storage unit for a garage

[airborne willz]

does any one else use a storage unit as a garage. my buddy and me share a storage unit for all our tools/toys, since we are in the military and live in the barracks this is the only place we can have this stuff. we are on a pretty tight budget and looking to build some shelves and something to hang motorcycle jackets, racing leathers, helmets ect. off, and i figured this was the best place to pick some brains. here are some pics to show what kind of space we have. thanks.

 

[cyamaha2007]

I did for a while for what yours is its nice. You can get beam clamps and weld brackets to themhttp://www.alibaba.com/product/bljliangji-11321591-10870314/Malleable_Iron_Beam_Clamps.html

 

[MAYOR28]

I am interested to see where this goes....

I am about to move out of a house and into a 1 bedroom apartment. Needless to say, I have a garage with some tools, plus a corvette, that is going to go into a 10x25 storage unit.

I hope some people have some neat ideas to share.....

 

[JDMopar]

I had to keep my Challenger conv in a mini storage place for a while before I got my garage built. They said no vehicles allowed in the storage units, but I figured what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. I listed my contents as car parts. Just didn't say that they were all assembled! I never got busted....even though they had security cameras out the ying yang.

 

[Torque1st]

Rules vary. Some places allow vehicles, some places allow vehicles but not working on them. Check the rules. Cameras may not be a problem but another renter complaining may be. It would not be good to get an eviction notice the day before a deployment, going on vacation, or a big storm etc. Murphy really enjoys doing things like that.

 

[Boost Creep]

i used to have one. wasen't too bad. had power, lights, alarm, smoke detectors

 

[JHunter]

I've used storage units as a make-shift garage, and also during deployments. What worked well for me was to build a "loft". It was completely free standing, not attached to the walls etc, but allowed me to store stuff up top, while still having room underneath to work. I rebuilt a Fiat engine (don't hate me, it was years ago lol) in one in Missouri. The owner was fine with it - but make sure you check - and don't do anything that will permanently alter the storage unit - obviously.

 

[airborne willz]

thanks for all the ideas so far, im digging the loft one. the guys that own this place are really laid back and dont seem to care that we work on bikes and cars there, and the best part about our unit is that its right below a camera... makes me feel a litte better about keeping all that stuff in here in this town haha.

 

[jake00]

I'd make em free standing out of 2x4's

 

[Krokodil]

Thread hi-jack: what Monster is the black one?

 

[airborne willz]

its an 06 620 dark its my first bike so nothing outrageous, going to upgrade it to a 1100 monster eventually.

 

[myboostedgst]

Reviving this old thread.

I am about to move into a 10x25 unit myself for the summer and fall. Would love to see more pictures and experiences.

 

[01GTB]

I've rented a 20x40 for over 12 years. Well technically it's storage unit, but everyone is running a business out of theirs. Some have been there longer than me. These are metal with two wide, high doors. Lowest point of the roof is probably 12 ft. Has power, bathrooms right around the corner and you can be there anytime of the night or day.

When I first rented it I was renting a house with no option of building a shop. I bought a house a couple of years later with a backyard big enough to put something with similar square footage on. But where my house is it's less than a mile from the warehouse, so it was even more convenient than before. The rent is relatively low for this area and that size building. But after twelve years and about $36k spent, I have started realizing it would have been better to have found a way to fund the construction of a garage on my property. Rather than racking up a lot of debt on it, I would have probably poured the slab one year then built a simple steel structure a couple years later. Of course I would have been without a shop at all for three years, then probably would have regretted not building it bigger.

 

[BD1]

Hi, here is unistrut products. We use this stuff for everything and would be
steel, nut and bolt, easy assembly and removable. I don't know your location but you could check out these.

http://www.unistrut.biz/index.html

http://www.unistrutohio.com/telescoping-square-tube.html

http://www.unistrutohio.com/unistrut-framing-systems-fittings-overview.html

 

[Chief Geek]

Go to your local base/post DRMO office and score some super cheap metal lockers or shelving. I got several metal shelf units for my neighbor for $10/each. They were worth more then that in scrap metal, they weiged a ton. They looked like ****, but were solid as a brick **** house.

 

[Steves32]

A storage unit may be limiting in the work department or access hours.
I rented a commercial office space for 15 years. Small little 8x8 front office in front & 1400 sq ft of warehouse w/ roll up door. When I started renting it- it was $650 a month. When I moved out- price had doubled. I had another unit next door I ran my Plumbing & HVAC biz out of. Built 2 cars there from the ground up.

 

[myboostedgst]

I am renting out a storage unit to stre my car in between graduating college and finding my own place. I would rather spend the $140 a month and have all my tools and my car in one place. I haven't started moving anything in yet, but once I do I will take some pics for people.

I searched these forum for hours, but I didn' find many people with pictures or detailed descriptoins. Hopefully this will help some other people once I make a new thread.

 

[Chief Geek]

Just looked you up and see your in NC. If your at Bragg, the DRMO here and recycling center can have good stuff at times, plus put the word out and you'll be amazed how easy metal shelving can be had if your patient and have a truck ready to pick it up at a moments notice. If you have an Android you can get an app called CraigsNotification that will allow you to save searches to save you time from searching all the time. If you are in the Bragg area, let me know if you ever need anything.

 

[M-technik-3]

Storage units are nice but I would want a nice pdf or excel spread sheet with inventory and renters insurance.

 

[shocker998md]

I worked out of two 10x20's and my buddy had a third one next to mine. Same boat as you, I did it for four years in Cherry Point NC. Used a generator for power, hung lights, and I did ALOT of work out of them. Rebuilt an engine, lifted a truck, lowered a car, sanded and primed a car, worked on bikes and 4 wheelers, and then all kinds of general maintance on cars. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do when you live in the bricks and like to work on stuff.

+ 1 on renters insurance, hit up USAA and I had 10k of coverage for like 15 bucks a month.

 

[myboostedgst]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2256136#post2256136

I have a storage unit that I will be working in soon. There is plenty of room in my 10x25 unit. The sides are narrow, but there is plenty of space in front.