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Re: Things fail when it's not convenient Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email] (#32) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Wed, 25 Jul 2018 10:35:14 In Reply to: Things fail when it's not convenient, Noel, Wed, 25 Jul 2018 07:16:23 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I guess maybe my risk tolerance is higher than most. The family van was very unreliable when I was a kid - despite being only a couple years old - and we got "stranded" numerous times for dumb stuff. Bent wheels, damaged trailer tire inner tubes, failed transmission servo, bad fuel pump, leaking radiator. All sorts of stuff. Whether it was in Mammoth or Banff or Omaha or somewhere in the middle, we all survived.
These days between a smart phone, internet vendors, and overnight shipping I think there's little I can't tackle, even if it means getting set back a day or two. When we drove the '67 Fleetwood 1400 miles through the Rockies and the Utah high desert I played out the "oh no" scenario numerous times in my head. When it finally happened and the car started complaining I was ready... checked the map to see if we should press on or turn back, started counting mile markers, nursed it along a flat to a rest area, stopped as soon as there was cell service, and put the plan into action. I'm under the hood, she's calling AAA. It turned out to be a stupid problem I fixed with a pocket knife (slowly, painfully) but whatever. No stress. :)
Personally I doubt my ability to fully account for everything that might fail, and honestly I am not interested in tackling most repairs on the side of the road. Change a fuel pump with hand tools? No thanks! Plus, I can't think of any time I've just had a car die without warning, even the Cadillac. You can always make it 50 miles to the next town, or 50 miles back to the previous. Even if that's in a '79 GMC van stuck in 1st. :) So, no to tools and no to spare parts... yes to an emergency blanket, protein bars, water, and walking shoes. And a battery-powered GPS with local maps. And a pocket knife!
posted by 12.195.130...
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