Plugging a tire

[kbrown1075]

To me, a plug is a temporary repair to get me to a proper tire shop where it will be patched or replaced. I don't take any chances with the tires on the 5'er, it's big and gets squirrely during a blow out situation. Only one blowout caused damage (insurance covered) but was down for several weeks for the repairs. "Pay me now or Pay me Later", is my theory.

[spock123]

I had the front tire go flat and called Coach-net, the guy came and wanted to put the spare on. I’m hooked up to the fifth wheel plus to get the spare down I have to take off the tailgate. I asked him to just plug the tire which he did, that was five thousand miles ago. I just ordered a plug kit from Walmart to always have in the truck. Hopefully I’ll be a little more ready for the next flat. Thanks for all the advice

[TheWolfPaq82]

Left on a trip. Flat 10 miles out of town. Plugged tire, filled back up, drove 1300 miles to northern montana, 1300 miles back and replaced tires 3 years later.

[DavidBo]

One more thing to be aware of concerning tire plugs. My son's Mazda got a flat while he was driving, he didn't notice it until he got home because it didn't blow out and the low profile tires don't feel that different driving even when flat. I have access to the auto hobby shop at the military base nearby, so I pulled the wheel and took it in to get repaired. After the tire was dismounted we found a sizable amount of rubber granules inside. This was from the sidewalls that got damaged while running flat, the tire was scrap even though it was fairly new. I never would have known this had I merely plugged the tire from outside, which I'll never do if the wheel was driven while flat.
His car predates TPMS, so I got an aftermarket kit similar to what is often discussed on this forum. So far it works very well, I'm surprised they aren't mandatory on RVs yet like they are on motor vehicles, I think they are excellent safety devices.

[upflying]

I have been plugging motorcycle tires for years, never had a problem but I guess it takes just that one time when a tire fails. It's all a matter of the risk you want to take.
Kind of wonder when tire shops and tire manufacturers "do not recommend plugging" is because they want to sell you a tire and their insurance and product liability attorneys told them to tell you that.

[dannyabear]

Originally Posted by upflying

I have been plugging motorcycle tires for years, never had a problem but I guess it takes just that one time when a tire fails. It's all a matter of the risk you want to take.
Kind of wonder when tire shops and tire manufacturers "do not recommend plugging" is because they want to sell you a tire and their insurance and product liability attorneys told them to tell you that.

Or it could be that tire manufactures knows more about tires than the average 'Joe Blow'

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by upflying

I have been plugging motorcycle tires for years, never had a problem but I guess it takes just that one time when a tire fails. It's all a matter of the risk you want to take.
Kind of wonder when tire shops and tire manufacturers "do not recommend plugging" is because they want to sell you a tire and their insurance and product liability attorneys told them to tell you that.

As I emboldened in red, it really is ALL about the risk you want to take when you insert a plug from the outside of a tire without dismounting it to see any possible internal damage.


I've posted about this previously in other threads. Here are a few.



http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post591876


http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post591994


http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1357391


I will take some pics as this week goes by, showing you internal damage that most people will never see until it's too late with a plug inserted from the outside. I will run across several every week in my business. Just had one Saturday.

[babock]

Originally Posted by wmtire

As I emboldened in red, it really is ALL about the risk you want to take when you insert a plug from the outside of a tire without dismounting it to see any possible internal damage.


I've posted about this previously in other threads. Here are a few.



http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post591876


http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post591994




http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1357391


I will take some pics as this week goes by, showing you internal damage that most people will never see until it's too late with a plug inserted from the outside. I will run across several every week in my business. Just had one Saturday.

I especially like this quote you had in one of your posts.

Originally Posted by wmtire

However, we encounter several customers each week, who can't be educated.......nor care for the cost of properly repairing a tire ($15 is our standard rate). They will neither believe us, nor want to pay that....and leave in search of a tire shop that will do a non RMA approved repair. Unfortunately, there are tire places that will do just that, which is possibly helping the customer commit suicide or hurt others in my eyes.

I can't even fathom plugging a motorcycle tire. I own a motorcycle and it's already risky business riding. Why add to the risk?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by upflying

I have been plugging motorcycle tires for years, never had a problem but I guess it takes just that one time when a tire fails. It's all a matter of the risk you want to take.
Kind of wonder when tire shops and tire manufacturers "do not recommend plugging" is because they want to sell you a tire and their insurance and product liability attorneys told them to tell you that.

It's not the tire shops that recommend against plugging but the manufacturers themselves. They've done the testing and know what goes wrong when a tire is repaired improperly.

Many tire shops offer free flat repairs as an enticement to get customers into THEIR shops. Considering that plugging is "quick and dirty", taking little or no time compared to a dismount and PROPER repair guess which they prefer.

For Dealers that value their customers and want to make sure the tire they sold them doesn't fail they won't plug but dismount, inspect, and repair properly.

Just one illustration of how plugging is very unwise. I was in one of our stores when a fisherman came in with a wheel and tire he merely wanted plugged. It was policy in our stores to not even have plugs on the premises, we broke down all flats and inspected the tire inside first.
We still performed the service for free as a customer builder. This case was a perfect example of why. The fisherman had run over a piece of fence wire about 4" long. Sure it could have just been pulled out, a plug inserted, and air added. UNFORTUNATELY if they'd done that they wouldn't have noticed that the inside end of the wire had whipped around while the tire was driven around and had cut away the inner liner and one layer of body cording in an arc on the sidewall. One look at the damage and the Customer knew the store wasn't just trying to sell him a new tire. In fact he insisted on replacing it himself.

