Tire, Repair Kit

[BIGNASTY]

Putting together a tire repair kit for the MH & Trailer, Tacoma. Basically what plugs, boots or any other type of puncture repair item.

Tire sizes

295 80R 22.5

LT225/75R16

235/80R17

Thanks BIG

 

[Wayne M.]

BIG, I'm not sure if I would worry about tire repair on the road- especially the 22.5's. I would carry in the trailer what was needed to efficiently change a wheel on the road. The MH has air brakes, correct? I would put a coupler in the wet tank if it doesn't already have one.

 

[KenHwy61]

I always carry a tire plug kit and compressor. I have used it many times over the years. One suggestion is to carry a cordless drill to ream out the hole before you put the plug in. Some of the heavier tires can be very tough to ream with the hand reamer supplied with most kits.

 

[BIGNASTY]

BIG, I'm not sure if I would worry about tire repair on the road- especially the 22.5's. I would carry in the trailer what was needed to efficiently change a wheel on the road. The MH has air brakes, correct? I would put a coupler in the wet tank if it doesn't already have one.

Wayne I can change a wheel pretty easy with the tools I have now, Its just that with your idea I would have to have 2 tires mounted up a Drive wheel & tire and a Steer tire. When I bought the MH it had some POS 19.5 tires on it, I called around and tried to fine a tire just to see how readily available that tire size was. Everyone I called said that it would take at least 3 days to get a tire, that didn't make it. I know we are Rednecks here but I can point out places that are far more Redneck than we and if it takes 3 days to get a tire here then how long would it take in Poe, Dunk?

I changed to the 22.5's and had to buy 7 tires & 6 Alcoa Aluminum rims. Michelin all position tires aint cheap, I figure that as soon as the fronts get weird (as they all do) I can switch them to the rear for run outs and buy new for the front.

I asked this question because people like yourself and Mike Wilson have 10x the exposure to new repair ideas than I do. I bought a Extreme Air Magnum compressor on this trip when we pasted through Vacaville CA. I have the Air tanks to power my air horns now, the air bottle jack is in the shop along with a IR 1" impact & 1/2" IR impact for the Trailer and Taco lug nuts/ breaking down a tire on the side of the road isn't that major with some of the other roadside helpers I have.

 

[AH64ID]

I think the Safety Seal kit is one of the best out there. It has saved my bacon a few times.

http://www.safetyseal.com/

Our local tire shop even uses them for plugging customer tires.

 

[Grizzly]

Big, I always carry my bottle jack and tools to change a tire if needed, but more importantly is I always carry my AAA Plus card. I would never attemp to plug a tire.

grizz

 

[BIGNASTY]

Grizz, your a traveled man, we are heading home and this is as far as our other driver could go today. The one reason we stopped where we did is because for the previous hour we had no cell service, so ya we have AAA also but when you have no way of contacting them???

Penny is Native American Maybe she could put up some smoke signals????

MANY PLACES in the West especially there are vast areas that have no signal, so you had better be prepared to fend for yourself.

I do have a Pneumatic bottle jack capable of lifting the rear of the MH

In 30+ years of trucking (the tires that im really worried about 22.5'$ $$$) we used plugs and boots MANY MANY TIMES!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dOigcwMVVk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMytZrow2Hc

JUST WONDERING IF I MAY HAVE MISSED SOMETHING or IF THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER !!!

 

[Wayne M.]

I think the Safety Seal kit is one of the best out there. It has saved my bacon a few times.

http://www.safetyseal.com/

Our local tire shop even uses them for plugging customer tires.

That's the kit. I had a brain fart, couldn't remember it. I used them years ago as a indie but fleet buys camel rubber string junk I wouldn't Reccomend. I think I'll order a kit soon!

 

[Wayne M.]

Thanks for the kind words, BIG but I really don't do a lot of tire repairs other than plugging "P" tires. We have an entire tire unit complete with delivery trucks that turns em around for us. Biggest chunk of the budget next to fuel. I realize the expense and weight of having one of each of 3 types, but I think that's how I'd handle it.

 

[AH64ID]

The one reason we stopped where we did is because for the previous hour we had no cell service, so ya we have AAA also but when you have no way of contacting them???

Probably the single biggest reason I dropped AAA... I have yet to ever have a flat, or anything else where assistance would be needed, with cell service. Generally it's way back up in the mountains and fending for ones self is the preferred method.

