The Shed
A 30-by-40 pole barn full of things with wooden handles and things with digital readouts. These are the ones that earn their hook on the wall.
If I've only got one meter on the lot, this is the one. Pin-type. Two little needles, a readout in percent, and no nonsense. On a dry roof decking I want to see 8-to-12. Above 18 and I'm pulling trim to look. Above 25 and there's rot, even if your eye can't see it yet.
How I prove a propane system is tight. Hook it up where the stove pigtail would go, pump to 11 inches, shut the valve, watch the column for three minutes. If it drops more than a hair, there's a leak — and I'll find it before anybody tows the rig home. No guessing.
Some fellas swear you can pack a bearing by hand. You can. But this contraption gets grease into every roller every time, and when I'm doing four wheels on a tandem before lunch I'd rather be bored than sloppy. I use a blue marine-grade synthetic — stays put in Oregon summer heat on the Santiam Pass.
The ten-dollar guns foul your bead every time. A decent dripless gun with an 18:1 thrust ratio lays Dicor self-leveling onto a roof joint like frosting on a cake. Every trailer that comes through gets its front cap seam, fridge vent, skylight, and clearance lights gone over. Old silicone: gone. Fresh lap-seal: on.
Metal clip, particleboard back, corners gone soft from sitting on damp vinyl. Every trailer gets its own sheet. Every line gets checked or circled or crossed out with a note. The sheets go in the folder that goes home with the new owner. Low-tech and honest.
Round-bar WDH with friction sway control on my truck. I won't tow a tandem over 5,000 pounds loaded without it, and I'll show you how to set one up on your own truck if you ask. Proper tongue weight is 10 to 15 percent of trailer weight. Most folks run too light and wonder why the rig porpoises at 60.