Pros and cons of outdoor storage units
Storage has so many advantages. If you need additional space in your house, rent a storage unit. When you are relocating with the best moving and storage companies, you can leave your items in the storage until you settle in. If you want to renovate your home, you can also use storage units so your items can be safe. However, there are different types of storage units. You can either rent outdoor or indoor units. If you don’t know which one to rent, here are all the pros and cons of outdoor storage units. It would be better to compare it with indoor units as this is the best way to see all the advantages and disadvantages.
When to use outdoor storage units?
As the name suggests, these storage units are located outside. What to put in your outdoor storage? Here are the most common takes people usually store.
- Cars – companies that work with car transport use outdoor storage. Your car will be well protected from the harsh weather conditions while it waits for transport
- Other types of vehicles as well including motorbikes, campers, boats, and trucks.
- Lawn Mowers
- Tools
- Some furniture
As you can see by this list, you can only put certain types of items in outdoor storage. These items should be able to handle extreme weather changes. Your car and other vehicles will be safe and well protected in this type of storage. If you are traveling abroad and you don’t own a garage, keep your car here. The same applies to your boats and campers as people don’t use it as frequently as their cars.
Benefits of renting this type of storage
The biggest benefit would be its price. It is cheaper to rent outdoor storage than the indoor one. As mentioned, if you don’t have a garage, you need to pay for a parking space. This can be quite expensive, especially when you are living in a large city. For this reason, you can save money by opting for alternatives. Storing your car would be a cheaper alternative. In addition to this, many companies are storing their vehicles since it is very convenient and affordable. You do not have to own a company to rent storage. Even if you are traveling abroad for a couple of weeks and need a place for your car, you can rent storage. You will definitely save more money than paying a parking space. The unit’s price depends on the size of the same.
Space as an advantage of renting outdoor storage units
In order to explain why space is an advantage when it comes to outdoor storage, let’s compare it with indoor storage. Indoor units are smaller than outdoor ones. The reason is simple. Indoor units are located inside one building. Therefore, they cannot be large as it is not cost-effective to rent out only three units as opposed to ten or more. However, since outdoor units are not located in a building, they can be as big as the storage facility wants. Since you can store a boat and camper inside, you can imagine their size. If you need to store a large number of items, it would be cheaper to rent one outdoor unit than two indoor units. In order to find a suitable unit, you should follow Master Moving Guide. Make sure to visit units before renting one.
It is convenient to use
Another great advantage is convenience. It is not the most convenient to use indoor storage units. You need to enter the building and then reach your storage unit. In addition to this, you have to remember that you will need to carry heavy boxes so you can store them in your store in your unit. This can be quite physically demanding and tiring, especially if you decide to store your items in the summer. The winter is not any better due to snow and ice. On the other hand, you can drive your car directly to your outdoor storage unit. This is a huge advantage since you can save time and your back by driving your items instead of carrying them. On the same note, you can also access your storage unit whenever you want without wasting your time taking stairs or elevators.
The limited features of outdoor storage units
As mentioned, these units are not located in the building. For this reason, you cannot get all the features that indoor units have. One such feature would be climate control. When you plan to store your valuable or fragile items, you need to be careful. These items cannot handle harsh weather conditions as this would cause serious damage. You should rent an indoor storage unit for your clothes, documents, wooden furniture, electronics, and similar. Usually, these items are quite small, excluding the furniture. For this reason, you do not need to rent a big unit. Climate-controlled units also offer better safety against pests. Since there are located inside the building, it is easier to keep pests away. However, you can also use certain methods against pests for your outdoor storage unit. Still, if you want better protection for your smaller items, you should find an indoor unit.
Security and cleanliness
Outdoor storage is not as safe as an indoor one. All the storage facilities should have video security, a guard, code-gate entry, lights all over the premise, and similar. Since indoor units are located inside the building, your items will be better protected against robberies. This does not mean your items will be at risk if you rent an outdoor unit. However, better to be safe than sorry. In addition to this, it is harder to keep your outdoor unit clean as you will bring more dirt inside. Still, you should mostly keep your car and other vehicles there, so having dust inside should not be a problem.