Putting shop in storage?

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Stuart Hough

>Rob, while I never had a problem, there were break-ins in units down from mine in both towns I had one in. One man lost his tools from his automotive repair shop ($50,000 worth of Snap-On hand tools stored due to changing locations), and another lost two rooms of furniture. When you look around for a unit, make sure that the walls seperating the units go all the way to the ceiling. That was how the tools were stolen.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Binen

>When we moved about 3 years ago I had to pack my shop along with most of the house and store for a short period. One thing I did was talk to my insurance agent and be sure everything was insured. The rider was not that expensive vs. the loss you could face.

One thing I never did was unload or open the door if people were around. If there were people there in other units I just went for a soda and waited until they were gone. I tried to make drops during the hours most people were at work and never on weekends. I never had any problems

Binen

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Carol from AZ

>I have had to do that when I moved from California to Arizona 2-1/2 years ago. I payed $100 a month for a storage unit a couple of times and then woke up. I went out and bought an enclosed cargo trailer with a ramp back door. Moved everything in there, parked it where I could keep an eye on it, chained the wheels, blocked it up, and locked the hitch.

Now that I am in school, I still have that set-up. Someday when I have a shop again, the trailer will still be worth something and I can sell it. To me that was better than dumping a C note a month into someone else's pocket.

Something else to think about.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Howard Norman-Prescott, AZ

>When I moved here from Phoenix two years ago I had to put both my shop tools and furniture in storage for a few months beause of weather. I would recommend that you check on the security of the storage unit. In addition check on your insurance coverage. Good locks also on the doors. No big deal as far as my experience is concerned.

Howard

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Paul Woolson

>If you check at your local big orange home improvement store, they have a product available called P.O.D.S.

I'm sure every big box store has a similar product but that's the one I am familiar with.

Anyway, they drop off the big stroage unit in your driveway, you fill it, lock it and call them to pick it up where it's stacked with the hundreds of other P.O.D.S. being used.

The advantage to something like this is that you don't have people coming and going at all hours. Nobody is coming and going at all except the truck driver and maybe a couple of employees. Also, there's a pretty good chance that your pod is stacked on top of others, making it very hard to get anything out even if someone were to find a way to break in.

It's worth looking into anyway.

What I did...

Steve Strickland

>I sold all my tools on Craigslist and put the money in a savings account. I'll buy back in when the situation stabilizes.

That's a smart idea!

Mark Goodall - ATL - tooljunkie

>

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Rod Peterson -- Ormond Beach

>First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your split. That's not easy on anyone.

We started out with a storage unit almost ten years ago and eventually had as many as four when we moved from Illinois. The location was a good idea at the time because we thought we were going to move there (Western NC). Now, we're still paying on two and they're 600 miles away. At a buck and a half a month, and gas at $2-3/gal during the last year or so, it's been tough to justify getting up there to clean out the last two (and it's going to take three or four trips).

I said all that to say this: Carol's idea is spot on. Buy a trailer for a couple of large, fill it with the tools, secure it as well as you can, unload it when you can, and sell the trailer for a couple of large minus a couple of hundred. Even if you keep the trailer you're money ahead after a year or two.

When I think of the $1500 or more per year we've been paying for almost ten years…The really sad part is my aunt had precisely the same experience twenty years ago. She was shocked when she ran the numbers, but we laughed about it afterwards. You'd think I would have learned.

Rod

Back the trailer up against a wall if you can.

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

>If the doors are on the back end of the trailer.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

DAUTTERGUY

>When we moved,We had a storage place that used old SHIPPING CONTAINERS,all metal,water proof and vandal proof,24 hour live on person who checked everyone who drove on to the prop. Had it there for over a year and a half,No problems. Might check into this type of storage,or as mentioned above PODS.

There are places

Mark Goodall - ATL - tooljunkie

>There are places in the "country" where you can buy old train box-cars, old 18-wheeler (tractor) trailers, and buses. You can get them much cheaper than you can a new cargo-trailer, and since they look so butt-awful, there's less chance that a thief would think their's anything in them worth stealing ;)

Happy Woodworking!

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Bob Fawcett

>I live near a port. Around here you can buy or rent a shipping container. They are cheaper than most of the self storage places I checked and more secure.

