They started their van rental service with little more than a passion for the outdoors—and a small garage space. But it wasn’t long before the founders of Simple Camper turned to business storage at Public Storage to support their dreams.

“We don’t have a physical location which is why we needed a storage unit to house all our company equipment. We use it as a turnover hub,”; said company co-founder Jason Sibley-Liddle.

He launched Simple Camper in the middle of 2020 after becoming unemployed because of the pandemic. Instead of jumping back into the tech industry, he and friend Dan Osterman pursued their dream of running a van rental company, and today they help others enjoy the open road.

“If want you to go a trip, and it’s your first time. We’re going to make this simple so you can focus on your adventure,”; he said.

What started with just one van has since grown to small fleet 15 and counting, prompting an upgrade to a larger unit, a 5×10 unit to hold their quickly growing inventory. Public Storage is home to their bedding, utensils and coolers that are replaced with each rental.

For a small business, renting a storage unit is great solution for storing inventory or supplies if they don’t have a storefront location, said District Manager Heather Miyamoto, who oversees the area in Northern California where the Simple Camper owners have their unit.

“From an affordability standpoint, a storage unit is great for housing supplies and inventory for quick and easy access,”; she said.

Another benefit is the ability to easily and quickly transfer to a larger unit or add another unit to meet warehouse needs, Miyamoto said. Like with consumers, our storage units are month-to-month, making them a flexible option for growing small businesses.

With thousands of locations nationwide, Sibley-Liddle was able to rent a storage unit close to his home where he could have easy access to inventory.

The close proximity is key because there may be as little as 12 hours to 48 hours between rentals to clean out a van and replace items.

“You take ownership of your unit,”; he said. “The way I stack all the sheets and dishware, it actually motivated me to be more organized.”;

It also saves he and his wife the headache of finding space in their garage. And now that he’s hired employees, it also makes it easier to have his staff go to the units to retrieve items.

“You have this sense that this is officially my business space,”; Sibley-Liddle shared.