "closer to the next journey" as you suggest. (Many/most RVers don't know where the "next journey" is anyway.) Every RVer will tell you their preference is to have an RV pad at the house with full hookups and the rig ready to go. Anything other than that is a compromise from the ideal. (I have known people who would travel for a month at a time, put the rig in storage and fly home, then return and continue the journey, but I don't think that's the norm.)

Back2PA said:

Having the rig at or very near home always outweighs prepositioning the rig "closer to the next journey" as you suggest (many/most RVers don't know where the "next journey" is anyway). Every RVer will tell you their preference is to have an RV pad at the house with full hookups and the rig ready to go. Anything other than that is a compromise from the ideal. (I have known people who would travel for a month at a time, put the rig in storage and fly home, then return and continue the journey, but I don't think that's the norm.)

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I think this is the key.  Are you looking for customers who are snow birds who leave their rigs in AZ for the summer?  Are you looking for locals who can not park at home?  This will help design the facility and the promotions.