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| Blue's Views |
Once Blue was legal (registered and insured) I needed to find a place to park him. My Americorps term at the wildlife refuge was over and I could no longer park Blue there. The tiny apartment I was crashing in did not have space to accommodate a 28ft bus, so I was on a mission to find a place that could. Many of the larger stores in and around Boise do not allow long-term/overnight parking in their lots, so I was directing my search towards a private lot or storage unit with RV/boat parking. I initially did a search online for storage facilities near Boise and called a few to check on availability and price for what I needed. Most were full/had no spaces available, or were charging upwards of $100/month and would not allow me to work on the bus while it was parked on site. I assumed that I may end up having to move the bus any time I was going to work on it, but not while paying so much for a parking spot. A bit discouraged, I decided to shift the focus of my search to private land owners and responded to a few postings on craigslist to see if I could get a better deal.
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| Blue Made A Friend! |
Much to my surprise, the private land owners I spoke to had set an even higher price point- most trying to charge a base fee and then incremental increases based on how many times I intended to visit the bus each week- it was ridiculous. One such individual told me that for what I was hoping to get out of the deal, he would expect me to pay almost $300/month!! That was an insane price to pay just for a patch of dirt to park my bus in- no electricity, no fence, no security- just the bare bones.
With such a shocking twist, I figured my best bet would be to revisit the storage unit idea and hope to work out a sweeter deal for me and Big Blue. Luckily, after dozens of disappointing phone calls, I came across a small local storage facility (
Lock Away Storage) in Boise, Idaho- just about 20 minutes from the place I was staying at the time. A very friendly gentleman named Bruce Williams (the facility manager) answered the phone and informed me that he had ONE space left for vehicle storage. He asked a bunch of questions about the bus, mostly making sure that it was registered and would actually fit in the parking space. Thankfully, the spaces were 30' long and Blue is 28' long, so it was a snug but perfect fit! My designated spot was ideal as I had the wall of a storage building to the right and a small Dutch Bros Trailer to the left that was hardly ever actually parked there- I didn't have to worry about the bus getting in anyone's way or my work disturbing anyone else!
Full disclosure, I contacted the storage unit BEFORE I had actually finalized the bus registration, but after talking with Bruce, he was kind enough to hold the spot for me while I took care of everything else, When all my ducks were in a row, I stopped by the facility to meet Bruce and lock in Blue's new parking spot. For a mere $50 /month I was able to park Blue in a secure local facility where I could come and go as I pleased to work on Blue- it was the perfect set-up (aside from having Blue parked where I was staying of course). If you are ever looking for a place to park/store your skoolie/RV/trailer, etc. I highly recommend giving Bruce a call! And if you are elsewhere and experiencing the same struggle I did in trying to find somewhere to park while you are building, DO NOT GIVE UP! It may get super discouraging at times, but make that millionth phone call, and send that additional email- eventually you will strike gold and find the perfect spot for you and your bus, just like I found for Blue! Best of luck in your search, and thank's for reading!
****If you check out the storage facility website (
Lock Away Storage), you'll see Blue in the background of the photo on the home page!****
