RC Storage Solutions (workshop storage)

[Mad Ax 8331]

I know this topic comes up a fair bit, and I've even dropped my solution in when it's been asked before, but I have a feeling I've outgrown my solution now and need to find a better way.  Or, perhaps, sell some cars!

So - really, this is for those of you who have big collections and store them in a workshop type environment, instead of in a display room, or anyone else who has ideas on how this kind of storage could work.

Currently, my storage solution involves underbed storage boxes / really useful boxes.  Every car has its own box, the manual and spares for that car go in the box.  That way, when I go out, I just have to grab the box.  The cars are all safe in their boxes during transit and I never forget any parts.  Well, apart from interchangeable parts like race tyres or spare sprues for TL-01s which belong to multiple different models in my fleet.  Another major benefit is that the boxes keep dust and spiders out of the cars - my workshop has a very high population of 8-legged friends, and they literally get everywhere, also my wife does a lot of woodwork so it gets seriously dusty (several mm thick after a good sanding session).

This solution does have all those benefits, but also some drawbacks:

• Wasted space.  A touring cars uses around 66% of an underbed storage box.  I don't fill the remaining 34% with parts, so there's a lot of dead space in my storage area.  Same with mid-size buggy/truck boxes (hard to find ones that fit will) and MT boxes
• Mismatched boxes.  Every time I go out to buy more boxes, the supplier has changed and the boxes don't stack properly with each other
• Broken boxes.  They're not as tough as they look, and lots of mine are broken and need replacing
• Accessibility.  It's hard to get to the ones on the bottom without pulling all the ones off the top (and finding the bottom box has bowed and the car is half-crushed)

The plan, when I built my storage area, was to have alleys between the boxes so I can always see where everything is.  Unfortunately the alleys have been filled with more boxes.  There's 3-4 rows of boxes leading all the way to the back wall, to so get to stuff at the back means pulling literally everything out from the front - 2-3 rows worth.  This means there are parts of my collection that I haven't properly seen for a couple of years now.

I've seen on Youtube that a lot of collectors just have generic shelves - from cheap wooden stuff all the way to expensive steel racking.  Seems great because loads of cars can be stacked side-by-side with minimal lots space, spares can go into ice cream tubs or takeaway tubs that double-up as tyre saver stands.  Shelf height can be adjusted for most efficient storage.

The only significant drawback seems to be dust and spiders, so I was thinking about putting every car in its own clear bag.  I've found cheap clear refuse sacks online, they should be perfect, but I think a lot of these are bio-degradable - I don't want my bags turning to dust after a year or so.  I remember putting some things in a supermarket carrier many years ago, and when I came to get it back a while later (not sure how long, 2-3 years maybe) the bag had disintegrated and all my stuff was covered in both regular dust and the remains of the carrier bag - in other words, worse than it would have been if I'd stored it unbagged.

Doing this, I could build in some permanent shelves and set the height perfectly for all my different types of vehicle, to minimise wasted space, everything easily get-attable, easy to identify, and protected from dust.

• Has anyone done this?
• Has anyone got any "seriously, don't do this!" type advice?
• Anyone got any other ideas I haven't thought of?

[Willy iine 17802]

If really want to save space and won't be driving the cars for some time, I would remove the tires and stack the chassis on top of each other inside clear bins, mark them by category, and place tires in bags, label them, and place in another bin. This will save A LOT of space.

GL with whatever you decide.  

Actually this is similar to how I will be moving all my cars to Japan in the future.  All cars will have tires removed, zip-tied to card board by the axles (or lower arms), stacked /secured inside carton boxes separated by 4 vertical legs I will just cut and tape in the 4 corners of the boxes to isolate them, and tires packed in a separate box.

[Tamiyabigstuff 802]

Take a look at the IKEA IVAR shelving - not too expensive, very adjustable and a choice of shelf depths & widths.

Or custom make something yourself - I find the CLS timber from Wickes or other DIY outlet is cheap and easy to work with and ideal for DIY shelving.

[Mad Ax 8331]

@Willy iine that's a good idea, thanks.  I sort of do something like that already - my Top Force Evo and Manta Ray are both stored in the same box, with the wheels removed so stacking is easier.  Since they're both race cars, the wheels normally go into the generic "buggy race wheels" box anyway so I know where they are next time I go racing.  Hotshot and Supershot also both stored exactly the same way.

I may take this method for storing similar chassis in the "projects" pile - it's pretty bad that I can't really remember exactly what I've got, so it needs to be sorted and documented, and stored where it's accessible.

I'll probably photograph the entire sorting and reorganising process, for those who are interested

[taffer 939]

Because of moisture as well as bag deterioration, what about vacuum bagging cars? You could use bulldog clips to hang them up etc as well?

