We have had a free van for the last three years and its been a big hit. We monitor how our customers chose to use us and around 15% are due to the free van. This works out to be between 50 to 60 customers a year If you were to only earn $200 out of each one this equals an average $11,000. The cost are $5,000 - $6,000 a year. Insurance is the big one, you need to insure it as a rental vehicle to cover all angles. Main streem insurers wont usually cover it. As far as the advertising goes we have tryed all sorts. The thing to remember is that most people will see it when driving by, so keep it simple as they will only have a few seconds to read it. Ours has a huge sign on all four sides "MOVING? Use Our Van For FREE!" All it needs is that to get the attension and your name. Its also handy to have a free van for our own use, only its always out with the customers...! The costs quoted also includes depreciation, dont by a new one as this will be much higher and it will get dented.

Hello Storman. I noticed from another thread that you have been in the industry for 22 years. I have only been doing it for 3 years and am enjoying running it with my wife Cathy. I was wondering what happens to your Stoage customers during a recesion or a down turn in the property market?? We are going into a bad economy over in sunny (not) England and no one in self storage has traded through hard times over here as the industry is in its early years. We are not sure what to expect...Can you share your thoughts on the matter? Thanks from Keith + Cathy (battening down the hatches)

Keith-

Here in CA the storage market has gone through some major changes since we started back in 1987. Back then, we had 50 units and kept track of everything on a piece of graph paper. Now, we're still relatively small at 400 units, but we're totally alarmed, 2 story with elevators, electronic gates, video surveillance and the whole bit. We are 100% family owned and operated.

The CA market is recently turned for us too, due in some part to the incredible overbuilding of storage on every corner and also the real estate market falling rapidly. What we have noticed is that there has been little effect on overall occupancy, but there has been a turnover of tenants that is higher than normal (and delinquencies are up just a tad). I think those that had storage as a "luxury" have decided to move out and save money, and they have been replaced with people that have been forced to either move out of their larger home, been foreclosed upon or have moved to our area in search of work. Unfortunately, we have noticed a few of our long term business tenants are giving notice, trying to trim their operating costs. My response to them leaving is to direct market to CPA's, attorneys and insurance salespeople that are paying MUCH higher office space rent to store their files at their offices. In this area office space can rent for $2-3$ per foot, and I can offer them prices closer to $1.50 per foot depending on size. This was another reason for us to get into the "free truck" angle, which is the genesis for this thread.

There are opportunities in every type of market, the trick is to market to them at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. For example, some businesses would save money by downsizing their business space and renting offsite storage with us.

I'm going to get right on this as soon as we return from England, we are coming to visit your area, leaving tomorrow!

....got to get to packing, it's hard to pack cold weather gear when it was 85f here today.

Do you have family over here or are you having a cold holiday? If you are in the area you are welcome to call in. We are about most of the time.

Our facilities are located in & around Dallas, TX. We have used On The Move for over 10 years now. I highly recommend the use of the truck and insurance from them.
We leased to own our trucks; therefore, we now own our fleet. Our cost to insure and lease the truck averaged $700 per month. To ensure the trucks are sufficiently utilized two properties near each other typically "share" the truck. (This can be further explained in detail if needed.) This means that the cost of the truck & insurance are about $359 per month. This is the most affordable moving advertisement available.
We also charge each person who uses the truck a 15 damage waiver fee (also on the On the Move contract) to offset the costs.

Here's another reason / example:
One of our properties has a competitor next door, so they are about 20' apart. Our competitor rents their 10x10 climate controlleds for $36 per month. We rent the same unit for $120 per month with a pay two months get one free special. This facility maintains a 87-95% occupancy do to excellent property management and the truck "bonus." Tenants love the "one stop shop" convenience and the savings from the truck rental. We love earning the business without giving away too much free rent.

I will be more than happy to share any further information with you!
Here's wishing you luck with your future endeavors!

We're "dropping off" our daughter who is a junior in college, she is going to study for a semester here in London. We're touring around with our 2 school age kids for a week using my older daughter as an excuse to come over. We've rented a private flat near the West Kensington tube station.

It's 4am now in London, still trying to get the body clock to cooperate!

We have used a free truck for move-ins since we purchased our facility four years ago. We purchased a used truck for about $8,000 and put big ads on the outside.

Insurance coeverage is critical. Our truck has been damaged three times and we were able to collect from the driver's insurance two out of three times (we missed on the third time in small claims court due to lack of preparation by our managing partner).

We use a checklist much like the rental car agencies, checking the vehicle in and out for damage. We get copies of the driver's license and insurance card, and charge $15. Limit the mileage to 25 miles before we surcharge for gas.

Our take is that about 50% of our renters use this truck. As someone else commented, once a prospective doesn't have to think about renting a truck the sale is much easier to make.

We offer a free truck with mone-in and it is a wonderful selling tool. People love the fact that they do not need to rent a uhaul. It is on a first come first serve basis..ie once they have their unit rented they can schedule the use of the truck. We do require them to refuel the truck and they only have limited hours and miles for free.