I have been plugging tires on my cars for some years now, because I'm terminally cheap, and because I hate changing the wheel, driving all the way into town, and paying someone to do something I could have fixed in five minutes. I carry a small, simple tire plugging kit in the car.
I have never had a tire plug fail, ever, and that includes tens of thousands of miles on plugs. The tire has always worn out before the plug.
But I do follow two strict rules.
1. Plug nail hole type punctures only, no tears, no larger holes.
2. Plug tread holes only, no sidewall holes, even on the side of the tread.
3. And I have added a third rule after doing a bit of research today,--I will not plug tires of ultra low aspect ratio, ie the type of thin-tread tire that seems to be popular right now with a section of the population, lets say a tire of less than 60% aspect ratio. In plain language, a tire like that isn't thick enough to grip a plug well.
OK I'm getting to the question.
I'm now thinking about whether I should be prepared to plug my RV tires which are 270 x 70 x 19.5 . I am careful with RV tires, replaced them at six years of age though they had most of the tread still on them, bought a tire pressure sensing system ((I guess I'm not that cheap)), and so forth. I have Good Sam to look after me, but I am often in areas where Good Sam may take a couple of hours to get there, and I'm even occasionally in areas where there is no cell phone coverage.
I'm not sure if the higher pressure (80lbs cold inflation) makes a difference or not to the safety of plugging or whether or not there are other issues I'm not aware of. I would have my tire pressure sensing system to monitor the tire after repair, of course, and I carry a compressor to inflate to proper pressure with.
The net has many amateur opinions about plugging, with a majority of users being entirely satisfied, at least on my survey.
But the most authoritative opinion I could find was from the NHTSA (which I think is the National Highway Transport Safety Authority) is as follows----
"A plug by itself is not an acceptable repair.
The proper repair of a punctured tire requires a plug for the hole and a patch for the area inside the tire that surrounds the puncture hole. The repair material used - for example, a ?combination patch and plug? repair - must seal the inner liner and fill the injury to be considered a permanent repair.
Punctures through the tread can be repaired if they are not too large, but punctures to the sidewall should not be repaired.
Tires must be removed from the rim to be properly inspected before being plugged and patched".
I think there is a tendency for the NHTSA to cover their ass on an issue such as this, and I think there will be many who simply opt always for the 'rock-solid' absolute. It would be foolish to ask for someone to commit themselves to an opinion beyond the "well, I do it myself" level.
But I'm thinking of doing it myself and I would appreciate opinions.
Rankjo
I have never had a tire plug fail, ever, and that includes tens of thousands of miles on plugs. The tire has always worn out before the plug.
But I do follow two strict rules.
1. Plug nail hole type punctures only, no tears, no larger holes.
2. Plug tread holes only, no sidewall holes, even on the side of the tread.
3. And I have added a third rule after doing a bit of research today,--I will not plug tires of ultra low aspect ratio, ie the type of thin-tread tire that seems to be popular right now with a section of the population, lets say a tire of less than 60% aspect ratio. In plain language, a tire like that isn't thick enough to grip a plug well.
OK I'm getting to the question.
I'm now thinking about whether I should be prepared to plug my RV tires which are 270 x 70 x 19.5 . I am careful with RV tires, replaced them at six years of age though they had most of the tread still on them, bought a tire pressure sensing system ((I guess I'm not that cheap)), and so forth. I have Good Sam to look after me, but I am often in areas where Good Sam may take a couple of hours to get there, and I'm even occasionally in areas where there is no cell phone coverage.
I'm not sure if the higher pressure (80lbs cold inflation) makes a difference or not to the safety of plugging or whether or not there are other issues I'm not aware of. I would have my tire pressure sensing system to monitor the tire after repair, of course, and I carry a compressor to inflate to proper pressure with.
The net has many amateur opinions about plugging, with a majority of users being entirely satisfied, at least on my survey.
But the most authoritative opinion I could find was from the NHTSA (which I think is the National Highway Transport Safety Authority) is as follows----
"A plug by itself is not an acceptable repair.
The proper repair of a punctured tire requires a plug for the hole and a patch for the area inside the tire that surrounds the puncture hole. The repair material used - for example, a ?combination patch and plug? repair - must seal the inner liner and fill the injury to be considered a permanent repair.
Punctures through the tread can be repaired if they are not too large, but punctures to the sidewall should not be repaired.
Tires must be removed from the rim to be properly inspected before being plugged and patched".
I think there is a tendency for the NHTSA to cover their ass on an issue such as this, and I think there will be many who simply opt always for the 'rock-solid' absolute. It would be foolish to ask for someone to commit themselves to an opinion beyond the "well, I do it myself" level.
But I'm thinking of doing it myself and I would appreciate opinions.
Rankjo
