I recently bought and moved to a smallish Sydney 'city unit'. It has 2 under-building, secure car park spaces on the title, but almost no storage, and one is not permitted to 'enclose' one or both of the spaces. I only need one of them for parking. My idea is to park (semi-permanently) something that has wheels, and so is a valid use of the parking space, to use pretty much exclusively for storage of stuff one might keep in a garage or storage space like tools, suitcases, seasonal clothes, files for record-keeping etc.
I could rent storage space nearby, but it's very expensive and less convenient.
The space has walls at the back and on one side. It measures 5.3 metres long by 2.3 wide and 2M. high though I don't want to fill it completely. I'm happy to spend say $3,000.
I am seeking ideas for the best solution.
I'm probably avoiding anything with an engine, as I can't think of a good reason to pay for (or let lapse) the high registration costs. I think it would be something I could tow in - even a registered, fully closed-in trailer (second-hand fine), but not such that one can see in.
Please give me any ideas, or solutions you have used, as I think it's a great way to solve this kind of problem.
How to Use an Empty Car Space as Storage
Comments
Rent the space out as parking then use said rent money to pay for storage.
Otherwise $3k should be enough for a small enclosed trailer second hand. Or buy a box trailer with a cage on top and go to Bunnings and retrofit some plywood walls so you can’t see in.
Horse float?
Probably taller than 2 metres.
Neigh. lol
10ft Shipping container. Oh, 2m roof height?
you'll probably find your strata will shit on you if you move in a container
a clapped out only Hiace or Mitsubishi Express or a box trailer? yah ok
Yeah, I don’t get that. Shipping container, no, busted arse old van, no problem. But then again, with limited storage, if they let in one container, they would have to let in all containers, and if that’s the case, it may as well be a storage area than a car park.
What about a cool room on a trailer?
Buy a beaten up only 1970s HiAce and park it there and store everything in there.
You could pick up an old Hiace delivery van with a dead engine and use plasti-dip to black out the windows from the inside. Drain the oils so it doesn't leak anywhere.
You would be better off with a registered vehicle such as a tradesman enclosed trailer, them you are legally entitled to keep it in a parking space, and you can move it or sell it easiy. Regio would not be much for a trailer either. Or a 1 ton long wheel base van, I used to have one and they fit a lot
Could you get away with some wheelie bins, (maybe even the large size ones. Fit some padlocks and chain to wall? Then they can be wheeled to and from your unit to access them.
Hay there,
(see Horse float comment). lolI found:
https://thestoragebox.com.au/
if that helps at all.These are a good idea, but as has been the case when I have lived in a strata run building, they are absolute nazis for the rules of 'nothing in the carpark except cars and bikes'. So he would probably want to check to make sure they are acceptable.
Read Marie Kondo's book on the Konmari method.
Probably just get broken into and ransacked.
Some really great ideas here! I'll chase them down. Thank you. The horse float idea would be very good, but I checked, and they're a bit too high to risk. I checked out 'storage box' but think the strata committee would drag its feet, or just say no. There are about 180 parking spots for the building, and no-one has any type of storage at all, except the 1-1.5 square metre cages. I don't think they can refuse a (prob. registered) box trailer or even a clapped out Hiace but I'll check that too, and whether rego for the Hiace is required. 2 axle enclosed trailer sounds great. I'm onto that!
I haven't read konmari, but took a look and think I've done much of it without the same degree of organisation. I've moved twice in the last 13 months, and am down to about half what I had when I got ready for the first then the second move. A lot of this is tax etc. records I have to keep. Ok, and nostalgic stuff.
Management wouldn't have any legal ability to enforce valid regos - they certainly could lookup the plates via the Service NSW app but there's many legitimate reason to have a vehicle that "is about to be registered, I assure you!" should they ever query it. Wouldn't be an enforceable clause even if present (or added) in any lease documents.
Trailer is an excellent option and likely more future-proof than a HiAce, although it may be better or worse for security depending on the design.
make a copy of those photos of the storage box and attach them to your application. State that they are acceptably being used in apartments
Trailer or caravan seems obvious.
In NSW a box trailer rego is pretty cheap. You could get a tandem (two axle) with an enclosed top. Won’t fill up the whole space though.