It's a testament to the engineering that what was by all rights a quick hack job has managed to stand the test of time.
"just imagine the objections people would have raised to this feature, more parts, it looks funny"
"we wanted to throw a clambshell on it for shits and giggles but the powers that be decided that being able to back up a 2% grade was enough"
"both sets of wheels steer so it's one of the nicest planes to land in a near-hurricane cross wind because it can just crab sideways though the sky and keep the wheels lines up perfectly with the runway"
oh gee whiz. this is such a great comment. I almost spilled coffee laughing on my keyboard. A+.