Just like everything else that's not a good idea many people go ahead and do it anyway. When they get away with it they think everyone who recommends against it has some ulterior motive, like profit.

It's like the old saying "Some people learn by reading/listening about electric fences and others have to just pee on the fence themselves".

In closing lets add one more note. When having a tire repaired the BEST way is to not just patch the inner liner but to have the shop use a combination patch/plug. Specially made with a rubber stem attached to the patch and is inserted from the inside into the puncture that has been properly prepared and glued to the inner liner which too has been properly prepared. This not only keeps air from leaking out but it also keeps air and water from migrating up the puncture causing rust in the steel belting and separations in the tread layers. Repair a tire that way and it will easily last until the tread is worn to it's legal limit, barring any road hazard caused failure.

[Anderson15]

Plugging a tire compares to towing at the max of your tow vehicle.

If you've never had a problem, you've just been lucky.

I choose to remove as much "luck needed" as I can.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by babock

I especially like this quote you had in one of your posts.



I can't even fathom plugging a motorcycle tire. I own a motorcycle and it's already risky business riding. Why add to the risk?

Considering the amount of work to dismount and patch a tire alongside the road I would consider plugging (unless the tire had a tube in it because it had a spoked wheel that wasn't sealed), maybe even using "Fix-a-Flat" but I'd proceed with extreme caution to the first shop that could repair it properly (or replace if necessary).

That is unless you like to carry a spare tire/wheel on your M/C. Last time I saw that was on the back of a Sidecar.

I too rode a lot of motorcycles but they all had spokes in their wheels, tubes and tire locks too. They were off road motorcycles and we just kept a can of Fix-A-Flat in the pouch with our essential tools. Plugging wasn't an option because the motorcycle wheels were not "tubeless".

[upflying]

Originally Posted by dannyabear

Or it could be that tire manufactures knows more about tires than the average 'Joe Blow'

No doubt, but there is that nagging question of conflict of interest.
Thanks for all the warnings, I will continue to plug away.

[NMWildcat]

We plug tires on the farm that are not used at highway speeds. Some plugged tires last, some don't.

As for highway speed tires, nope, I just won't plug those. I put on the spare and take the flat into to get fixed or replaced. I'm just not a gambler.......

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by upflying

No doubt, but there is that nagging question of conflict of interest.
Thanks for all the warnings, I will continue to plug away.

[babock]

Originally Posted by upflying

No doubt, but there is that nagging question of conflict of interest.
Thanks for all the warnings, I will continue to plug away.

Conflict of interest that they want to patch your tire properly for $15?

[Scrapper]

I miss the days of pulling out the nail or screw, breaking the bead loose from the rim, pull out the inner tube, push in a new tube, air it up and off you go. Didn't have to remove the tire from the rim but you did have to take it off the vehicle.

[JLeising]

To my mind, the biggest issue relates to all-wheel drive vehicles. Manufacturers state tire circumferences must very closely match to avoid excessive activation (wear) on the front/rear drive clutch mechanism. One nail near the shoulder of one tire - owner is faced with replacing all four tires to “do it right”. Spare (if there is one) is likely a “mini-spare” and no help.
Choices: Ignore the tire guy and plug or patch it yourself (probably plug since few of us own a tire machine); find a tire shop that can “trim” the tread off a new tire to match the other three (supposedly these exist; I’ve never seen one); buy two new tires and put one on the front and one on the rear to balance front/rear rotation (again, against recommendations and I suspect tire stores would refuse to do it); try to find a same brand, same model, same tread depth used tire; give up and buy four new tires (more like $600 or $1000 than $15). Ugly choices forced on the consumer!
The industry needs to develop better alternatives.

[babock]

Originally Posted by JLeising

To my mind, the biggest issue relates to all-wheel drive vehicles. Manufacturers state tire circumferences must very closely match to avoid excessive activation (wear) on the front/rear drive clutch mechanism. One nail near the shoulder of one tire - owner is faced with replacing all four tires to “do it right”. Spare (if there is one) is likely a “mini-spare” and no help.
Choices: Ignore the tire guy and plug or patch it yourself (probably plug since few of us own a tire machine); find a tire shop that can “trim” the tread off a new tire to match the other three (supposedly these exist; I’ve never seen one); buy two new tires and put one on the front and one on the rear to balance front/rear rotation (again, against recommendations and I suspect tire stores would refuse to do it); try to find a same brand, same model, same tread depth used tire; give up and buy four new tires (more like $600 or $1000 than $15). Ugly choices forced on the consumer!
The industry needs to develop better alternatives.

So...you are really going to plug a tire near the shoulder of a tire? So basically....you are not only repairing it in a poor way, you are repairing a tire that has no business being repaired at all!

[JLeising]

Originally Posted by babock

So...you are really going to plug a tire near the shoulder of a tire? So basically....you are not only repairing it in a poor way, you are repairing a tire that has no business being repaired at all!

Didn’t say what I would do - just painting the picture of choices. No good choice available.

[babock]

Originally Posted by JLeising

Didn’t say what I would do - just painting the picture of choices. No good choice available.

That's the price you pay owning an AWD vehicle. Had that happen to our Honda Element with only around 15K on the tires. Had to buy 4 new tires.

If you don't like that possibility, don't buy AWD.