Motorhome Storage Business thoughts
Motorhome Storage Business thoughts
Author
Discussion

sir humphrey appleby

Original Poster:

1,791 posts

240 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
I don’t know if there is anything in this, I’m probably day dreaming but in my head I think it would be a good idea.
I own a Motorhome and it is kept on a standard outdoor storage yard that you can find all over the country. No facilities, like drainage, water etc. it’s exposed to the elements. I can put it on my drive if I need to but it gets in the way a bit.
But what if there was specific indoor Motorhome storage service, a bit like classic car storage?
It would be kept inside in the warm and dry.
Owner would call and tell me they want to collect the van. I would get it out and ready to go, and owner would leave their car. After the holiday it would be driven back and keys left with me. I would clean it, hoover it, empty all waste, put it back inside and plug it in. I would do repairs or get someone would come and do them. Owner wouldn’t even have to be there. The unit would be clean, comfortable environment to wait in if needed, radio on, big screens, caffe machine. Too much detail there but you get the point. Essentially just drop and leave it, we will do the rest.
I have never ran a business but as an owner myself, if there was something like this I would be interested. Different costs for different services, bronze , silver, gold etc. I am sure the costs to operate would be horrific and fraught with challenges, but as a basic business idea, what do you think?

jfdi

1,250 posts

193 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
I think the issue will be pricing, the cost difference between parking on a field full of hardcore and a what you will need to charge to cover the cost of the building and staffing will be vast and not something most owners will be willing to pay.

Franco5

452 posts

77 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
sir humphrey appleby said:
I don’t know if there is anything in this, I’m probably day dreaming but in my head I think it would be a good idea.
I own a Motorhome and it is kept on a standard outdoor storage yard that you can find all over the country. No facilities, like drainage, water etc. it’s exposed to the elements. I can put it on my drive if I need to but it gets in the way a bit.
But what if there was specific indoor Motorhome storage service, a bit like classic car storage?
It would be kept inside in the warm and dry.
Owner would call and tell me they want to collect the van. I would get it out and ready to go, and owner would leave their car. After the holiday it would be driven back and keys left with me. I would clean it, hoover it, empty all waste, put it back inside and plug it in. I would do repairs or get someone would come and do them. Owner wouldn’t even have to be there. The unit would be clean, comfortable environment to wait in if needed, radio on, big screens, caffe machine. Too much detail there but you get the point. Essentially just drop and leave it, we will do the rest.
I have never ran a business but as an owner myself, if there was something like this I would be interested. Different costs for different services, bronze , silver, gold etc. I am sure the costs to operate would be horrific and fraught with challenges, but as a basic business idea, what do you think?
These storage facilities tend to be dominated by farmers or others gifted land so they have very little overheads. Trying to compete with someone who’s land costs are zero due to ancestry is difficult.

egor110

17,582 posts

221 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
Have a google for mscstorage.co.uk , might give you some ideas re what's already available and pricing .

There's another place i know of which is inside those huge plastic greenhouses which have been subdivided into units and rented out , somebody has rented a load taken the dividing walls out and sells m/h storage space .

-Cappo-

20,262 posts

221 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
Speaking as the owner of an American RV (and a Fiat Coupe!) it's something which would definitely be of interest, particularly if you could accommodate the larger size unit (mine's just over 10m) but as said above, it would definitely come down to cost. Outdoor storage for mine in the SE is currently somewhere between £100-£150 pcm, but not many sites will take it.

sir humphrey appleby

Original Poster:

1,791 posts

240 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
-Cappo- said:
Speaking as the owner of an American RV (and a Fiat Coupe!) it's something which would definitely be of interest, particularly if you could accommodate the larger size unit (mine's just over 10m) but as said above, it would definitely come down to cost. Outdoor storage for mine in the SE is currently somewhere between £100-£150 pcm, but not many sites will take it.
I think I remember your forum name from the FCCUK days. I had a 20vt turbo sprint blue at the time.

sir humphrey appleby

Original Poster:

1,791 posts

240 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
-Cappo- said:
Speaking as the owner of an American RV (and a Fiat Coupe!) it's something which would definitely be of interest, particularly if you could accommodate the larger size unit (mine's just over 10m) but as said above, it would definitely come down to cost. Outdoor storage for mine in the SE is currently somewhere between £100-£150 pcm, but not many sites will take it.
I think I remember your forum name from the FCCUK days. I had a 20vt turbo sprint blue at the time.

Previous

1,570 posts

172 months

Monday 18th August
quotequote all
Whilst we're off topic, another ex FCCUK-er here.

Anyway...

Security. Get lots of it. Caravans and motorhomes attract thieves.


ozzuk

1,342 posts

145 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
Could need a lot of start up capital - one to secure/adapt the space (security/fire detection/suppression etc), the your high initial running costs, energy, rates, and insurance. Insurance could be nasty given you want to drive their likely very expensive vehicles and maintain them - what if someone claims your maintenance caused an issue? Could take a while to build the business with income at a level that will cover just the insurance.

If you have the cash and can survive the ramp up time could be a good idea! Lots of research into whats around near you - a big driver for me would be location - I don't want to add time to my holiday going to pick up a van so you could be restricted on customer base.

