Part Storage! What do you do?

[Mains52]

Ok guys my current garage situation is a 20X24 with 8ft ceilings and all of your usual stuff in it bench, fridge, compressor, two dirt bikes ,welder and my 52 3600 project. Now I am pretty much out of space to really work due to my hood, motor on a stand, and transmission on a creeper floating around the floor. Is there anyone who has found a good way to store/hang a hood or fenders or any of that stuff? Hoping for some pictures. Thanks Dudes

[Mains52]

This was the only picture I have of the set up and that was last august I think. Before all of the clutter started.

[Softpatch]

build a rack a shelve if you will between those lights hang down from ceiling
and store them there Till needed

[1958Warrior]

Wherever they fit.....

Have you ever seen Sanford and son? Basically how my house looks, truck is under carport in driveway , single garage is full with welder, sandblaster, truck doors, washer/ dryer ,water heater, deer tripod, ladders, compressor , work bench motor, tranny , 4 tool boxes , drill press, hydr.press ,engine hoist ,I have a bench seat in my living room and yes it is functional , my spare bedroom has windshields, rims and tires, radiator, ac parts, patch panels, ect.....
Hood, fenders , are on the deck out back.they were outside on the truck for 58 years they are weatherproof.
Plus I have at least 2 dozen boxes of old and new parts trough out the house.

[idbeast]

Originally Posted by 1958Warrior

Wherever they fit.....

Have you ever seen Sanford and son? Basically how my house looks, truck is under carport in driveway , single garage is full with welder, sandblaster, truck doors, washer/ dryer ,water heater, deer tripod, ladders, compressor , work bench motor, tranny , 4 tool boxes , drill press, hydr.press ,engine hoist ,I have a bench seat in my living room and yes it is functional , my spare bedroom has windshields, rims and tires, radiator, ac parts, patch panels, ect.....
Hood, fenders , are on the deck out back.they were outside on the truck for 58 years they are weatherproof.
Plus I have at least 2 dozen boxes of old and new parts trough out the house.

ROFLMAO Same here, but my wife keeps pushing me to work on the truck so she can the formal dining room back!!!

[1958Warrior]

I got 2 more trucks parked in the back yard along with Camaro clips and rear ends,and my growing beer can collection(my 401k) just put up a 6 ft privacy fence ,had to....
Wife's gone long ago, I just have to try and please the nagging CODE inspector...

[abig84]

can you access the attic in that garage? plenty of room up there. mine is a bare bones 22x24, after buying the house i had to save a few weeks to get the garage built so i didnt even have electrical run out there for a few months, just used a large extension cord.

i have stuff in the rafters, shelves, under things, stuff behind the garage and most recently i have two 10x10 sheds and made one of those strictly for truck parts.i was able to make all the lawn stuff fit in one of them, just have to leave one of the older rider lawn mowers outside. re-assembly of the 51 is going to be fun as i dont know where the heck anything is anymore

[NorCalGal]

I was so glad when the daughter bought a house and moved out still the garage is stuffed with tools and parts. The hood bed parts running boards are stored on plywood that I've hung from the ceiling.

[joedoh]

I built an addition on my house a couple years ago, and the basement is always temp storage for whatever I have in the garage. just pulled my seats up the other day!

[MARTINSR]

I have a small metal shed in the back yard and then in the rafters in the garage. Of course, quite a bit sitting out behind the garage too. LOL


Brian

[OrrieG]

I designed my garage/shop with storage attic trusses designed for 250# per SF loading. I built a real stair for access and ran electrical plugs in case I decided to use it for an office or ??. Over flow goes into an old slide in camper the kids used for a play house. Small parts on shelves or tubs. Work bench is on casters so I can roll it out of the way.

[Mains52]

Wow thanks guys I'm still laughing about 1958Warriors reply haha. Those ceiling racks look like a good idea. I have a small one over my fridge for camping chairs and coolers and stuff so maybe I'll build some more for parts.

