Walked over to Paco’s around 9:00 am to start the process of loading the garden shed onto Peter’s flatbed trailer. Since Paco’s backyard is fenced in, we began by removing a section of chain-link fence. It came away in one piece except for the center pole, which we had to cut at the base. I emptied the shed and took out all the shelves to make it as light as possible, then jacked it up at the doorway so I could side a pipe under the frame. I wrapped a long chain around the base, cinched it up in front of the shed, and grabbed it with the blue ATV’s winch hook. After some initial hesitation, the shed starting rolling across the pipe. Paco and I alternated between positioning pipes and pushing and turning the shed to clear a tight corner between his garage and his kids’ playset. Once we got out in the open, I went back to winching from the ATV while Paco laid out pipes.

Once we had the shed lined up with the trailer, we had to switch tactics. I traded the ATV for my truck and hooked up to the trailer. With the fence out of the way, I could back a few feet further into the yard, clearing the house and giving us more room to work. We attached the trailer ramps and used my new come-along to slowly ratchet the shed up the trailer deck. It took some finesse, but we eventually got it positioned perfectly on the front of the trailer. I pulled out of Paco’s yard as carefully as possible but, because of the added weight of the shed, managed to scalp a 4 foot section of sod. At least it was easy to put back. I parked on the street and helped Paco put his fence back together. We kept his sawed-off fence pole in place with some rebar; you’d never know it had been modified. I backed the trailer into my driveway to finish securing the load and took a break for lunch.

Since Peter’s trailer has a wooden deck, I sank about 20 deck screws into it through the base of the garden shed. I also used a few to keep the door shut. I didn’t want the wind to lift the shingles during the trip, so I draped two moving blankets over the roof and wrapped the eaves with industrial plastic wrap. As a final measure, I slung a pair of ratchet straps across the roof and hooked them into the sides of the trailer. I drove the ATV up the back of the trailer, strapped it down, stowed the ramps, and loaded the pipes in the bed of my truck. I called Dad; he and Mom will meet up with us so he can help me unload.

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We left for Puckaway at 2:30. Jake and I were in the truck and Lyssa and Josh followed us in the car. I knew the trailer had turn signal issues and felt better having her back there as a spotter anyway. I took it slow and steady the whole way but didn’t have a single problem. Coming up the big hill on 73 was interesting, though; I found my truck’s limit. I couldn’t get over 40 mph with the pedal to the floor. There was hardly any traffic the whole trip, so it’s not like it mattered much anyway. My folks were already there when we pulled in the driveway, so Lyssa and the boys walked around the property with them while I unloaded the ATV and unpacked the shed.

I prepped the site by sawing down a few small trees while Dad maneuvered the trailer into position. We placed the shed by winching it off the trailer with the ATV and using the come-along to keep it from rolling down too fast and potentially tipping over. Once it was most of the way down the ramps, we just pulled the trailer forward and let it slide off. I’ll eventually roll it forward again so I can build a better, level base for it with some of the bricks from the pile in the garden, but for now I’m happy just to have it up here in one piece.

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Lyssa had gone for pizza while we were unloading and came back just as I was heading to Peter’s to drop off the trailer. He wasn’t home, so I’ll have to thank him later. The six of us ate dinner in my trailer and I got a lot of compliments on the progress made so far this year. After we had our fill of pizza, Dad unloaded the old storm doors from Mayville to get picked up for scrap and I put away the pipes, blankets, and come-along. We all left around 6:30.