While the wide highways and lack of low bridges in Los Angeles can sure make driving a big rig down the 405 easier, finding a place to park it can be challenging. That’s where self storage comes in. You shouldn’t have to give up your beloved RV or boat just because your landlord doesn’t want you to use your one allocated parking space for a vehicle that isn’t a car. And you also shouldn’t ever have to experience trying to hastily parallel park your RV on a different street because of weekly street cleaning (shudder). Let’s face it, driving around the dreamy City of Angels is anything but heavenly, and it’s even worse if you’re in an RV or towing a boat. Here’s the lowdown on RV and boat storage, and what Los Angelenos should factor in when considering it:
Think About Where Your Adventures Take You
If you’ve got a boat for Pacific adventures or an RV that looks really good parked on the beach, consider storing it as close to the ocean as possible.
Stor-It Self Storage in Marina Del Rey is just one mile from the ocean.
A-American Self Storage is just a 15 minute drive from lovely
Santa Monica State Beach. If your Los Angeles apartment is disappointingly far from the beach but you happen to own an RV, consider storing it at
US Storage Centers in Hawthorne. It’s just ten minutes away from
Dockweiler RV Park which is Los Angeles county’s only RV park that actually sits right on the beach. If you prefer to use your RV or boat for adventures that require you to actually leave Los Angeles every once and a while (it has to happen at some point), you might want to look for storage on the outskirts of town. Sure, total pros can pull campers and boats down the highway like it’s no problem, but for the rest of us, we’ll deal with the stress of RV driving once we’re as far away from Downtown Los Angeles as possible, thank you very much.
Snowbirds and RV Storage
RV and boat storage isn’t just for locals. If home for you is somewhere much snowier than SoCal, you might be considering becoming a snowbird. For the uninformed, that’s someone (often an RV owner) who spends winters somewhere warm. With weather in the 70’s year round, Los Angeles is an incredible place to get precious UV rays and invest in a wardrobe that’s mostly t-shirts. If you’re loving the idea of making Los Angeles your winter home, why not skip the obnoxious commute and park your RV there year round? Nab an RV or boat storage spot with
online bill pay and you can pay for the privilege of keeping your snowbird vehicle safe and sound in the Golden State when you’re not using it. At most, an RV gets
15 miles per gallon, so depending on where you live during the months when you’re not a snowbird, you could actually be saving money (not to mention wear and tear) by storing when you factor in how much it costs to drive your baby to the beach.
Security Considerations
With all of that crazy Los Angeles traffic, we don’t blame you if you don’t feel like visiting your boat or RV in storage every day. That’s why it’s important to remember the importance of
security when choosing your storage facility. Your RV or boat is important to you, and you should store it in a place that gets that. Look for facilities that are well lit, gated, offer keyed access and security that patrols on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid to ask the facility manager as many questions as you can think of. This will give you a sense of how involved he or she is in walking the property and making sure that tenants are protected. You should also be sure to look at
crime statistics. You can plug in the address of a storage facility you’re considering and see how much and also what types of crime happen nearby. If you have to store your RV or boat in an area where a lot of break-ins and vehicular thefts occur, be sure to be extra vigilant about making sure the property is secure, and remember, a cheap storage unit in a bad neighborhood isn’t actually a great deal if that results in damage to your stuff.
24 Hour Access
You spent the weekend camping at
Anaheim RV Park and enjoying Disneyland. The storage facility where you store your RV is only a few miles away so that should take you 20 minutes tops, right? You’ll totally be there before the gates close. Any seasoned Los Angeles driver will tell you that hour long commutes and totally gridlocked highways are a common occurrence. For most people, this is a minor (okay, major) annoyance. If the only place where you can store your RV or boat is your storage facility, it can be a total disaster. Los Angeles traffic is the second worst in the country, so while you can’t always count on that ride to your storage unit being a breeze, you can count on it being open when you finally get there if you opt for 24 hour access.
