Hi asbestos,
You wrote:
>all this talk about these massive engines
>to tow Airstreams.
I'm one of those who did some of that
talking. One point I neglected to mention
was sometimes my enthusiasm for exploring
is stronger than my readiness to consider
possible consequences.
It's like Wally Byam once said -- if you can
take your car down that road, you can tow one
of my Airstreams right along behind you. If he
was alive now, I'm sure that's what he would
say to me. Thus -- wherever our big old Van
can go, so goes either of our 30'+ Airstreams.
The one time we've been close to bogging
down while towing was when following a dirt
road to the beach behind a village called
Todos Santos on the Baja in Mexico.
As the bushes got closer and the road
became narrower, we thought it might be
time to stop for lunch. But, with the
surf pounding loudly and the smell of
salt air encouraging us, we decided to
make a run for the beach.
When the dirt road unexpectedly turned
into soft beach sand, we accelerated
into a tight 360 and plowed our own
roadway. The thing about 15,000 pounds
of accelerating forward momentum was it
provided a welcome nudge for powering
back onto hardpan. Dense, scrubby
bushes helped maintain traction.
Later, we stopped for lunch, counted
seagulls and broke bread with the Man
above. He had smiled on us that day.
My enthusiasm for exploring old roads
and Wally's assurance that the Airstream
could go anywhere the car went had
pressed the edges of good judgement.
Did the fact of having a mechanically
mint truck with a fire eating, wild eyed,
roaring tiger of a 460 CID V8 make the
difference between being stuck or laughing
about it afterward? I don't know. What I
do know is I had at my disposal the best
combination I could have put together
and had pulled the rabbit out of the hat.
Will I try that trick again? Probably not.
Will I get rid of that truck for one with
lesser power? Three guesses.
What's the point of relating this incident?
Each of us has to know our skills and our
foibles when we consider which tow vehicle
to buy. It would surprise me if most owners
of vintage Airstreams scored low in the
category of "readiness to take risks."
After all, it was Captain Kirk who told us,
"Boldly go where no man (in your family)
has gone before." And while doing that,
our fore fathers told us to challenge
ourselves, to learn from our experiences
and to enjoy this great adventure of life.
Bottom line is choices. Choices to create
limitations or opportunities. Choices to
settle for safe or savor pressing the edges.
Each of us is different. We've said it
before. For me, good enough isn't.
Enough ranting,
Terry
PS - asbestos wrote:
<What about picture of the guy on the bike?>
When I was the guy on the bike and
Clyde Wagner's trailer was attached to
it, every single ounce of my strength
was challenged to the nth degree by
a massive effort in power pedaling and
by bulging every muscle in my body to
torque the bicycle frame so I could
maintain balance as the trailer attempted
a tangent route. I wished I had "MORE POWER"
available and "MORE POWER" a la Tim Allen.
