7-13-2018 Update -
I am resurrecting this old thread to update everyone on the impact of the closure of El Toro RV Storage has had on the industry.
While it took quite a bit longer for the actual closure of El Toro to happen, it did in fact close in 2015 Article in OC Register
What was surprising, was the impact initially was virtually nil. Very few people panicked, and most of the 2200 RV's did find a home, even if only temporary.
It wasn't until the summer of 2016 when the RV Storage problem hit the fan. Myself and other fellow RV storage operators were overwhelmed with calls from frustrated people seeking storage for their RV. We were sold out, and most all other storage facilities had no vacancy. We stopped putting people on the waiting list as we simply were not experiencing any vacancies at all, and none were expected. Resale prices on the storage condos doubled in value.
The partial solution found by some were private parties advertising RV storage on vacant lots, the side of their house, and other solutions. However, California being California, the various cities soon put a stop to that via code enforcement.
Fast forward a few years to today, with the surge in RV sales, and the overall recovery of the economy, the calls I am getting from some people are not frustrated, but now they are angry, bordering on scared. Some just bought a new RV, and cannot find storage. They cannot park it on the street or at their house (in some cases).
Granted, this is probably a Southern California anomaly, compounded by the lack of storage facilities, and the rapid growth of the RV industry, coupled with the El Toro closure. It is a recipe for extreme frustration for many.
As a developer of RV storage condominiums, we do have the solution, but it takes 3 years, from lot purchase to construction completion. In California, some areas can take over 4 years. Further, land values in Orange County are near 4 million an acre. Way too expensive to even consider building in Orange County. The solution? It is looking like RV storage may be limited to areas outside of Orange County, such as Riverside and other more inland areas. Even those areas are getting prohibitively expensive, never mind the red tape the cities require for building and the time required for entitlement.
It is a true problem, that may only be solved by the next recession or $6 per gallon gas.
-End Update
BackgroundUpon the closure of the El Toro Maine Base in Orange County in 1999, the existing landing strips were turned into the nations largest RV storage lot, with 2500 RV’s parked on the runways. A sorely needed commodity in the Orange County area, since the high cost of land made it unfeasible to allocate 2 million dollar an acre land for the storage of RV’s
Recent DevelopmentsEarly in November, 2013 All Star Services the operator of leased land held by the City of Irvine and Lennar Corp / Five Point Communities, gave their 30 day notice that they would no longer manage the 2500 space RV storage lot located on the old abandoned El Toro Air Field . The monthly lease amount paid by All Star Services was $147,000 per month. This covered about 60+ acres, mostly on the old airport runways. The 30 day notice takes effect December 1st, 2013
On November 27th, 2013, the City of Irvine gave Lennar Corp and Five Point Communities approval to build an additional 4600 homes in exchange for Lennar to complete the Great Park project also located on the runways.
This means the RV's stored there will have to be moved in very short order. This will cause a significant problem for Orange County California RV owners.
Solution?The only solution is to build more storage, however, in Orange County, to find raw land costs at least 1.5 million an acre and up depending on the location. No matter how you try to pencil it out, it does not work financially, unless you are willing to charge $600 per month to park an RV on a dirt lot.
The FutureAs it looks right now, existing RV storage costs will certainly rise. How much is anybodies guess, but needles to say, higher costs are pretty much a certainty.
As present, I have spoken to a few RV owners, and they are planing to store their RV's inland, such as Riverside and LA County, where land prices are are reasonable. That seems to be the only solution at the moment. Not very convenient, but any port in a storm I guess.
The RV storage operators in the inland areas of Southern California are seeing this as a bonanza. They now have a captive market, with higher profits soon to be realized.
DisclosureI also built an RV storage facility in Beaumont. We are just about full. This will not benefit me much since we do not offer rentals, our facility only sells RV storage.
I hope all the RV'ers take this to heart and make plans soon to move elsewhere before the "RV-Maggedon" hits all of us.
Video of the November 26th City Council Meeting on the RV Storage issue. Ted Deits
My advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