There is an outdoor one close to my house, they are reducing available slots even though they were always full and are adding containers instead. Some are even office spaces!


Shooter McGavin

8,400 posts

162 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
I principle it's a great idea for higher value caravans and motorhomes but you would need to be premium priced.

In my view the thing that kills their value is water ingress. Therefore a covered storage facility for parking them when not in use (which is a lot of the time for many) is a good idea in principle. However, all that would come with a cost. Land, premises, utilities, insurance all don't come cheap.

What you are basically offering is a motorhome concierge service. I don't think the UK can sustain such a thing when one of the key requirements for such a facility is that it is reasonably local to the owner's home. Therefore your market is geographically limited to a radius of about 30 miles, in my view.

You also want to be in control of movements of vehicles out of storage into a collection area, which would mean you would need to employ staff to do this and could only be open certain hours, which would be restrictive for customers. Many owners want to drop off/collect at unsocial hours, so unless you were willing to operate 24/7 that would be a problem.

Damage would be a huge issue: You would need to employ people to move the vehicles. Do I want them at the helm of my unwieldly £100k pride and joy? Nope, not in a million years.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I don't think there is sufficient demand for it on a profitable scale. Just my 2p, having been a caravanner for 45yrs man and boy. Also, most motorhomers I know are approaching retirement or retired. They have the time to fettle with their pride and joy and most enjoy doing it. Why would they want to pay you?

If I were you I would have a look at what members of the CaSSOA offer. This seems to be what the market is happy with.

https://www.cassoa.co.uk/



Edited by Shooter McGavin on Wednesday 20th August 11:27

sir humphrey appleby

Original Poster:

1,791 posts

240 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
Thanks all, I thought it would be a non starter really, the idea just popped into my head and kept thinking about it. I think I will leave it there!

Wacky Racer

40,098 posts

265 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
"I would get it out and ready to go, and owner would leave their car. After the holiday it would be driven back and keys left with me. I would clean it, hoover it, empty all waste, put it back inside and plug it in. I would do repairs or get someone would come and do them."

All totally unnecessary, and adding to your overheads, that's their job.

Keep things simple.

Probably a non starter, unless you already own the large empty unit outright.

-Cappo-

20,262 posts

221 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
sir humphrey appleby said:
I think I remember your forum name from the FCCUK days. I had a 20vt turbo sprint blue at the time.
That's me! The forum is still alive and kicking, and actually did me a huge favour recently.

OldGermanHeaps

4,734 posts

196 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
The problem would be the price of suitable indoor storage, especially as it is very hard and expensive to find premesis that allow motor trade. Maybe outdoor but canopy covered might be a starter? Maybe make the canopies out of solar panels and you have a second revenue stream. The last few solar farm i have worked on I was thinking instead of sheep grazing here if these panels were just a bit higher you could park under them no problem.

sir humphrey appleby

Original Poster:

1,791 posts

240 months

Wednesday 20th August
quotequote all
-Cappo- said:
sir humphrey appleby said:
I think I remember your forum name from the FCCUK days. I had a 20vt turbo sprint blue at the time.
That's me! The forum is still alive and kicking, and actually did me a huge favour recently.
Is Rog at Powerfiat in Essex still going do you know?

-Cappo-

20,262 posts

221 months

Wednesday 20th August
quotequote all
sir humphrey appleby said:
-Cappo- said:
sir humphrey appleby said:
I think I remember your forum name from the FCCUK days. I had a 20vt turbo sprint blue at the time.
That's me! The forum is still alive and kicking, and actually did me a huge favour recently.
Is Rog at Powerfiat in Essex still going do you know?
Funnily enough, I'm booked in with him next week for a cambelt, so yes, he still does the Fiats, but his main trade now is I believe with German brands. Haven't seen him for many a year so will be good to catch up. He's rebranded as Power Developments now.

ferret50

2,411 posts

27 months

Sunday 24th August
quotequote all
Something like an aircraft hanger, or an old factory would be a good starting point.

But as already said above, the fire risk will be the main problem to overcome.

Be an interesting idea to cost out, though.

ADJimbo

713 posts

204 months

Monday 25th August
quotequote all
As you will retain the keys to the Motorhomes then you cross the threshold from ‘storage’ to having vehicles ‘in your custody and control’ which means you will need to be insured as such - similar to a motor-trader or a workshop - which is where overheads then rocket.

48k

15,595 posts

166 months

Monday 29th September
quotequote all
Franco5 said:
These storage facilities tend to be dominated by farmers or others gifted land so they have very little overheads. Trying to compete with someone who s land costs are zero due to ancestry is difficult.
This, this, and ten times this.

I looked in to classic / prestige car storage a few years ago. I run my own business so have a fair idea of the admin side and running / operating costs. When investigating the market and the competition what became apparent very quickly is that the majority of the big players / long established businesses were on farms or family land. As soon as I had to factor in leasing premises the numbers just didn't stack up. They probably stack up even less for motorhomes because they take up say double the room of a car plus need more manouvering space plus you can't stack them, but you couldn't charge double the price so your revenue per square foot is lower.