It was about six months from groundbreaking to the opening of a new large-vehicle storage facility known as CP Rentals in Abilene, Texas. Owner Bill Guilliam said there are several features of CP Rentals that sets it apart from similar facilities.
“What mine has that others do not have is a sanitary RV dump (and) air on site for low tires,” he said. “If somebody goes and plays, comes back and brings their unit they don’t have to go off site to a place to empty their black and gray water tanks. We have the facility right here for them.”
At 17-feet wide the units are larger than most, which he said are generally 13 to 14-foot wide. His units also have 14-foot-wide doors, whereas 12-foot is more common.
For security, Guilliam has installed 21 cameras on site.
“We’re gated in and out … so people don’t have to get out of their cars and/or their motorhomes to key pad in and key pad out. They have to key in and key out so that I can get a visual of who’s coming and who’s going and what they’re taking with them.”
The facility has 43 storage sites including eight that are 17-by-40 foot enclosed, 12 are 13-by-40 open front on gravel, and four are 17-by-50 foot enclosed on slab.
Although it has dipped this year, the recreational vehicle industry saw an unprecedented number of sales during the COVID-19 pandemic years. That coupled with the development of a new housing subdivision in Abilene, which will have rules against parking large vehicles, is what Guilliam said prompted him to build the storage units.
“The (current renters) say it’s a top-notch facility,” he said. “It’s clean, it’s organized, easy to get into. All the doors on the enclosed units are electric. They got optional remotes, if somebody wants a remote — not even get out of their car when they pull up, just hit the button, the door opens and they can do whatever they do. Fuel is right across the street — they got fuel, they got the sewer dump, they got water on my site, air on my site, it’s a full-service facility.