[MARTINSR]

Oh and by the way, another good thing to do is kick out all your wife's stuff. My garage has nothing in it that my wife would ever need to go in there for, she has probably been in the garage by herself literally three or four times over the 24 years we have lived here, no joking.

There is NOTHING in there she needs.

Now, the funny thing is I told someone this one day how there is NOTHING of my wife's in my garage....then it hit me..I have her wedding dress stored in the attic. LOL

But yeah, all mine baby, my man cave.

Brian

[mr48chev]

Last time I left my garage door open two from FEMA showed up clipboards in hand wanting to know about the storm damage. It's a total mess with a trail back to the tool box past more stuff than 1958Warrier has in his including a Marquette Scope, english wheel, welder torch band saw, Tool box, work bench, motorized bicycle and too many other things.
I also have three sheds plus an equipment shed that had the roof cave in last winter and has to be torn down. That is where my new 28X30 shop is supposed to go in the next few months.
I'd really like to buy a 20 ft shipping container to store some things in more securely, wife thinks we need three of them , one for her, one for our daughter and one for me.

[joedoh]

dont store stuff in shipping containers, unless you put in some method of reliable ventilation. they are crazy with concentrating condensation.

[mr48chev]

Never heard of that. a lot of places around here use shipping containers for outside storage without issues. It may be that we have rather low humidity here in central/Eastern Washington though.

A search shows that it is an issue in high humidity areas. Simple venting can prevent it though.

I was looking more at something that could readily be picked up and moved rather than building a new storage shed that can't be moved if I need to move. The shop I have planned is going to be very inexpensive and basic. Primarily a bigger and done right shed to replace the one that fell down with a front and a barn door on it. Built one payday at a time and pay as I go.

[joedoh]

its not just high humidity areas, it can depend on the night low temp vs the day high temp. if you get morning dew on your grass, you will have water in your container. in high humidity areas its even worse, in the summer air tight containers sometimes show up soaking wet.

venting helps. I have seen people add vent caps coupled with eve or floor intakes. some newer containers are vented but most that go on ships are not.

I also dont have an HOA where I live but the city has a rule against shipping containers for storage, against boxcars too! That honey hole I found recently, he has a boxcar from the 30s and I would LOVE to have it in my yard.

[abig84]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

I designed my garage/shop with storage attic trusses designed for 250# per SF loading. I built a real stair for access and ran electrical plugs in case I decided to use it for an office or ??. Over flow goes into an old slide in camper the kids used for a play house. Small parts on shelves or tubs. Work bench is on casters so I can roll it out of the way.

yeah, loooking back i should have done something like this. friend of mine bought a house with a 4 car garage that basically has equal room upstairs. naturally im jealous especially since he doesnt really use his garage for anything

[1project2many]

I bought a place with 5 acres and a 25X50 barn. The barn was filled before the house. Then the projects grew into the yard. I'm down to paths in the barn. But the amount of time I have available is not increasing. This can't continue...

I built shelves in the barn that worked well. I built them high enough to place storage totes on. I also have totes stacked with heavier parts. It's humid here but I haven't had too much trouble with condensation in the totes. I put all my totes upstairs in the barn and it seems to work well. Our house is on slab so no basement. I have hopes of building an addition with a basement room but who knows.

When I was building my truck, long before I owned a home, I rented a storage unit for the spare parts. It wasn't that much money and being able to keep the work area clutter free was very helpful.

[e015475]

A couple of suggestions.

While I was in the parts accumulation phase of my truck project I screwed 2x4 cleats to the walls of my shop and garage to hang doors and fender and even the hood. What I couldn't hang on cleats on the wall I screwed hooks into the rafters and hung parts using wire from coat hangers. Anything to get my floors space back

A second suggestion is to rent a storage locker for few months. I paid about 80 dollars a month for a 10x10 space near where I worked. I'd stop there about once a week to pick up parts or drop off parts I wasn't going to be working on again for a little while. This can spin out of control pretty quick if your projects go in fits and starts. You can rack up a pretty good bill. My daughter put a bunch of stuff in it when she moved and I had a hell of a time getting her out.

