About Living in a Storage Garage...

[VanTrekker]

<br><br>Apparently the more sophisticated storage facilities are becoming wise to people wanting to live more cheaply by inhabiting the garages!<br><br>This morning I rented a garage for Dad's antiques while we clean up his house.&nbsp; To get in and out of this fenced in facility, one has to key in the storage number and access code... both coming and going&nbsp;through the gate!<br><br>The security system computer looks for strange patterns of entry / exit times and the staff follows up with the 30 or so video cameras.&nbsp;&nbsp; I.E. like if "Punch_Out_Time"&nbsp;minus &nbsp;"Punch_In_Time &gt; 60 minutes, it flags the manager.<br><br>The manager told me of one girl who would punch in and then leave about eight hours later!&nbsp; They figured out she was living in the climate controlled storage unit she had rented...&nbsp; and they gave her the boot!<br><br>I guess if you are looking for a place to sleep cheapover night and don't want to stealth park, get a storage unit away from the beaten path... maybe in a small town where there is no electronic security system.&nbsp; You might be able to lock the door down from the inside if there is some kind of notch in the door track maybe... ?<br><br>But if there is an electronic access system, you stand a pretty good&nbsp;chance of getting caught.&nbsp; <img class="bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" rel="lightbox"><br><br>Darn... This was an option I had been considering...<br><br>V.T.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

 

[Xterra Guy]

I have a 12x30 storage unit with electricity that has a single light and outlet. It is not fenced and gated. The main office faces the main road while my unit is on the side. I also have a driveway to the unit from a side street. The best thing is that it has a auto door that 'clicks' locked when closed. So once in nothing looks "fishy" from outside. <br><br>I don't really live there. It's just home base. But in a pinch if needed, I could stay under the radar for quite awhile. <br><br>If you think about using one, just look for something that is not gated. I don't worry about break ins cause I don't keep anything in it that can't be replaced. So I don't need the extra fence and cameras.<br><br>It can be done.

 

[VanTrekker]

B.I.N.G.O.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No gate = good.&nbsp; I am hoping to eventually find a garage of that size with no gate access.&nbsp; It would be nice to use as a home base and also to live in occasionally.&nbsp; With a small outlet, I could keep the house batteries topped off at least while heating by propane with the vent open a little.<br><br>In this area it is kind of hard to find garages with a 9 foot high entrance.&nbsp; When you do find one, there is usually a gate to go with... uggg.... :-/<br><br>Brad

 

[Seraphim]

Owners are already pretty wise thar some people want to sleep overnight in the units. They also look for cars parked nearby overnight that don't belong, etc.&nbsp; If your inside, it's not locked from the outside.&nbsp; If they find an unsecured lock - and they look for all the little tricks - and they can't open the door, they now you're inside.<BR><BR>For liability purposes, and zoning laws, they check.<BR><BR>You run a pretty good risk of losing your deposit, first month rent and having&nbsp;any&nbsp;stuff inside locked up or tossed out.&nbsp;

 

[ZOFCHAK]

&nbsp;&nbsp; I used to attend a lot of storage unit auctions (I don't anymore thanks to that stupid TV show ruining them <img src="/images/boards/smilies/mad.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">).&nbsp; Over the years of doing that I came across a number of units where it was obvious that people had lived in them, so it's more common that one might expect.&nbsp;<br><br>&nbsp; There were also several storage facilities that actually allowed individuals to live in the units. At one place the guy living in the unit took care of all the maintenance such as shoveling snow, emptying and cleaning the units, etc.&nbsp; I'm sure that some of the smaller, independently owned facilities may be willing to work something out. Having someone on site when the manager is not there would deter theft issues, and it could be a win/win for both the storage facilyt and the person looking for a place to stay.

 

[RAILROADGREEN]

hey van trekker, i don't know were you live. but here&nbsp;in the "city" of&nbsp;los angeles&nbsp;to san diego.there are a lot of small industrial building that are vacant.because of all small manufacturing business going to china. so a lot of the&nbsp;(blacktoper)&nbsp;=city boondocker,who&nbsp;are going togather and rent these building. they pull there rigs in were they use to do the manufacturing.&nbsp;&nbsp;gary