How do I sew a sidewall.

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
I need to sew up an off road tire. A tractor inner tube is used in it so I'm not worried about leaks. Has anybody ever done it. Do I drill holes for the thread?

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krick3tt

Adventurer
April issue of OutdoorX4 (No 25) has an excellent article on just your problem. If you are too cheap to buy the magazine you can look at it at your local book store.
Will tell you exactly how to fix the problem.
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
C'mon cheapskate that tires not that expensive. Is is a skat-trak?

Sand Tires Unlimited. 13.00 plus that has been comp cut, staggered cut and then cut some more. $400 each plus shipping and then I spend a day groving them. I'm headed over to tractor supply to buy a boot patch but should I sew it first?
 

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
Total W.A.G......pickup a sewing awl from TS with HD nylon thread. Pre-drill the side wall maybe 1/2 in from cut. You'll need access to the inside of tire. Follow the sewing instruction on the sewing awl package for a lock stitch. Sew it. Glue it. Patch it. tube it and pray like hell.....good luck!
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
Total W.A.G......pickup a sewing awl from TS with HD nylon thread. Pre-drill the side wall maybe 1/2 in from cut. You'll need access to the inside of tire. Follow the sewing instruction on the sewing awl package for a lock stitch. Sew it. Glue it. Patch it. tube it and pray like hell.....good luck!
Thanks! I was about to use dental floss but I'll see what TSC has. I've only got two more weekend trips before it gets hot so hopefully it will hold. I'm getting $pent for this season. Wore out a 3rd gear stack earlier and broke a main shaft last trip. My tranny guy said he has never seen a main shaft break at 4th gear. It says right on Weddels site. "If you drive it like a race car then your going to be buying parts like it's a race car." It's worth every penny!

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robert

Expedition Leader
This is pretty much how I was taught years ago to patch a tractor tire. It's too bad we can't get vulcanizing patches here anymore.


ETA- The comments under that video will only reinforce the idea that the world is full of morons.
 
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Factoid

Three criminal heroes
Make sure you patch he inside of the tire after sewing! Apparently, tubes don't like abrading against the stitches. I discovered this the hard way.
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
Move over Betsy Ross because here comes Dr. Frankenstein!

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Here it is under full air pressure.

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Big shout out to the Tandy leather shop in N.Phoenix. $11 for waxed nylon cord and neddles and a free education on sewing thick materials. They got a kick out of what I was doing and went way above and beyond. They said the sewing awl was for speed and not strength so the had me lace up the cord with two needles.

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Before I started I used a die grinder with sanding disk to smooth the tire then cleaned it with break cleaner. After sewing the big patch was installed.

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The trick to patching is glue on the tire or tube and glue on the patch then let them dry. Real dry. Slap on the patch and roll it with the rolling tool.

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I patched the tube and used tire baby powder all over the tube. It helps the tube squirm into position as you fill it and reduces friction.

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After it was mounted back up I coated the outside sewing cords with shoo goo. It's a real liquid thick rubber used to fix rubber rafts and shoes.

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Anyway that's my first go at it... Do you think it will hold?
 

Factoid

Three criminal heroes
As long as you're just looking at it.

Actually, as long as you don't hit any rocks, you'll be fine...
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
Awesome work!

I have often thought about carrying the equipment to do this myself on my expeditions, and you have inspired me!

Please report back how it holds up long term.

-Dan
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
Awesome work!

I have often thought about carrying the equipment to do this myself on my expeditions, and you have inspired me!

Please report back how it holds up long term.

-Dan

This what I carry with extra stuff in it. https://www.extremeoutback.com/product/27/The+Ultimate+Puncture+Repair+Kit+Part#+001-009.html

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The long tire irons are harbor freight and the short ones are motorcycle. The glue and talc came from Nappa and if you want to carry a tube then just make sure the stem is in the right position and not the real fat truck stem. The best bead breaker I've found is the hi-lift Jack. They are a pita to lube up and use but nothing beats it for breaking a bead. Watch the you tube videos on breaking down and mounting tires and practice if you get the chance. It's impossibly hard if you do them wrong and fairly easy once you know the trick. I think I could change a tire with the motorcycle irons if I had to.

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The other rear tire had a cut in the tread area that needed to be sewn today so now both tires are sewn. Previously a stick went thru it. I could only get inside the tire thru the beadlock ring so I wrestled my arm in enough to put a tube patch on the tire then installed a tube. Tube patches are only thin rubber and it bubbled out. Tire patches have cords in them. If you noticed in picture of the patch it tells you what way position the bead needs to be lined up. There are different patches available for bias and radial. Our local Tractor Supply Company had both but the biggest patch said bias tractor use only. Not sure any of that matters in a pinch. The brand they sold was Slime and they worked great. I'm going to beat both tires for 4 days and plan on doing a poker run on Friday. I'm only going to run 14 psi so that ought to be a good test. Wish me luck!
 

Factoid

Three criminal heroes
This should be good! Can't wait to hear the results.

Oh, and I'm pulling for a royal flush!
 
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NMC_EXP

Explorer
I worked in a tire shop. If a tube type semi truck tire was run flat for a while, the inside of the tire would be chewed up by the valve stem. For the folks to cheap to buy a new tire the expedient fix was a make a liner for the tire.

Start with a junk inner tube of the same size, split it all the way circumferentially around on the ID, insert this liner into the tire, then insert a new tube inside the liner, reassemble and air it up.

It would work assuming the liner did wrinkle and pinch the new tube.
 

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