They come in lots of sizes

[BuggyDad 2992]

For me the key to boxes is to always always get the same ones. I know it's a brand you mentioned but my "Really Useful Boxes" do all stack and the 48L ones I've been buying for years. Can break but I find them more robust than other plastic boxes. Lower but otherwise same dims also available (so can go in the same stack). Same applies to food storage - all those slightly different tupperware lids drive me nuts. I'm temped to dispose of all but Ikea glass ones, simply because they don't look similar to any others so would avoid the muddle! But I digress. I haven't got that many RC cars but we do have a lot of crap and combining the RUBs with suitable shelves (so you don't get a stack 5 high) is a decent option for RC cars, camping kit, ski kit, bike kit, bedding, her 100 never worn coats blah blah.

For shelves, my favourite if you have space is second hand industrial racking. Could go two boxes deep at the back of a garage but still accessable because boxes not stacked, and take some really heavy stuff too. Not cheap but not crazy money either if you're already down for a spend. 

I agree the 48l RUB will waste a bit of space with a car in each but it's going to be hard to combine solid protection, easy access and really complete use of space. 

[Mad Ax 8331]

Just now, Tamiyabigstuff said:

Take a look at the IKEA IVAR shelving - not too expensive, very adjustable and a choice of shelf depths & widths.

Or custom make something yourself - I find the CLS timber from Wickes or other DIY outlet is cheap and easy to work with and ideal for DIY shelving.

Yes - IVAR is exactly what I was going to use, although I didn't know the name!  My wife had this in her room for bookshelves, but recently she decided she wanted cupboards instead, so she chopped up the IVAR stuff and turned it into shoe storage.  I literally just went up to ask her where she got the shelves.  I love how modular the design is, with so many options for shelf height, would be very easy to set shelves for touring / buggies, truggies, and monster trucks.

OTOH it's not quite as cheap as I thought it was, and it's coming up with "last chance to buy" on the Ikea website, so possibly the range will be pulled soon.

But you are right - making my own shelves from timer isn't beyond me, and should be way cheaper, and I can make it exactly how I want it.

Thanks  

[Mad Ax 8331]

3 minutes ago, taffer said:

what about vacuum bagging cars?

That's a neat idea, I'll have a look at vacuum bag sizes and cost.  The bags themselves should be much tougher and longer-lasting than refuse sacks, so even if I don't fully vacuum them (I can see that causing problems on shock towers etc) they should hold up a lot better than a generic placky bag.

[bRIBEGuy 2513]

53 minutes ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

Take a look at the IKEA IVAR shelving - not too expensive, very adjustable and a choice of shelf depths & widths.

Or custom make something yourself - I find the CLS timber from Wickes or other DIY outlet is cheap and easy to work with and ideal for DIY shelving.

I've used the IVAR setup for MANY years, and would also second this as a very good (but not perfect...) option.  I keep looking to do a DIY setup, but with wood as expensive as it is these days, the IVAR stuff seems more and more justifiable when you factor in time and effort.
 

47 minutes ago, Mad Ax said:

Yes - IVAR is exactly what I was going to use, although I didn't know the name!  My wife had this in her room for bookshelves, but recently she decided she wanted cupboards instead, so she chopped up the IVAR stuff and turned it into shoe storage.  I literally just went up to ask her where she got the shelves.  I love how modular the design is, with so many options for shelf height, would be very easy to set shelves for touring / buggies, truggies, and monster trucks.

OTOH it's not quite as cheap as I thought it was, and it's coming up with "last chance to buy" on the Ikea website, so possibly the range will be pulled soon.

But you are right - making my own shelves from timer isn't beyond me, and should be way cheaper, and I can make it exactly how I want it.

Thanks  

I've used the Ivar stuff for RC & general storage for 20+ years now, in 3 homes, and many configurations.  For RC stuff, the 50cm deep shelves are WAY BETTER than the 30cm shelves.  You can easily fit 3 buggy's side by side, or 2 side by side with a nice "display" angle. Touring/Rally cars will fit 3 wide with a nice display angle:


The "square" shelves fit one car very nice for "display":

 

Now I won't lie, part of the reason I stick with this "system" is that I bought into a long time ago when it was CHEAP.  Shelves used to be $5 and were solid wood, now they are $16 and are made from laminated strips of wood.  It's still very good... just not as good (or cost effective) as it was.  But it is versatile.

My current setup has NIB kits on a bottom shelf, followed by a shelf of double stacked bins of parts.  Then three shelves for cars.  The top is a "display" area of sorts...

