Types of Storage Facilities
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April 29th, 2025
Whether you need a place to store your boat, a room to keep your old furniture until your teenager moves out on his own and gives them new life, a private closet to store and organize old books and tax papers, or just extra space to hold unused odds and ends that clutter your home, consider renting a self storage unit. Self storage facilities offer various options to meet individual needs. When looking for self storage locations, you may find that they are sometimes called mini storage or cell storage. Units come in varying sizes and are divided within a facility into individual rooms, plots, cells or pods. Most can be rented for short or long periods, even as short as a day. Renters usually provide their own locks, but self storage companies generally provide some level of security. Private gates that require the renter to enter a code or use a key card and security cameras are common. Some also provide security guards, door alarms and 24-hour on-site management.
Outside Storage
People generally use outside storage plots to store cars, RVs, dirt bikes, tractors, boats and the like. In an outdoor storage facility you are likely to find covered units partitioned by wire mesh.
Drive-up Storage
These units come in varying sizes such as 10-foot wide by 10-foot deep or 10-foot wide by 15-foot deep. Heights can vary between facilities. The doors on these rooms often roll up like a garage door. Although they may look like garages, you would need to check with management to see if the company actually allows vehicles to be parked in the larger units. A facility may include several rows of buildings that are divided into numerous storage units. Customers can usually pull their car or truck right up to the door of the unit to drop off or pick up items.
Indoor Storage
To reach these units, you must enter a building and pass through some type of security. Inside you will find storage space available in various sizes from narrow closets to large rooms. Dollies or other equipment may be provided to help you move your items from your car to the storage unit. During business hours staff may even be available to do some of the heavy lifting (be sure to ask before renting if this is an important factor to you). Some indoor facilities offer climate controlled rooms that you may find necessary if you are storing items that could warp, melt or otherwise deteriorate in extreme temperatures. If this is the case, you may want to talk to management about how the room's location in the building could affect the temperature of the unit. Will its location on an outside northern wall mean winter winds will lower the room's temperature more than an interior room? Will the hall window just outside the unit's door let in too much heat?
Mobile Storage
When renovating your home, you may want to have a storage unit on your property for a short time to hold furniture and other items while you paint walls or redo the floors. Mobile storage companies will deliver individual storage units, sometimes called pods, to your house and leave them for an agreed upon amount of time. The units, which may look like small train cars, come in different sizes, and you can rent more than one. If you prefer, you can fill these units over the course of a few days or weeks and have the company move the storage containers to their facility where they will store them for you. If you need to move, the storage company can take the unit where you want it to go. It's a good alternative to renting a bulky truck and trying to move yourself or to entrusting your personal belongings to a moving company that packs and ships. When the storage unit is being stored at the mobile storage company, management restricts access to the unit to the person renting it and may require that person to provide a day or two's notice before visiting. Companies often stack storage pods on top of each other and may have to move yours to the ground with heavy equipment before your arrival.
Which is right for you?
When looking for storage, narrow your options by determining how much you're willing to spend, how much security you require, whether you need climate control, how far you can conveniently travel for easy access to your property, or if you prefer to load your items at home and have the company do the moving. Talk with management and see if they will be easy to work with. Find out how they handle late payments, access to units, security and whether staff will help you to move items. Although these are the main types of self storage facilities, in different parts of the country you may find novel approaches to self storage. For instance, in some geographical areas storage facilities have been constructed within naturally occurring underground caverns because the location tends to maintain a constantly cool temperature that is great for protecting fragile objects like film or perishables like wine. Use StorageFront's helpful tools to see what is available in your area.
Items That Cannot Be Stored In Storage
Once you decide to rent a storage unit, one of the most important questions to ask is: Which items are not safe to store? It's wise to do an inventory of items you plan to place in storage. Share the list with the manager of the storage facility. Most facilities will have you sign a contract stating that you will abide by a set of rules and regulations and that you will not store certain types of items like flammable liquids or food. Management will know what can and cannot be stored, but here are some beginner pointers.
Don’t place explosive, combustible or toxic items into storage
Those vintage kerosene lamps should be emptied and cleaned before packing them into your self storage unit. Other potentially explosive or combustible materials include gasoline, paint thinners, cleaning solvents, motor oil, propane tanks, paint, corrosives, alcohol and fireworks. Potentially explosive materials can be hazardous to your health and to others. You want to ensure the items you are storing are kept safe and having a flammable liquid nearby could endanger them. Be sure to check with the storage facility manager for a complete list of explosive items.
Don’t put weapons into storage
Weapons of any type are generally prohibited from being stored in self storage facilities. This includes antique firearms such as that pre-World War II artillery collection. Firearms can be potentially explosive and also dangerous if they were to fall into the wrong hands.
Don’t put radioactive materials or equipment in storage
Radioactive materials are found in some medical supplies. While most types of medical supplies can be kept in storage, those items containing radioactive materials or equipment cannot. While most of us don’t commonly keep medical supplies around the home or office in large quantities, medical personnel or sales reps may have an abundance of such items, most of which could be kept in a storage unit.
Don’t place broken-down or unregistered vehicles in storage
While it is a common practice to place vehicles in storage, regulations typically state that the vehicle must be operable and properly registered, licensed and insured. You are still liable for a stored vehicle and any damage that could be caused by the vehicle, thus warranting the need for insurance. Also, many storage units limit the storage of tires. Often no more than four tires can be stored in a unit. This is to help keep the cost of disposing of the tires low should you fail to fulfill your contract terms and claim your items.
Don’t assume that all construction equipment can be placed in storage
While it is a common practice for many construction companies to place overstock equipment pieces into a rented storage unit, there are some exceptions. Never place equipment used for underground drilling or tracking of water into storage units as this violates the law. Be sure to check with the manager of the storage facility you are renting for a complete list of construction items that can and cannot be placed in storage – as lists tend to vary from place to place and are subject to change.
Don’t place perishable food items or animal products in storage
While it may be fine to place properly sealed canned food into storage units, do not store perishable food items such as cereals, flour, meats or cheeses. Also, do not store animal products such as cat litter or pet food in storage. These items will quickly spoil, create a foul odor and attract bugs and rodents. If these items cannot be quickly consumed, consider giving them away or tossing them out. You don’t want to waste money storing spoiled food.
Don’t keep your pets in storage
It may seem obvious, but plants and animals, dead or alive, are prohibited from being placed in storage. While it may be tempting to temporarily place your dog, ‘Bubbles,’ into your climate-controlled storage unit for a few days while you take that out of town trip, this is never recommended. Any supplies you leave her will not make up for the fact that storage units are poorly ventilated. If you don’t want to leave her home alone, consider finding a pet sitter, keeping her in a kennel or dropping her off at your sister’s house for a few days.
Don’t live in the storage unit
It may seem absurd, but cases of this have shown up on the nightly news. In desperate situations, a storage unit may seem better than the street, but this is not allowed and for good reason. Storage units are often dark and poorly ventilated with no cooking or restroom facilities. Many have no way to regulate the temperature. Customers are not allowed to plug in refrigerators, stoves, heaters, generators or air conditioners. For your safety and the security of other customers, storage units cannot be used as a motel. The advice on this website is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only. “Storage Tips” are offered as-is and no warranty is expressed or implied. For more information, see StorageFront’s Terms and Conditions.
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