At long last I finally got a chance to install tire chains on somebody else's truck. This was important because I tend to be skeptical of promotional videos.
Recall that this was the scheme for making my tow vehicle & trailer more capable on muddy roads. I really don't have problems on dry roads, when pulling a lightweight trailer with a rear-wheel-drive van.
Tire chain installation proved to be pretty straightforward. All it takes is a bit of practice and some organization, with a foam pad and gloves. What it really takes is the self-discipline to install the chains before you slide into a muddy rut.
In other words, most of the alleged negatives of tire chains are psychological and lifestyle-related, rather than real and physical.
But let's back up a step and ask why this is important. Why not just be a normal American consumer and get a big expensive 4WD pickup on credit? Of course that would defeat much of my philosophy in pursuing this lifestyle. I want to beat the system, rather than be a victim of it.
There are times when solving a practical problem becomes more than that. You can start to visualize it as the nexus of huge societal trends. Solving the practical problem then takes on real drama. You step into something like one of those science fiction plots, where some shadowy state is the intersection of two parallel universes.
As an individual you are totally insignificant compared to these huge societal trends. But when you conquer a practical problem that seems to be the very quintessence of the huge trends and forces, you become genuinely empowered.
Very well then, I am convinced that my next tow vehicle can be rear wheel drive, as the current one is. That means I can stick with a van or a budget pickup truck. The advantages are significant.
Recall that this was the scheme for making my tow vehicle & trailer more capable on muddy roads. I really don't have problems on dry roads, when pulling a lightweight trailer with a rear-wheel-drive van.
Tire chain installation proved to be pretty straightforward. All it takes is a bit of practice and some organization, with a foam pad and gloves. What it really takes is the self-discipline to install the chains before you slide into a muddy rut.
In other words, most of the alleged negatives of tire chains are psychological and lifestyle-related, rather than real and physical.
But let's back up a step and ask why this is important. Why not just be a normal American consumer and get a big expensive 4WD pickup on credit? Of course that would defeat much of my philosophy in pursuing this lifestyle. I want to beat the system, rather than be a victim of it.
There are times when solving a practical problem becomes more than that. You can start to visualize it as the nexus of huge societal trends. Solving the practical problem then takes on real drama. You step into something like one of those science fiction plots, where some shadowy state is the intersection of two parallel universes.
As an individual you are totally insignificant compared to these huge societal trends. But when you conquer a practical problem that seems to be the very quintessence of the huge trends and forces, you become genuinely empowered.
Very well then, I am convinced that my next tow vehicle can be rear wheel drive, as the current one is. That means I can stick with a van or a budget pickup truck. The advantages are significant.
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Chris