<VV> Re: Emergency Car Care Kit

[Robert Marlow]

As someone who carries quite a bit of stuff when travelling, I must
nonetheless echo Bryan's opinion that you do not need to carry much at all
in the course of your "regular" driving or moderate-length local trips.

I pack a lot of spares into the nooks and crannies of my Corvair when I
drive it on longer trips, typically trips with overnight stays.  By
contrast, I take nothing more than a spare fan belt and a suitable wrench
when driving to a Cruise Night 40 miles from my home.

I'm not sure that I agree with Bryan's opinion that carrying spares
necessarily "invites laziness in maintenance," but I certainly agree that
it is better to do regular and preventive maintenance at home than at the
roadside.  Yet unexpected things can happen.  So when travelling I carry
parts and tools suitable for getting a wounded car to the first available
safe place, not to affect comprehensive repairs nor to deal with
catastrophic failure.  The spare part needed for the BIG failures is the
cell phone and the AAA card.

--Bob

Robert W. Marlow
nortechcorp@optonline.net