Steel Protects History on Wheels

 When it came to housing and protecting George “Wayne” Trent’s six antique cars and trucks, it was time to put the pedal to the metal. After he moved to Hudson, FL into a home with only a three car garage, he set out to find a suitable building for his prized possessions.

“I wanted a garage that would not blow away in the Florida weather, and I needed it tall enough to put in a car lift so I could work on my old cars,” says Trent. “I picked the round steel type because there is no roof to get blown off, which is what always happens in a bad storm—and then the walls fall in. I have a four-post lift in the left bay, and I park my 1959 Ford fire truck on the lift and then run it up all the way and park my 1950 Plymouth underneath. In the right bay, I park my 1953 Ford C-500 truck.”

He contacted a bevy of steel garage building kit manufacturers before finding what he was looking for at a company headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va. “The SteelMaster sales representative was the only one I felt was telling me the truth—the others came across like used car salesmen.”

With the help of a friend, Trent had the prefabricated garage kit up and running within three weeks time. “I started using it as soon as all the panels were in place. I had to wait on the doors to come in,” says Trent. “I waited until the front wall was in place before I ordered the doors because I wanted to make sure on the size.”

Now that the garage kit is up and serving its purpose, Trent says he couldn’t be happier with the final outcome. “I’m very happy with the building—I just wish it was bigger,” says Trent. “I really feel secure about leaving my old cars and trucks inside—if we get a real bad storm, my wife and I will be in the garage as it would be safer than being in our house.”
Trent is so proud of his steel garage that he even included a smaller model in his model train set-up, complete with tiny replicas of his antique cars and trucks. “The mini SteelMaster was fun to put on the train layout,” says Trent. “My friends get a real kick out of it also.”

By Brenda H. Welch, freelance writer and editor living in Hampton Roads, VA.

For More Information About SteelMaster Buildings and Steel Buildings Visit Steelmasterusa.com