If you have a place to park one, check on it. They can be delivered and removed with a large flatbed wrecker. Most places that sell or rent them can set up delivery. Very few thieves could remove the whole container. The walls are thick enough that you aren't likely cut into one with anything less than a torch or fire rescue saw. Doors are very solid and can usually take 2 locks.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Ernie Miller

>Where the trailer idea is good be sure and check your local codes to make sure that you can park it where you want to. We bought a bus to convert into a tour buss and were told by the city it could not be parked on our property. We have to pay to park it in a comercial lot.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Pete LaBelle

>A good inventory of what is going in, just in case of a theft. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Easier to discuss the loss and realize just how many dollars you have amassed in your tooling empire.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Jesse in New Mexico

>Great thread. I love Carol's idea! Those trailers really hold their value over the years.

One small thing I would add. Plan your storage so that you can take out stuff as you need it. When you first start to rebuild your new shop, you will need carpentry and electrical tools, but not hand planes for instance.

My mistake was to bring it all into the new shop space at the same time - very crowded, couldn't find anything. Argghh.

And if you rent storage, think about how often you will need to access it. If not often, find some storage in the boonies - way cheaper than in the burbs.

Re: Putting shop in storage?

Ray Newman

>If going the trailer route, also remove the wheels if you can. I know a guy who thought that because his ATV trailer chained to a tree it was safe. Well the b*st*rds cut the chain & hitch lock, hooked up the trailer, & drove off w/ it�.

When packing up, conspicuously number ea. box --- all 4 sides, top, & bottom, then make a list of everything that you put in it.

I did this when I moved my shop. While it was a little bit of work to do, it saved a great deal of time when it came to unpacking or trying to locate a specific tool/item. I had 30+ moving boxes that went into my shop. If you don�t unload/unpack right away, you�ll forget which box contains what.

I also went to a moving company & bought �used� boxes of the same size. This helps when stacking boxes & efficiently utilized space. Packaging tape is relatively �cheap insurance� & use enough of it. Nothing like having a box fall apart when you pick it up.

Re: what I did...

Norman (Ottawa, Ont.)

>A fellow up here had a few old 18-wheeler (tractor) trailers on a lot , each one under lock and key. I rented one for approx. 6 months while we were building our new home and shop.. Had my shop and lumber in there. These trailers are fairly dry and above ground

so air circulates around them, no rust issues at all....

Everything was dismantled and packed and labelled very well.. I sold off any tool I was certain to be upgrading in the near future.

I never looked into actually buying a used trailer, something that's possible I guess and parking it somewhere.

Norman

Thanks for all the ideas

Rob Sandow

>The trailer idea is intriguing but I already own 2 trailers, for my boat and motorcycle. Since I'm trying to rent a place for the next year or so, parking will likely be an issue so I don't think that I can add another trailer to my fleet right now. I like the PODS idea best. I'm thinking the stuff will be in there about 6 months to a year, so it won't be all that expensive.

Rob

Re: Putting shop in storage?

ScottS

>Reminds me of my friend Dave. He works as a track-side mechanic and suspension guru at motorcycle track days and races on the West Coast. He owns a large enclosed trailer with a complete workshop in the back. Tens of thousands of dollars of tools, parts, etc. Normally he parks it on the street in front of his house locked, chocked, and alarmed. Sadly, this didn't stop thieves from driving away with it and stripping it of everything including the wheels! Cops found it abandoned on the side of the road a few hours after the theft was reported.

Based on my friend's experience, I'd be worried about being able to keep a trailer secure. A box on wheels full of valuables seems like a pretty tempting target... My advice would be to find a buddy with an empty garage or shop and temporarily "store" your tools there!

Also, it might take a shade more time but

Don Henthorn

>lining each bag with a plastic garbage bag before packing it can give measure of protection against water damage should something unexpected happen.

2nd the PODS idea

Phil in NJ

>A friend of mine here in town just had the fortune to stick a 2nd level on his garage to build a woodshop. He put all of his tools in a POD for 6 months for the construction time.

Seemed to work well for him. Everything survived the POD just fine and is back in the new shop now.

I think he left his on the premises.