One thing to be mindful of with the IVAR stuff is that the wood is untreated.  So if you are putting runners/dirty cars on it, the dirt WILL get into the wood.  Not a big deal if you are mindful of it, but something worth noting as I did miss it when I first bought the shelved and ended up with a few that are pretty stained.

If there is one thing I have learned from the IVAR setup that would transfer to DIY shelving option, it would be this: DO NOT SET PERMANENT SHELF HEIGHTS!!!

Now, did that really need to be in all CAPS?  For you.... maybe yes, maybe no.  For me?  Absolutely.  As my "collection" has changed over the years (both in quantity and models), the shelves have been adjusted and changed MANY times.  If I went the DIY route, I would 100% want some level of adjustability built in.

[taffer 939]

1 hour ago, Mad Ax said:

That's a neat idea, I'll have a look at vacuum bag sizes and cost.  The bags themselves should be much tougher and longer-lasting than refuse sacks, so even if I don't fully vacuum them (I can see that causing problems on shock towers etc) they should hold up a lot better than a generic placky bag.

Yes maybe one piece of bubble wrap around a car first, depending on shape....

[Mad Ax 8331]

17 hours ago, bRIBEGuy said:

If there is one thing I have learned from the IVAR setup that would transfer to DIY shelving option, it would be this: DO NOT SET PERMANENT SHELF HEIGHTS!!!

Hmm...  I may consider your advice very carefully on this...  I had been thinking the DIY route - IVAR looks perfect, but a single full-height unit is £75 now, I'd need multiple units and I'd have to cut them in half as my storage area is only a few feet high.  I think we've got one or two IVAR uprights left over from my wife's build, which would be good to repurpose for my setup, but realistically I think I'll have to just use regular timber for the bulk of it.

I was thinking about awkward things like the big rigs - they're going to stay in their Christmas tree boxes for protection and ease, so I was thinking I'd build in a space specifically for them.  But DIY-ing in some shelves with adjustable height...  hmm, it's going to add a lot to the build time, but I can definitely see your point...

This is in a workshop area - basically just somewhere to store my finished cars and projects when they're not being driven or displayed in the house - so untreated / unplaned wood isn't a problem for me (as long as I take the splinters off), but the advice for anyone looking to put these in a display area is top notch  

[ChrisRx718 4139]

I have never had a proper storage solution; a mixture of shelves here and there (wherever I can get away with, usually that means out of sight!)

The problem is the cars get dusty and often end up getting 'stacked' one on top of the other. This is bad, because it usually leads to stuff toppling over.

This is "my" shed (as opposed to my wife's!) 

Like @Mad Ax I also have an array of plastic boxes and lids, all of slightly different shapes and sizes, so these create a precarious leaning tower in the corner of my shed. My IKEA Kuggis boxes are so presentable that these are even allowed to occupy the top of the wardrobe indoors. Amazing. But these boxes have since turned into £25-each investments, which is steeeeeep. 

So I needed a solution for all of these loose cars, not to display them, but to simply rack them. I had seen solutions using "Twin Slot" shelving and brackets which is a neat idea, but my clumsy self would invariably knock these off and they're hardly protected from dust. 

I happened upon modular shoe storage. For women who have a shoe fetish. I looked at the dimensions and realised this could very well work for a bloke with a toy car fetish, too.

Here are two of the twelve units assembled together, proudly presented on top of my cooker. 

They have narrow gaps at panel joints, but this will still prevent an awful lot of dust build-up from entering. I might even apply some transparent tape around the edges once it's fully-assembled. I have 12 units like this (but 49 cars... oh dear).

Touring Cars fit also:

It's a tight squeeze, but there's enough clearance (they're not pressing on the sidewalls), even that ridiculous Porsche wing fits. 

I think my LeMans 787b will struggle to fit at all. 

There's probably enough room for two mini's side-by-side, too:

I'll update when I've built all the units and suitably tied them to a wall for stability. 

£66 delivered, so £5.50 per car for storage. That's not bad when you'd pay more for a handy plastic box with lid. 

Allegedly each shelf can support 'up to' 10kg. I'm not sure I'd feel safe with that much weight on every shelf, but most cars weigh between 1 and 1.5kg, so well below the rated limit.

Shame they don't make a completely clear-fronted version so you could see in better.

[Mad Ax 8331]

Wow, that's a nice modular solution!  I hadn't seen those before but looks like it'll make for some neat compact storage.  Looking at the price, could have been way cheaper for me to make space for some of those in my workshop shelves instead of doing the whole lot out of timber.

[Twinfan 756]

Thanks to the IKEA IVAR suggestion in this thread I've finally got round to tidying up the cars in my office.  I had limited space so went with the smallest option and as you can below I think it works great.  (Sorry about the wonky picture, I took it quickly and it's terrible!  )