Evaluating Storage Unit Pricing & Costs

Published on 4/30/2020
RSS


When considering renting a storage unit, the cheapest price is not always the lowest cost.  There are several factors you should consider when evaluation the true cost of a storage unit.  We have shared below some of the considerations you need to consider to ensure you are renting the best storage unit for you and your needs.

Published Storage Unit Price

This is a given, however, all storage unit pricing is not equal for size.  If you are comparing 2 storage unit companies pricing, breaking it down to the cost per square area will give you the most accurate number to compare pricing to.  To illustrate, our units are 2-6 feet taller on the inside than the standard storage unit sizing. Therefore our initial price may seem more than our competition.  However, by breaking it down by usable area within the storage unit, our per cube area price is actually lower than the vast majority of other facilities.  Here is the formula to calculate the cube area of a unit: Width X Length X Height.  From there you would divide the published price by the cube area to get a per cube cost.  The smaller the unit, the higher the per cube area price is.  Our 14x30 Enclosed Storage Unit price is 2.94 cents per cube while the standard 10x20 unit from other facilities is approximately 3.85 cents per cube.  Our Price is 30% Lower per cube than our competitors.

Usability

What you are storing at a facility plays an important role.  Someone storing basic household goods have very different needs than someone storing a car or trailer.  Most storage units have simple roll up doors that are 9’x9’.  This works great for someone storing boxes and basic goods, but for the person needing to store a car, boat, or some type of trailer, this door is far too small to accommodate trailers and vehicles.  Our smallest door is 10’ wide by 12’ high.  This is adequate for most smaller cars and trailers.  For larger trailers and boats, we have units with a 12’ wide by 14’ high door.  Roof top air conditioners on campers and wake boat towers fit with ease with these larger doors.  All our doors are overhead doors, and not roll up doors which typically don’t hold up as well.  For clients who are storing trailers, we have wide isles between our buildings to make maneuvering and backing trailers in a breeze.  These are from 50’-60’ wide.

Security

How much you value the property you are storing at a facility needs to be considered.  Facilities with low or no security will always be less expensive than a facility that has invested in security measures to protect your belongings.  At Elite Storage, we have invested in a totally enclosed fence system as well as high definition security cameras that cover the entire property.  Our system to open the gate is for entrance as well as exiting of the facility.  This prevents someone from breaching the fence and triggering the gate open from the inside.  We have full lighting within the facility as well as a well-lit entrance.

Insurance

Did you know most commercial and personal insurance policies do not cover off site storage?  For this reason, we offer a Tenant Protection program through a 3rd party company to cover your property while stored at our facility.  For more information, please click here.

Amenities

What you get included in the price of your storage unit needs to factor into your cost analysis.  For example, we provide a complimentary RV Dump, Compressed Air Station, Non-Potable Water, and Interior Lighting for enclosed units.  Many storage facilities do not provide these services, and for those storing trailers and campers would need to make additional stops to get these services.  We even have units with Power in them to keep your trailer and car batteries topped off and ready.  Check out some of our amenities here.

Location, Location, Location

Ease of access to the storage facility you chose will become important over time. Will you be accessing your storage unit on a regular basis, or only a few times a year?  If you are not needing to access your unit but for a few times a year, a less convenient location may not be that important.  If you are accessing your unit on a regular basis, the facility being close to your home, shopping, highway, and gas stations will be more important to you.  We are conveniently located on North 2nd East in Rexburg close to Highway 20 and other shopping.  Easy in and out while coming into or leaving Rexburg.

We hope these tips for evaluation the true cost of renting a storage unit was helpful and brought up some considerations you had not thought of.  When considering renting a storage unit, we sincerely hope you will consider us at Elite Storage.