Using a Self Storage Facility to store trains

If it's climate controlled I don't see a problem unless it's in a high crime area.

As long as it's climate controlled, otherwise don't do it.

For short term as you described it should be ok.  Over the years I've had storage units and found the security systems they advertise are more hype than reality and more there for the property owner's benefit, not the tenant.  Nearly every time I've gone to my units the police are there taking a theft report from somebody who had their unbreakable locks broken off.  One time I drove up there were 5 fire engines parked in front of my unit.  Somebody moved in a few days earlier and stacked a mattress against the light in the unit and then left the light on.  Make sure you have homeowners coverage for this or pay the extra fee for the expensive insurance they sell when you sign up.  

As others have noted:  Definitely needs to be climate controlled, and do check the area around the facility itself to make sure it isn't in a flood plane.

When I lived in a small apartment in eastern Virginia, I rented a storage unit (I believe it was a 10x10) for a couple of years to store a lot of trains.  Never had a problem and everything "survived" in great shape.  I did elevate the boxes off the floor of the unit--on pallets and tables--to make sure everything stayed high and dry.

another thing i do... just in case... i never leave anything cardboard on the floor.  in my storage, i have a lot of those large plastic containers and always use those as a base for storing boxes.  it's not located on a flood plain, but just in case there is a water leak or a pipe bursts somewhere, it's better to be safe.

living in San Diego, we're pretty much climate controlled by default. ...

cheers...gary

The keeping cardboard off the floor is a good plan even if you are on the second floor since most of the floors in these places are unsealed concrete.

I've put my trains in a self storage facility twice. Once when we moved, and a second time when we had some major remodeling done, and the area where my trains were kept had to be cleared for access by the crew.

I used climate controlled facilites. The first spot was on an upper floor of an old warehouse that was divided into storage units. The second was on a street level facility.

A few tips:

As has already been posted, don't put anything directly on the floor.  I brought in some steel shelves, and had everything on them.

Box everything in plain cardboard boxes. Don't put any indication of what is in the box on the outside. I numbered the boxes, and wrote down the contents in a compostition book. I guess you could put a packing list inside, but I wouldn't.

Don't mention to anybody what you are storing.

We also stored other items that we did not want to risk having our movers break.

quote:

These self storage units advertise the fact that one needs special keys and codes to gain access and they have cameras located throughout the property

The customer supplied their own locks at the storage units I've rented.

The whole point of the plain boxes and keeping quiet about what you are storing to to keep your unit from attracting any attention.

Only for the shortest possible time...

As others have said, a top priority would be a climate-controlled facility. 

Also, full 24-hour surveillance...not just video recordings...to monitor activities.  For instance, many drive-up facilities require a card or key-pad entry.  This can be tied to specific rental cell(s)/locations on the premises.  Activity at any other cell should be challenged.  You'll pay more for this sort of capability, but for longer term storage of your collection it'll be worth it.

Of course, if you need one of these facilities just because you have more trains than your under-the-layout-table, basement, attic, closets, back-of-the-SUV, tornado shelter, RV, Fido's house, etc., etc., will hold, well.....it's time to face the possibility you have (gasp!) too many!!  (Unthinkable, I know.)

BTW, in this area we just had a LHS who stored excess stock in a rental facility.  Recently it was broken into and the merchandise stolen.  So, your concerns are valid. 

Guys,

Thanks for all of this information.  It will be for a very short time if I plan to go this route.

And yes; I do believe it's time for me to thin the herd.  I'm beginning to think that some of my models reproduce on their own as they rest in their dark, cold boxes.

Steve

I did exactly this when we moved from PA to NC.  We packed most of our stuff and made a couple of trips with a large (27'?) U-haul truck to a storage facility that wound up being about 5 miles from the house we ultimately bought.

As others have said, it was climate-controlled (we were moving things into the storage units during the summer with outside temperatures in the 90's).  And I bought a bunch of the relatively cheap PVC pallets that U-line sells and basically covered the floor of the storage units with them.  This kept all the boxes about 6 inches above the floor.  In addition to the trains, I also stored all my music equipment (guitars, synthesizers, drums, etc.) in these storage units.  We wound storing the trains and music equipment for close to a year.  I even got most of my money back on the PVC pallets by selling them on the bay after we didn't need them.

Yes, I have had mine in storage for about 6 months.  The storage unit was NOT climate controlled.  I did worry about humidity.  Fortunately, nothing happened to any of the trains.  If I were to do it again I probably would look for a climate controlled unit just to be on the safe side.

Rick

I have a storage unit with an old car and misc itmes in it. It is located in a hood area and has good security. Well it happened....The whole storage area was broken into and then bolt cutters used on the indivifual units.Mine was hit....Noting lost thank goodness...I had every thing packed in so tight to the car that they would have had to move it to search along the sides and rear. I could see foot frints on the car where they walked on it ...it was raining the night they broke in....The storage unit  has several hundred individual storage units in it....big place....so they did not have a lot of rime to search and I think they were looking for drugs....a lot of drug reps use these type of units to store their inventory and people know it....So keep it in mind to take a few steps to not make it so pbvious what you are placing in the unit so that if someone should break in they would have to spend some time to search it out...also if you have other valuables look into INSURANCE for the rental ...Good luck...

... Of course, if you need one of these facilities just because you have more trains than your under-the-layout-table, basement, attic, closets, back-of-the-SUV, tornado shelter, RV, Fido's house, etc., etc., will hold, well.....it's time to face the possibility you have (gasp!) too many!!  (Unthinkable, I know.)

that's one bad thing about off-site, long-term storage.  once it's in that cave, chances are greater that you'll stop thinking about it.  it's only about a mile away, so i try to visit my storage at least once a month.  unfortunately it seems that once i have some room there, i move more *&%$((!# over from the garage so i can get back to having a workshop there.  i should have started downsizing ten years ago!

PODS are, in my opinion, the best way to go. Once you load them, they are stored in a climate controlled environment (PODS warehouse). When you are ready, thy bring the PODS to your new residence and you unload it. I used them to move trains from Texas to Tennessee.

I use a storage facility because I ran out of storage space at home. I use a climate controlled facility. It is not near any flood prone area. I have used it for a few years now, without any problems.

Gentlemen,

  I considered a storge unit one time, ruled it out because of the security factor.

Way to many of these units are broken into each year, so I built my own synthetic storage area, moved my porch furniture into it, and use all my large attic space inside my home, for storing my trains.  It's been that way for many many years now.

PCRR/Dave

No problem George, ..... Just bring the locos over the house and I ll see that they get their weekly runs!