Finding secure parking for long-term storage for trucks, trailers, and shipping containers can be tricky and costly. At the behest of trucking companies everywhere, just typing "monthly truck parking near me", and crossing your fingers isn't enough to guarantee yard storage for your equipment.
To ensure you are staying in the driver's seat when shopping around for secure truck parking, we are going to touch on three key factors you need to consider before you book parking space on a weekly or monthly basis.
Most storage yards aren't searchable online
Just starting the hunt for yard space can be frustrating, especially since time is becoming an increasingly expensive motivator. Even the most lenient depots are beginning to crack down on containers sitting on their terminals by implementing hefty dwell fees.
Many factors, including the ever present lack of resources, mean drop yards and storage facilities can be hard to find online. Even if they have a website, chances are it's not updated and there isn't someone monitoring forms and messages.
If you also need additional features like gates, cameras, or M&R, you are going to have to do some serious sleuthing and outreach to find an operation that meets all of your needs. We recommend making a list of all the must-haves, including: amount of space needed, whether you need grounded or wheeled storage, and any other non-negotiable amenities. From there, you will probably need to search a variety of different sources and spend extra time browsing webpages and making calls to scout a location to fit your storage project.
This is a lot of work and depends on dated information from search engines and other online tools. Because of how difficult it can be to manage an online business presence for operations already stretched thin, many SecurSpace partners have used the partner listing portion of the platform as their primary online presence. The ability to list your yard for free essentially means our partners can share photos, features, and pricing just as they would on their own site, without the hassle of maintaining it. They can update location information and availability at any time, and payments and transactions all run through the site.
Long-term contracts and leases
Remember the days of CD music clubs like Columbia House? They promised us an opportunity to grow our music library for pennies on the dollar. It seemed too good to be true, and once you signed up tactics like negative option billing made it clear to us, and our parents, it was.
Traditional supply chain models are based on contracts and leases to legally obligate motor carriers and shippers to choose whether they are going to take the chance of being forced to pay for a set number of space and storage days in the container yard they don’t need. Of course, this is on top of the abundant number of surprise fees and taxes.
Other things to look for in the small print are mandatory termination notices, NNN terms requiring additional tax and utility payment for the property, and terms prohibiting space allocation adjustments or inability to adjust the number of booked or rented spaces.
Lack of pricing transparency
When shopping online for almost any product or service, we are used to being given all the information we need to be savvy consumers. On the other hand, the transportation industry is clear as mud when it comes to pricing transparency on almost every level, including for on-demand parking for trucks and equipment.
Whether the web of confusion is spun purposely to get a hand up in one-on-one negotiations, or their operation just doesn’t have the framework in place to list pricing accurately, there is almost no way to shop around for space by a traditional Google search.
This makes it difficult to ensure shipments arrive at their destination on time and under budget. SecurSpace’s marketplace is one of the few places you’ll find capacity and pricing information easily available. Otherwise, as mentioned earlier, your best bet for finding a fair price for long-term parking is going to be by doing some old-fashioned phone recon to get quotes from each business before making your final decision.
Preparation is the key
As you can see, finding secure space for long-term truck and container storage can be difficult, and sometimes, made even more complicated by half-truths and spotty online information.
Before you plan your next booking, take notes of the things to look out for and be ready to ask questions to make your reservation as smooth and uneventful as possible.
SecurSpace makes finding and booking space a seamless process via our online marketplace that connects our Partners who have space, to our Customers, who need it. Sign up as a customer or partner for free today or book a demo to get a guided tour of our platform.