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View Full Version : Flat Tires on the BOV



Rick
10-11-2010, 06:25 PM
A lot of folks plan to bug out to some other location should they have to. In many cases they plan to utilize off road as their route at least part of the way. Do you have a means to plug a tire if it goes flat? Do you know how?

Here is some advice on how to plug a tire followed by a link to tire repair gear.

http://www.off-road-outdoors.com/tire-repair.html

http://www.cabelas.com/fryprod-0/product--Off-Road-ATV-Tire-Repair-Kit--716943.uts.shtml

http://www.4x4review.com/Reviews/ProductReviews/Accessories/SafetySealOffRoadTireRepairKit/tabid/188/Default.aspx

crashdive123
10-11-2010, 07:16 PM
Good stuff. Thanks.

hunter63
10-11-2010, 07:33 PM
Thanks for the reminder, good stuff.
Also be aware that a lot of newer vehicles have a very irritating indicator light that rags at you at 4:00 AM, on Sat morning blasting down the road with the boat on the back....

I do carry:
spare
floor jack
bottle jack
farmer 48" jack (can also be used as a come-a-long)
plug/patch kit
couple of fix-a-flat cans
valve stems/wench
12 v compressor
(But think I gonna need a bigger compressor as the new truck requires 65lbs, which I found out that convenience store compressors don't really cut it.)

huntermj
10-11-2010, 07:37 PM
Thanks rick ive been meaning to add a tire repair kit and one of those emergency compressors to the car kit. I guess i will get it done this weekend.

oldsoldier
10-11-2010, 08:34 PM
In addition to tire change stuff I put "anti punture" liners in my tires and put the green slime in as well. Have ran over a 20 penny nail pulled it and tire "self sealed" and is still holding air. Plus if you want to lay out the $$$ you can buy run flat tires.

Sourdough
10-11-2010, 08:54 PM
I should think that the people behind a BOV with any problem, would be inclined to be short tempered, to the point of pushing a problem off the road. Just my guess.

Batch
10-16-2010, 05:28 PM
I have plugged many tires. I also have had two trips where we had 3 flats.

Plug kit and cans of fix a flat always.

canid
10-17-2010, 06:20 AM
I don't know how many miles they would hold up, and they would ruin the tire for later use, but i've heard of mixed results [some of them good] with using injectable polyurethane foam for improvised run-flats.

Camp10
10-17-2010, 07:36 AM
Slime works great but it will freeze on you. I use it in my 4 wheelers and did put it in a truck tire once when I couldnt get it to keeps a good seal on its bead. I have carried a few extra rubber plugs as well as a plug kit. I once had a huge chunk taken out of a 4 wheeler tire and it took about 5 plugs to get it to hold. After that, I added some more plugs to the kit.

On top of having the gear to plug a tire, one more important check might be to see if your current spare will release from the under truck holder. I ran into this problem the last time I had a flat. GM uses a really crappy cable setup and with the salt they put on the roads here in the winter, it will rust and freeze up. I've also learned that there is a locking system on them. You need to tighten the hanger until it clicks and then lower it. Sometimes it takes pressure to the rim to get it to release as well. It can be a real pain on the side of a muddy road trying to learn all these tricks, so take the spare down once in the driveway and spray all the metal parts!

Rick
10-17-2010, 11:20 AM
And as I said in another thread, after I swapped wheels I learned at the wrong time my lug wrench would no longer fit. Really a rookie mistake but just didn't think about making sure the lug wrench fit the new lugs.

scottmphoto
10-17-2010, 01:51 PM
I run a newspaper route for my state-wide daily newspaper. I'm constantly having flats. I put a little over 1,000 miles a week on my car. I carry the basic tire plug kit, an inverter and a small air compressor. I carry the same (plus a bunch of tools) on my 4x4 P/U.
When Wally-world charges @ $25.00 to fix a flat and a basic plug kit costs @ $10.00, that's roughly $115.00 (kit with only 5 plugs) that I have saved. In the last year and a half that I've been doing this, I have saved a lot of money, not to mention that I am just that more self-reliant.
My next purchase along these lines is one of the old manual tire changing machines. I know that I can pop the bead, remove and replace the tire with crow bars and there's several ways to reset the bead - but it's all a pain in the rear-end. But, it can be done cheaply.

