How to Plug a Tire - Weekend Vlog E4

How to plug a tire and save money. Plugging a tire is a simple matter that you can do in your driveway and save time and money. It's only a matter of time before you run over a screw or a nail and end up with a slot leak in a tire. This happened to us the other night, and I thought it'd be a perfect opportunity to share how to do this for those that may not yet know. Enjoy.

[bradlafferty]

Like your teaching style - clear and concise. I feel as if I just had a shop class. And, that I could actually do this myself. Thanks.

[djl]

Thanks man, people today can barely do the basics.

[rftech]

Plug kit is a great thing to have in the car or truck. Thanks Tom!

[gobear]

Tom you have just saved a lot of people from having a duh moment …keep the video coming

[bearbpm]

I too swear by these. And I also use the "extra" rubber cement. I have heard that in some places a plugged tire will not pass inspection (if your state requires such a thing. And we do here in Virginia) but that would be only if they look/find it, I suppose. Don't care...LOVE THEM!!! I too have not had one fail (or multiple plugs, but that's a whole other Oprah Show) before the tire wore out. These things are awesome. Saved my butt on more than one occasion. Keep up the great vids.

[jamess]

Jokes on you! I'm already subbed.
I've always requested that it be plugged or patched, I've only had one tire that had to go in to get an additional repair on the Monday after the weekend.
Thanks for the video. 🍻

[fkfk]

After finding the nail and before pulling it out, draw a circle around the nail. Chalk works best but even a pencil will do.

[BradGryphonn]

I'm at once always amazed at how bluetooth tech has reached even tyres, and somewhat unsurprised that a video such as this is needed for many people. I grew up through the times of split rims and tubes and eventually tubeless. I learned how to hot vulcanize, and cold vulcanize tubes and then had to learn how to patch tubeless tyres. These plugs are possibly the cheapest and easiest way to repair a nail or screw hole but there are many people who can't work out how to use them effectively. As you said, a properly applied gummy plug like this will last as long as the tyre. It's basically chemical welding.

[allouttabubblegum]

Critical skill to know. Both my vehicles have kits and toolboxes for this very reason.

[rodh]

Working in stations as a kid I repaired many tires mostly with a patch but as I don't carry a spare in my XTrek I make sure my plug kit and mini-compressor are with me whenever I leave town on the hiway or to the lake. Or even the can of pressure goo just to get home.

[KUEHLKUEST]

Nice video Tom!! Cheers man!! J & C

[jimholmes]

My friend Rob, AG0DX, Bought a small camper trailer to use as a Ham shack. when we went to tow it home it had a flat on one tire and the hole was in the sidewall. I explained to Rob that tire plugs don't work well in sidewalls. It was only 6 miles to his house so we plugged the sidewall and got it home, blocked and leveled it. 12 years later Rob gave the camper trailer to me. We took it off the blocks and nearly died laughing, the tire with the sidewall plug was still holding air! K0DXJ

[truthreigns]

Great video. People need to understand the basics

[dojo]

You can save a lot of time by not taking the tire off. If you are working on a front tire, you can just turn the tire so you have a comfortable working angle and plug it. If it's in the back, you can almost always plug it without having to take the tire off. The only problem is if you can't get in a good position to get enough force on the plug. You might as well try though since you can always take the tire off later if you can't get in a good enough position. Also, after plugging hundreds of tires, I learned that wire cutters are the best way to grip stubborn pieces of metal that are hard to get out. Get a good bite into the metal and it will almost always come out

[stupidchicken]

I always hand thread the lug nuts on to start, then use my impact to zap them on tight, finishing off with the torque wrench.

[TJbaseliner]

What???... No power tools?! Good point on the cement. The cement makes a world of difference. I've used 5 plugs in the sidewall of an offroad car with lots of cement; got us back to camp.

[jeanpanaccio]

Good video, clear instructions, annoying background music. Thanks.

[ericmed]

Any consideration to cut the excess so it doesn’t block the water channel?