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Old 07-31-2018, 12:10 AM   #1
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How to store a bus close to Chicago

Haven't purchased anything yet but looking to get all my ducks in a row before I get to that point. I currently live in Chicago, like the actual city and not a suburb. I know for a fact that I am not going to be bringing a full sized school bus anywhere close to the city because that just sounds like a world of hurt. I was wondering if anyone knew of anything, or had some recommendations, in regards to finding and securing a place to store and work on the bus within like an hour / hour and a half drive from the north side of Chicago (think Wrigley). I think it'd be nice to have a power hookup, but I imagine I'd probably just have to get a generator and work with that. As long as I can work with making a little bit of noise and not having to pay a terrible amount, I'd be happy!



Thanks for any suggestions / input anyone might have.

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Old 07-31-2018, 08:22 AM   #2
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We found a place in Lynwood (yeah, we'd never heard of Lynwood either) that the guy lets us work on our bus. No electric, so we use our generator. In driving around the area, there are LOTS of RV/boat storage yards that are on people's property instead of being like a SuperMegaStorageMart kinda place. We paid for a full year up front (I think it came to like $40/mo) and as long as we're not doing outside work (painting, etc.) it's fine with the owner. The key is, obviously, being respectful and mindful that it's someone else's property. It's within and hour of you. Also, take a drive up toward the IL/WI border area if you prefer going north.
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Old 07-31-2018, 10:27 AM   #3
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We found a place in Lynwood (yeah, we'd never heard of Lynwood either) that the guy lets us work on our bus. No electric, so we use our generator. In driving around the area, there are LOTS of RV/boat storage yards that are on people's property instead of being like a SuperMegaStorageMart kinda place. We paid for a full year up front (I think it came to like $40/mo) and as long as we're not doing outside work (painting, etc.) it's fine with the owner. The key is, obviously, being respectful and mindful that it's someone else's property. It's within and hour of you. Also, take a drive up toward the IL/WI border area if you prefer going north.

Interesting, good to know! How did you end up finding this guy? Just driving around and knock on his front door? Craigslist post? I'd probably want to drive north since I'm not awfully far from Skokie/Evanston, less I have to take I-90/94 through the city the better.
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Old 07-31-2018, 06:11 PM   #4
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Yeah, we found him on a Craigslist ad. Look for RV storage or Boat storage. I've also seen a lot of places, just while driving around, that had RV/Boat Storage signs tacked to their fence. Seems to be in rural-ish areas where people can use a few extra bucks to help pay their property taxes.
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Old 07-31-2018, 09:40 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Drew Bru View Post
Yeah, we found him on a Craigslist ad. Look for RV storage or Boat storage. I've also seen a lot of places, just while driving around, that had RV/Boat Storage signs tacked to their fence. Seems to be in rural-ish areas where people can use a few extra bucks to help pay their property taxes.

Fantastic! Thanks for the advice. Just off of a quick search I found a few places near-ish in Streamwood and Elgin, which would probably be more ideal since those are closer to friends that are *hopefully* willing to help out.
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Old 04-27-2022, 10:33 AM   #6
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Storage near Chicago

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Fantastic! Thanks for the advice. Just off of a quick search I found a few places near-ish in Streamwood and Elgin, which would probably be more ideal since those are closer to friends that are *hopefully* willing to help out.
I'm just starting my search. Did you end up finding a place

Thanks

Mark
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Old 04-27-2022, 10:43 AM   #7
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I'm just starting my search. Did you end up finding a place

Thanks

Mark

I ended up using 901MLK storage in North Chicago. The owner, George, was really helpful and a good guy to work with, cannot recommend him enough. It was the best price and distance balance for me. I was there for about 2.5 years until I moved away from Chicago.
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Old 04-27-2022, 02:19 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by chiggins View Post
I ended up using 901MLK storage in North Chicago. The owner, George, was really helpful and a good guy to work with, cannot recommend him enough. It was the best price and distance balance for me. I was there for about 2.5 years until I moved away from Chicago.
Thanks a lot!
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