Sourdough
10-17-2010, 02:05 PM
My Bug'out Vehicle does not get flat tires.

crashdive123
10-17-2010, 04:19 PM
My Bug'out Vehicle does not get flat tires.

Yeah, but does it get bunions?

Sourdough
10-17-2010, 04:44 PM
Yeah, but does it get bunions?


Not the D-8 Dozer or the Ski-Doo

Rick
10-17-2010, 04:57 PM
I had a buddy that owned a D8 once upon a time. I stopped by his house and he was sitting in the middle of a field with the left track layed out flat. I asked him what happened and he told me he had a flat. The track was laying pretty flat from where I stood. Those blasted things are danged heavy, too.

kyratshooter
10-17-2010, 06:09 PM
I have to put new rubber on the Jeep before winter sets in. Tires last me about 5 years a set.

Being a "bugger inner" I figure that when the social order collapses and fuel is no longer available they will last me indefinately, or till I starve.

I do have an extra set of tires for the lawn tractor. In the last year that is the only vehicle I have discovered I can not live without. There was a two week spell early this spring when the only time I cranked up the car was to go get gas for the tractor.

Rick
10-17-2010, 08:26 PM
I had a neighbor in Illinois that was an habitual offender he had so many DUI convictions. All on a riding lawn mower.

kyratshooter
10-18-2010, 01:52 AM
I had a neighbor in Illinois that was an habitual offender he had so many DUI convictions. All on a riding lawn mower.

The country music singer George Jones had a DUI for operating a lawn mower while drunk. His wife had hidden his car keys so he could not drive and when the liquid ran low he cranked up the LM and headed to the liquor store.

Nice mower too, one of the zero turn radius Snappers.

That bust was famous in the Nashville area for years. Every time we saw someone riding down the road on the LM we wondered if they were going after booze.

Rick
10-18-2010, 06:23 AM
This guy had lost his license years before and no longer owned a car. But you could hear that lawn mower go by the house in the evening. You knew he was headed to the bar. We always joked about him. When the cops drove by the parking lot it was like, car, car, car, lawn mower, car, car....hey, wait a minute.

scottmphoto
10-18-2010, 09:09 AM
When I was in the Army, I HATED busting (and having to fix) the track on tracked vehicles. It IS heavy.

RCKCRWLER
10-22-2010, 01:18 PM
Those plugs are awesome! I've found the reddish/orange ones are better than the black ones. I was in the middle of an obstacle in my rock rig and gashed a tire on the sidewall. We jammed 19 of the red tire plugs in the side and it held air long enough to finish crawling out of the obstacle and get to flat ground and change the tire out. I've also run with 5 plugs in the sidewall of a tire for a long time and had no issues. These things are awesome. (Not recommended for highway driving!)

If you have the extra coin laying around you can also pick up a liquid CO2 tank for having onboard air. I have the Powertank setup with an adjustable anti freeze valve and it will reseat beads on tires, run air tools, and fill up tires. It is a great addition to any offroad or BOV.

Or, you can always have the old standby, a can of ether to reseat beads on tires. Just don't use too much or you will have the tire suck back in on itself and start to burn.... don't ask me how I know:fishface:...Let's just say my buddy was glad I had the CO2 tank ready to fill the tire and choke out the flame.

Also to get back on track if you have to take your vehicle off road drop the pressure in the tires. It will make a flatter footprint for traction and a smoother ride off road. Just becareful when you get back on the highway. I run 6 pounds of air in my rigs tires and "Knock on wood" haven't blown a bead yet. ****If you have 16.5 inch rims than I wouldn't recommend running too low of air pressure in your tires because they are notorious for blowing beads.

hunter63
10-22-2010, 02:49 PM
RC, cool pic's and good hands on insight, Thanks!