Boat/RV Storage - General Requirements

[Wesley Mullen]

Happy Saturday!

For awhile now, I've had an idea in my mind that a boat/rv storage facility would be a great investment opportunity in our area. We have a wakeboat and know first hand how hard it is to get on the waiting list to find an available unit - i.e. demand is high. I was curious if anyone else on here had a boat/rv storage facility and what are some key requirements to either A) looking for land to build new and what some of those associated costs would look like or B) what type of existing commercial unit would be an ideal starting place to start keeping an eye out for. 

Honestly, I know a perfect spot for such a facility, only a couple of miles from the lake. The building on the property actually just had a fire, so I presume it will need to be demolished. I'm just not sure about zoning/building requirements on if it would even be allowed. Additionally, I'm not sure about the Capital aspect on how much it would take to invest in such a facility. It's one of those things that seems perfect in my head, but not sure how realistic it is at this present time. Though I know as GC (Grant Cardone) says, you need to be unreasonable to be successful. 

I would be interested in any info related to boat/rv storage that anyone has to offer to increase my knowledge in this area!

Thanks in advance, 

Wes

[Bryan Mitchell]

@Henry Clark may be able to provide some answers to your questions. He’s had a lot of experience building out storage facilities.

[Henry Clark]

@Wesley Mullen

@Bryan Mitchell

Bryan doesn’t know this but my middle name is Norman. Born at Fort Sill Oklahoma and yep, my dad picked Norman from your city.

Go to Oklahoma City and check out the facilities and prices.  If your doing enclosed your rates will need to be around $225 to $350.

This rate won’t work where I am at.  Most RVs are in the $20k to $70k range   They won’t pay that.  There is a great demand but I can’t get there numbers to work.

Search for my post on this topic. 

The reason the numbers don’t work are the driveway widths. A 40 foot unit needs about a 70 foot driveway if parking at a 90.  Maybe a 50 wide driveway if parking at a 60.  That’s a lot of concrete not earning money.

You could do canopies.  That reduces door and sidewalk costs. But the type of people your talking about will want their baby totally enclosed. 

Your next problem is your occupancy level. You will only average around 60%.   You might be filled up Dec thru April.  Recommend you do 6 month or 12 month contracts prepaid on the first term and then go month to month after the first term. 

Next problem, RVs and boats are the easiest to break into if parked in the open.  Cameras won’t help you due to the angles.  Offer Angel ??? tool contracts.  

If you can do rock or pea gravel use Engineering fabric underneath it.  

Lots of demand   Just the numbers are hard to achieve.  Find an old run down warehouse or manufacturing location with lots of old concrete or asphalt really cheap.  

[Wesley Mullen]

Thank you for the reference @Bryan Mitchell

@Henry Clark Interesting enough, checking out your page looks like you do work in Iowa! We're from the Clarinda, IA area originally. Small world. 

My interest is more driven to the boat storage aspect given the high demand here, but still understand the need for larger driveway widths to back trailers in. The storage facility we currently use has a rate of $110/month, so this seems significantly less then the rates you mentioned. I'll search your post though. Even during season, many people (ourselves included) still store the boat in the storage due to HOAs/living situations or dealing with severe weather. Therefore I wonder if vacancy wouldn't be near as bad in-season. 

However, you bring up a lot of good points about the capital involved to start up such a facility. Do you have any estimates on what it would take to start up a facility, ground up? (Say 20-30 units?) It definitely seems like a much bigger project then what a newbie should probably be undertaking. But it's still something to think about, maybe even on a smaller scale to begin. My partner/brother has also thought about building a shop that he can use a portion for his own business and rent out the rest, so this could be an alternative way to take a smaller step towards a larger facility. 

Appreciate you taking the time to respond!

[Henry Clark]

@Wesley Mullen

Definitely go to Oklahoma City and check out similar locations. 

Boat and Rv storage range is about 30 miles.  Look for an old pice of ground that has concrete or asphalt on it.  See if you can buy cheap and put some canopy storage up.  Check around for a welder shop that has a lot of old drill stem.  Ask them a quote to build you some canopy storage. 

[Ronald Rohde]

Definitely can be done. You need an attorney or consultant to help with zoning, paving costs are incredibly high right now. Covered, vs partial, or indoor storage, etc. Power. Its a big project for a new investor...