4” Sidewall Gash Trail Repair

Looking at other pics of your truck, looks like you have some 265s on there? +1”? Why not just keep your oem spare in stock location?

 

Here’s the tally on cost, $47 for a new tire through Costco after hazard warranty. Sold spare tire for $100 awhile ago.

Those tire guys.. doing their job but damn.. Tires had 7k miles on them so I get the unfortunately, you are just under Toyota’s recommendation for tire wear when replacing a single tire. Wants me to buy 3 new. Nice guy, but I know some practical tire guys who have filled me in awhile ago. Politely told him him there is no way in hell I am buying 3 new tires.

 

Eh...I take risks that could result in death or serious injury everyday at work, not to mention all the dumb stuff I do on my own time. There’s a difference between confidence and just not being prepared with the right tools for the job and managing to get by. All it would’ve taken is for the repair to not work and the OP would’ve been stuck without a second option, or worse, have it blow out the sidewall on the drive home and flip the truck into a ditch.

 

Ya think maybe he should at least carry an inner tube and some irons?

 

See what I mean? Who says that he doesn’t have another option? I’m not busting your balls here. All I’m saying is that most people do things the conventional way and they should.

 

Take a look at this dog. He isn’t worried about anything because he knows dad got this.

 

I did the same trail repair / Bush fix on my jeep some 25 yrs ago in the Calico mtns NE of Barstow Ca .was heading down a rocky sluice filled with Volcanic rocks . Earlier in the day I sliced the sidewall on my r/front and put the spare on

I was heading back to the trail head since I didn't have a serviceable spare . In that nasty rocky sluice were I destroyed the tire earlier and as luck had it I sliced the l/rear tire

Friend who was following me in his Ford Bronco showed me how to do a brush fix tire repair . We used 4 packs of plugs , rubber cement, tie wire and tie wraps . After repairing the tire it held air pressure at 15psi

This repair got my jeep back to camp without any issues and then loaded it onto my trailer . The following day we headed into Barstowto the Goodyear store and they covered my tire under their road hazard warranty with no questions asked

 

Awesome fix, glad it got you out safely. I carry my old spare currently but will be switching that out with my 33" full size during my winter tire swap and then I'm just going to keep the spare in my house until spring rolls around again. Hopefully I'll avoid more road salt rust this way and maybe I'll figure out a surefire way of transporting the new spare without it needing to go under the bed again. Maybe next year will be the year of a high clearance bumper with a tire swingout.

 

A couple bags of tire plugs , roll of safety wire , tie wraps , can of rubber cement or gorilla glue .Should be included in anyone's trail repair tool kit as this will keep you from becoming stranded if the situation ever happens

This Bush fix works !!!!!

 

I could have and maybe I’ll go back. I like to be prepared out there and I do agree it is counterintuitive to be not carry a spare.

It’s easy to justify stuff. I figured with tire repair kit, and on board air I could fix 90% of tire problems. Since I haven’t really had any until today I figured my odds were pretty good. Tough keeping the weight down on these trucks to be prepared. Already sold the hi lift. Have a Leer 180 topper and wood platform and I can feel it. To give an example, most of the time I have less 1/2 tank of gas when I know I will only be town for awhile.

 

I don't rock crawl........

 

OP, Just keep some other emergency supplies with you. A good sleeping bag is a start.

 

Great repair. Think I need to add a few things to my tool kit. If you don't like to carry a spare for running to work or around town where you can easily get help if needed I can understand that. Personally I'd carry one when you go out that far out on trails. Just throw it in the bed and strap it down.

 

OP,

Look at this way, would you forgive yourself for not carrying a spare if it cost you that nice bull elk you saw?

I like other hunters who don't carry spares btw.

 

As I laid in bed last night, I wondered if this would have happen if I aired down... I usually do but wasn’t going deep this day.

 

Ahhhh probably not. Airing down is great for puncture resistance.

 

Try to find one of these. It's an orthopedic surgical instrument called a percutaneous cerclage wire passer. It's basically a pair of pliers that are hollow. Would make threading wire through a sidewall really easy.




They make these handheld ones that would be cheaper, but harder to line up just right.

 

I second on the safety wire and pliers...many uses as well.

Come on everyone...one flat in 250K miles, and field repair know how (I'm assuming drive home was slo-o-o-ow going). Sounds like this is not necessarily an issue for this OP.

OP, I think your field repair was top notch for what it's worth. Might I suggest a small yankee drill for the hole making. If you don't know what these are, here's a you tube link for one:

https://youtu.be/QGHqeLAHddE

Cheap, small, lightweight, and extra bits of varying sizes store conveniently in the handle. This should cut down future field repair times a lot.

 

These appear to be ideal but no luck finding on eBay.

you’ve got me thinking... even one of these narrow pliers would be very helpful for the task.

 

That is a nifty tool. Thanks for sharing!

I ended up using the scissors on the leatherman by jamming one side of the blade in the hole at first and spinning then jamming both blades in there following by reaming tool.