A Message from the Owner
A message from the owner of Oasis Super Storage,
Brett Meckes.
Boating has been an important part of my life since age 10. Before visiting the Colorado River, my major boating experiences in Southern California consisted mostly of saltwater ventures, such as Mission Bay in San Diego and Coastal Orange County. A few trips to Lake Mead made me aware of the clear, fresh water we could enjoy, and it made for great weekend getaways. A Personal Water Craft (PWC) trip from Needles to the London Bridge in 1993 with several friends provided me with my first opportunity to see just how wonderful a playground we have on the Lower Colorado River.
After purchasing a couple of Sea Doos, I headed out to enjoy this beautiful area. Knowing there would be several more times that summer we would be going to the River, it was important to find a place to store my brand new watercraft. This proved to be somewhat difficult. Out of four places visited only one had availability, so I jumped on it. It cost $75 a month for a double PWC trailer. This happened to be a place where vehicles were stored in a large building with boats being parked next to each other by the attendant. On the next trip out, anxious to get to the water, I picked up the Sea Doos and drove right to Katherine’s Landing. While I was preparing the vessels for launch I noticed a large dent on my brand new trailer storage box. It was very upsetting; this unit was less than one month old and it already had damage. Going back to the storage facility they asked me what proof was there that the dent wasn’t already there; I should have fully inspected the boat and trailer with the attendant before leaving it with them and again when picking it up. Although furious, a lesson was learned: the big, open, tight-packed storage places were not for me.
Four years later I bought a new 24’ boat and brought it out to the river, once again scouring the area for a storage place. Searching out five of them, only one had availability- an open carport structure with no door. The rent was $110 a month, but at least it was my own space. That worked for one season, but it was a long way to go to launch on the River (usually at The Avi)
At this point, the boat & RV self-storage concept was appealing to me. For the previous three years I had attended development seminars and conventions for the general self storage business, and befriended several people who owned them. So, after those years of having less-than-acceptable storage facilities for my watercraft, it was time to look for a location to build my own facility and to provide a little more supply to meet the obvious demand.
My first choice was Bullhead City, Arizona; but a big parcel of land was not readily available. In September 2001 a large parcel of vacant land on Needles Highway became available to me, conveniently located between the 40 freeway and Laughlin.
The name “Oasis” came about in searching for a word that described a destination that people would want to go to. The next step was to figure out what would be at this desert “Oasis”.
In designing the facility, it was important to offer private garages. It was also important to build a place that would be reasonably priced, yet would offer amenities most boat & RV storage facilities didn’t offer. Many times it would have been nice to have a shower after boating and before my ride home!
It all came together when I was able to purchase land having Needles Highway frontage, and plenty of room to grow… where my dream would become a reality. So, I began building the first phase of the business, with both eyes focused on being more than just a boat & RV storage facility. It took a long time to complete Phase I and have it ready for occupancy. It was almost a year and a half- from October 2001 until March of 2003, for that phase to be ready for occupancy. It was a relief to be able to bring my own watercraft and RV out, knowing there would no longer be a need to tow them through the construction zones on the 15 & 40 Freeways (from Riverside).
