A Bay in a Day

Back when I was a single guy, I had just two cars: a 1992 Nissan Stanza (which replaced my ‘83 straight-six diesel, five-speed stick Datsun – by Nissan – Maxima) and my ‘52 Buick Roadmaster. Pretty easy to figure out which one resided in the garage. A little over 10 years ago, Sunny and I married – which added another car to the stable – and we moved into a house with a one-car garage. A few years later, we upgraded to a larger house with a two-car unit attached… and added a ‘72 Buick Skylark Custom convertible to the fleet. These days, our new place has an oversize detached three-car, with all three bays occupied by vintage Buicks (from three different decades, no less). What does all of this have to do with my New Year’s weekend?

Day Two: our new Rhino Shelter weathers the three-day winter storm

Our daily drivers take a constant beating. While my Toyota has been relegated to winter duty, our summer-only 2003 Buick Century is parked in the driveway during ice-encapsulating months. Tired of cleaning the accumulating snow and ice off the Buick – and making snow removal a bigger job than needed – we finally sprung for a single-car Rhino Shelter from MDMShelters last month. For about $650 (which included the optional floor and delivery charge), it arrived a couple weeks ago in three boxes (Thanks again Dan for the help unloading!).

We knew weather would be an issue, and the New Year’s forecast looked bleak – at best – for its scheduled build. My parents arrived from Connecticut on a snowy 31st of December, and on the 1st – after removing the evening’s snowfall and a buildup of ice from the shelter’s proposed location, we decided that that moment was as good a time as any. There was a lull in the snowfall and it was 30 degrees outside – warm enough.

In three hours’ time – from the minute we put the first frame together to the moment we finally laid out the flooring – Dad and I had completed the build. We pulled the ‘03 Buick into the new bay just as the first flakes started to fall once again. And not a moment too soon. From Thursday night to Sunday evening, we received nearly 24 inches of snow. With exception of the brief lull, it was a constant snowfall, the bulk of which fell after completing assembly.

Building the Rhino Shelter – now affectionately dubbed “The Bunker” – was relatively easy; even for two people. What we didn’t think of doing during the build was squaring it up every time we attached another frame. By the time we got to the sixth and final rib, bolt fit was terribly tight. About the only time we could have used a third person on a second ladder was when we were pulling the top over.

In all, we’re pleased with the result, and as you can see from the one photo any of us thought of snapping off, it was holding up quite well on Sunday morning after receiving eight inches of snow during the overnight hours.

So why not build a fourth bay addition to the garage? Because we know we’d fill it with another vintage car!