Climate Controlled Storage in Reading, PA 

At Snapbox Self-Storage on Reading Avenue, climate control isn’t an upgrade you pay extra for; it’s every unit we rent. All 200 units in this 18,000-square-foot building are heated and cooled year-round, and every unit is on the first floor. No elevators, no stairs, no hauling a couch up a ramp.

That matters more in Berks County than most people expect. Reading sits in a humid continental climate where January lows regularly drop into the teens and July afternoons push high heat with heavy humidity. A standard unheated garage or outdoor unit swings through that entire range, and the repeated freeze-thaw cycle is what actually destroys stored belongings — wood joints loosen and warp, leather cracks, upholstery and mattresses draw moisture and grow mildew, adhesives on photographs and record sleeves fail, and electronics accumulate condensation inside their housings.

Our climate controlled storage units hold a steady interior temperature and keep humidity in a stable range, so what you put in the unit in October is in the same condition when you pull it out in April.

Storage Unit Sizes at 701 Reading Avenue

We rent sixteen sizes here, from a 3’x7′ locker at roughly 21 square feet up to a 20’x15′ unit at 300 square feet, enough for a whole-home move. Every size is climate controlled and on the first-floor.

• Small units (3’x7′ to 10’x7.5′): Seasonal decor, boxed files, textbooks and dorm contents, small furniture, studio apartment overflow. The 5’x10′ is our most popular small unit and holds roughly a one-bedroom’s worth of boxes and a few pieces of furniture.
• Medium units (10’x10′ to 10’x15′): A 10’x10′ typically fits the contents of a two-bedroom apartment; a 10’x15′ handles a small house including appliances. Good fit for families between homes and for businesses storing inventory or records.
• Large units (10’x20′ to 20’x15′): Whole-home storage, restaurant fixtures, contractor materials, and long-term business archives. Our 20’x10′ and 20’x15′ units are multi-door for easier loading.

Not sure which size you need? Our storage unit size guide walks through what actually fits in each one.

Who Stores at Reading Avenue

Students and medical residents. We’re minutes from the Drexel University College of Medicine campus at Tower Health and Reading Hospital, which makes this a natural spot for storing an apartment between rotations, over the summer, or during a residency move. Climate control matters here specifically — textbooks, electronics, and paper records don’t survive a humid, unconditioned summer well.

Healthcare and professional offices. Medical clinics and offices along Penn Avenue and the surrounding office parks use our units for archived patient files and business records. Paper is one of the most climate-sensitive things you can store; humidity swings cause pages to cockle, ink to bleed, and file boxes to collapse.

Restaurants and Penn Avenue businesses. Seasonal patio furniture, backup fixtures, catering equipment, and off-season inventory. Month-to-month terms mean you’re not carrying a unit through a slow season you don’t need it in.

Households in Reading, West Reading, Wyomissing, and Cumru Township. Downsizing, renovating, or waiting on a closing date. Row homes in this part of Reading don’t come with much storage, and a basement in an older Berks County home is exactly the kind of damp environment climate controlled storage exists to replace.

Security and Access

The property is enclosed by a perimeter fence with gated, code-restricted entry, monitored by video surveillance 24/7 and lit throughout. You’ll receive your personal gate code during move-in. Gate access runs 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, seven days a week — including Sundays, when our office is closed. Our team is available on the phone from Monday through Saturday, 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM.

You can rent online in a few minutes, get your gate code immediately, and move in the same day. Or hold a unit for free with no card required. Month-to-month, cancel anytime.

What Climate Controlled Storage Actually Does

Climate controlled storage means the interior of the building is heated in winter and cooled in summer, with humidity held in a stable range rather than tracking whatever is happening outside. Standard storage outdoor drive-up units, garages, and sheds offer none of that.

Is climate control worth it in Pennsylvania? For anything stored longer than a few weeks, yes. Southeastern PA gets both extremes: sustained sub-freezing stretches in winter and high-humidity heat in summer, and it’s the cycling between them, not either extreme alone, that causes damage. If you’re storing only tools, tires, or plastic bins of hardware for a month, you can get away without it. For furniture, anything electronic, anything paper, and anything sentimental, it’s the difference between storage and slow deterioration.

Learn more about how climate controlled storage works across our facilities.