Another suggestion is to buy some metal shelving racks. I found some on Craigslist pretty cheap. I bought a dozen or so plastic tubs with lids that racked nicely on the shelves.

Finally, you need to fight the hoarder instinct and ebay or Craigslist the parts you probably won't use. I've had to replace a few things I've sold, but in general it seems to work out by selling stuff off every six months or so.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by e015475

A couple of suggestions.

While I was in the parts accumulation phase of my truck project I screwed 2x4 cleats to the walls of my shop and garage to hang doors and fender and even the hood. What I couldn't hang on cleats on the wall I screwed hooks into the rafters and hung parts using wire from coat hangers. Anything to get my floors space back

A second suggestion is to rent a storage locker for few months. I paid about 80 dollars a month for a 10x10 space near where I worked. I'd stop there about once a week to pick up parts or drop off parts I wasn't going to be working on again for a little while. This can spin out of control pretty quick if your projects go in fits and starts. You can rack up a pretty good bill. My daughter put a bunch of stuff in it when she moved and I had a hell of a time getting her out.

Another suggestion is to buy some metal shelving racks. I found some on Craigslist pretty cheap. I bought a dozen or so plastic tubs with lids that racked nicely on the shelves.

Finally, you need to fight the hoarder instinct and ebay or Craigslist the parts you probably won't use. I've had to replace a few things I've sold, but in general it seems to work out by selling stuff off every six months or so.

Now there is a bunch of actually useful advice, good stuff.

Brian

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by abig84

yeah, loooking back i should have done something like this. friend of mine bought a house with a 4 car garage that basically has equal room upstairs. naturally im jealous especially since he doesnt really use his garage for anything

Upfront cost for an attic truss is not much more than a regular truss, mostly the deeper bottom chord. I also beefed up some of the bottom chords to support a chain hoist. Stair eats up a little space, but I use the area under for wood storage for woodworking projects. Only thing I did not do that I regret is plumbing for a sink and toilet. It was right next to the sewer line but I had a time constraint and supply water would have been a big expense, about 40' run thru lots of ancient tree roots.

[bowt1ed]

A common issue for many of us. With the truck (rolling frame/cab), my wife's car, my Harley, fridge, work bench, tool cabinet, compressor, 2 bikes, generator, and assorted other crap in a mere 2-car garage, it takes me 30 minutes to move everything out so I can roll my truck out to work on it - well worth the time spent, considering the alternative. But thank God for the patience of my dear wife - I have all my primed fenders, hood, etc., as well as new parts stored inside in the guest bedroom. I think it just shows our passion for these great trucks!

Cheers, Jim

[gigamanx]

I have no good advice because my garage looks worse. I am constantly cursing at things I'm kicking on the floor or stepping on to get to whatever project is done next. I've taken to picking off small projects and "resetting" my garage each time. Right now the largest annoyances are sheet metal and larger tools like the welder, chop saw, and my miter saw. I store them all in the basement and just bring them up when its time to use them. As for sheet metal, I built myself just a small overhang in the backyard and put the metal on 2x4's. So far, its given me enough room to have the engine, cab, and trans off while I was fabbing the frame. Not a lot of room, but enough.

oh, I also throw away things as soon as I know I don't need them. Trash can really clutter things up quick!

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by bowt1ed

A common issue for many of us. With the truck (rolling frame/cab), my wife's car, my Harley, fridge, work bench, tool cabinet, compressor, 2 bikes, generator, and assorted other crap in a mere 2-car garage, it takes me 30 minutes to move everything out so I can roll my truck out to work on it - well worth the time spent, considering the alternative. But thank God for the patience of my dear wife - I have all my primed fenders, hood, etc., as well as new parts stored inside in the guest bedroom. I think it just shows our passion for these great trucks!

Cheers, Jim

My wife and I made a deal that I get her side of the garage in the summer but have to be cleared out by the first freeze of winter