Where to park a 45 foot bus?

July 19, 2007 7:47 AM

Where can we park a 45 foot tour bus in the city of Chicago?

Our band just got a 45 foot Eagle tour bus (it's actually on its way up from Nashville as I type) and we are looking for long term parking/storage solutions. We have two temporary spots per a rental agreement but we're looking for something more secure. Are there companies that specialize in this type of thing? Anyone personally know of someone in the Chicago area with secure space? Thanks!

posted by KevinSkomsvold to grab bag (5 comments total)

There are Public Storage places around. We kept a travel trailer in one of those. Also, check RV storage places, or call RV dealers and ask for storage options. There seem to be a shitload of those in the far northwestern burbs, where I am.

I suppose you could also find someone via Craigslist or similar with a lot of land.
posted by desjardins at 8:23 AM on July 19, 2007

Do you have a show in Chicago? Most times the venues will take care of bus parking, especially if you include it in the rider. If you do have a show, and the venue doesn't know you have a 45-foot bus, please let them know. This was always a real pain-in-the-ass when a band would show up in a gigantic bus and we hadn't yet secured a spot for them. (The venue I booked at was in a downtown location with limited parking, so we had to block part of the street for busses, which required approval from the city.)
posted by c:\awesome at 8:23 AM on July 19, 2007

Thanks Desjardins! What dollar range are we looking at based on your experience?

C:\awesome: We would not use the bus for any local venues (what a pain that'd be!) but it is in our rider for tours.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:57 AM on July 19, 2007

For a parking stall: It was $1 for the first month, ~$19 /month thereafter. This was in Milwaukee, though, so apply Chicagoland inflation.

BE SURE to pay your bill on time, because they will auction your stuff if you're more than X months behind (I think it's 3). Someone in Milwaukee using the same lot we used had their things sold because they'd moved and forgot to give their forwarding address, thus they'd missed the payment notices.
posted by desjardins at 10:58 AM on July 19, 2007

$1 for a month?
posted by edgeways at 2:25 PM on July 19, 2007