 

[RVTRKN]

AAA is a must here in Comifornia, it keeps you out of the "legalizing the illegal alien voter center" (DMV). Just that alone is worth every penny.

 

[Grizzly]

I do understand your predicament BIG. You do need a way to take care of these problem yourself. I worried about that this past summer while traveling through the Yukon with no cell phone coverage and no service Luckily all went well both directions.

grizz

 

[Blu-meanie]

I have the "Good Sam" travel service that will bring stuff to you and change things. I camp at Ocean Cove on Hwy 1 and when I needed to change out all 5 trailer tires, no cell service. The tread was falling off most of the tires (I guess the age timer went off). Not a good thing to drive anywhere with, especially Hwy 1. So I made several trips to Sebastopol. Not fun plus dealing with some tire kids that have no clue what they are doing.

 

[BIGNASTY]

There's lots of places in the West that if you breakdown your on your own. We went to Mesa Verde National Park from the after going South on the Million Dollar Hwy, and thought that we would go by the Grand Canyon for a few days on the way home. 491 out of Cortez CO to 160 S, 189,64 into the South Rim of The Canyon was one of the most Desolate stretches of Hwy that I've been on. If you have a flat or ANY kind of problem that requires you to stop, your going to do what ever it is that needs to be done in the lane of the 2 lane Hwy there isn't any shoulder NO turnouts and NO services of ANYKIND for most of the miles.

That's one of many that's the reason I carry what I do JUST IN CASE!!

I bought 2 of the Safetyseal Tire Patch kits one for the trailer & Taco & one for the larger tires of the MH. Close to a $100 bucks but with the memory of the above stretch of road MONEY WELL SPENT!!

 

[mwilson]

Hi Big!!

Missed this thread somehow....

A couple of points...

(1) Where you have tools with you consider carrying one unmounted spare for the MH in the trailer. A lot less bulk.

(2) Keep the bottle jack with you but the leveling jacks should be capable of lifting an axle, you might have to slide a block under the leveling foot.

(3) Even with an 1" drive air gun you are going to have problems getting the proper torque when changing a wheel. Hub Piloted rims have to be torqued to 450 ft lbs, no excuses or "Close Enoughs" on those. You may have an on-board air system but it lacks the storage required to power an 1" drive for any length of time. So with that being said you should carry a torque wrench capable of 450 ft lbs and it needs a long enough handle so you don't bust your nuts trying to get it to click. A Snap On quality unit is not needed for that, any reasonably priced torque wrench will work.

(4) You have options regarding flats, if you destroy a steer tire you can single out one of the drive tires and put that on front. The rear studs should have enough threads to allow that.

Just a few things off the top of my flat head.......

Mike.

 

[mwilson]

For tire plugging on cars and big trucks these are the only way to go. You have to break the tire down but they seal the hole AND protect the steel in the tire. People don't stop and think of that but a puncture exposes the steel and it will rust which weakens the casing itself.

You will need to pack a drill and a ream to use these properly but they work well.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Have most if not all of those thoughts covered Mike

I bought 7 Michelin XZA2 tires to replace the skateboard size 19.5's that were on the MH. 6 tires that needed new 22.5 Alcoa's to be mounted on. My thinking on the XZA2's all position tires was, that like most steer tires, when they get funny wear marks on them I can buy 2 new steers and use the older ones as run-outs on the drives. I have one in the trailer just incase as a spare.

The Trailer I added aluminum rims and Michelin Ribs, and bought one extra rim & tire for a Trailer spare. The Taco carries its own.

I do like the Leveling jacks on the MH but also carry a 20 ton pneumatic bottle jack & my trusty 4' torque wrench from when I pretended to be a wrench on my own large cars.

I was down buying parts for the MH exhaust re-do and went by a Friends place that owns a Big Rig Wrecking yard and spotted a Mack truck that had been broadsided on the passenger side. This left the 3 air tanks (aluminum to polish ) undamaged for the Extreme air compressor that I have yet to get mounted along with the air tanks and air line hose reel in the basement of the MH on the other side of where the freezer is placed. the torque wrench fits side to side in that compartment also. Don't know if I will need all 3 of the air tanks they are 10" across and 29" long he made me buy the entire battery box & cab entry step When all I wanted was the tanks