There are bike boxes out there on the market (I have one for my recumbent, "Crateworks"), expensive to buy but easy to make yourself. Purchase 1/4" chloroplast (building supply shops carry them) a 4'x8' sheet goes for about $20.00 Canadian each. Using a good sharp knife and basic geometry a friend and me constructed two more bike boxes that measured approximately 38" high x 12" thick x 6' long plus 2 seperate BOB trailer boxes. We used them when we travelled to Europe last year and stored all of them at Amsterdam airport for 3 weeks for about $30.00. To construct all 4 boxes cost us about $60.00 as compared to buying one box at $400.00. They are sturdy and protected our gear better than the airport bike boxes. If the empty boxes can not be stored safely the monetary loss is not too bad to take. I could provide a design specs. of our boxes and pictures if you want.