Tire repair kit?

zuren

Adventurer
I just got a call from my wife that she has a nail in her tire. Fortunately she was not far from home, in a place where she was able to get air into the tire, and get home before it went flat again. I have the luxury of time so I was hoping to get some recommendations on a more robust tire repair kit than you find at Autozone or the other local parts stores and fix it myself. I currently do not have anything and would have to take it to a shop.

Here is a list I found online:

https://carcaretotal.com/best-tire-repair-kits/

I was leaning toward the Boulder Tools kit - https://carcaretotal.com/best-tire-repair-kits/. Seems to be pretty robust with metal T-handles. Is there anything else equal or better that anyone recommends?

Thanks!
 

trecash6850

Member
Everyone will probably recommend the ARB kit but I used these in commercial repair setting for 10+ years and never once had a problem.
https://www.safetyseal.com
90ddbdf2a3a00f84ef29b633453cb907.jpg


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
 

krick3tt

Adventurer
I have the ARB kit. Haven't used it yet but many in my off road group have it and that seemed to be a qualifying endorsement. I wasn't really concerned about cost, I just wanted to have something on hand for myself or other drivers that need help and it seemed to be reliable.
 

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
I carry an ARB kit in one truck and Safety Seal in another. No practical difference between the two. Realize that plugs are intended to be a temporary repair to get you going again. Always a good idea to take the tire for a proper repair after the emergency has been handled.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Everyone will probably recommend the ARB kit but I used these in commercial repair setting for 10+ years and never once had a problem.
https://www.safetyseal.com
90ddbdf2a3a00f84ef29b633453cb907.jpg


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

I have a similar kit in my car and van. Used a couple times with success. Can be used for temp fixes even on sidewall punctures. I also have a compact 12V air compressor, because a patch isn't worth much without air!
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
I have the Smittybilt 2733. I'm impressed to say the least. It goes beyond putting in a plug. Includes valve cores, pliers, large patches, wire, etc... Sturdy metal tools... Nice kit.

I've used it once, also on my wife's car. good simulation situation. I waited until about 11 pm on a 90+ degree night when I was mad about something else, then went out and used the kit to remove and plug her tire in the light of headlights. It worked flawlessly. After that I added a white grease pencil, some gloves, a tiny bottle of soap ( leak check ). And a couple more tubes of glue from NAPA. Now I'm confident in it.
 
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rnArmy

Adventurer
I carry a safety seal kit in my Jeep. The cords are a bit old, so I should probably buy some new ones. I've only used it once (of course on someone else's tire).

I was just at the NW Overland Rally, and attended a tire repair class (which was excellent). This was the kit that was recommended (along with the safety seal and ARB kits) but this one was much more than just a plug kit:

https://www.extremeoutback.com/product/27/The+Ultimate+Puncture+Repair+Kit+Part#+001-009.html

It is $100.00, but if I was going on an extended trip, this would be part of my tire repair kit (along with tire irons, etc.).
 

rickc

Adventurer
A couple of extra considerations:
- Depending on the nature of the puncture and repair, the tire may also be downgraded speed-wise so slow-down after a field repair; as Ducky's Dad stated above, it's a good idea to get the tire professionally repaired after the fact as this could re-rate your tire for full speed performance.
- To repair the tire, you need to lift the vehicle. If modified, practice at home first to make sure you have the right gear to safely lift the vehicle. I know this sounds so obvious but I was out a few years ago with a small group of trucks and the one with the new lift got a flat tire. We found that the equipment he carried, a stock OEM jack and a new, shiny red HiLift could not be used to lift his truck. There were no points for the HiLift to connect to (he didn't have one of those wheel things and nowhere on the bumpers or frame to safely connect to) and the stock jack was way too small. We used my 12T bottle jack and 12" section of 4"x 4" wood and two tire chocks to do the job.
 
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zuren

Adventurer
How does a tire shop fix a nail/screw puncture? I called around me and everyone quoted $20, or wouldn't give me a quote without seeing it. I always remember the shop doing exactly what these kits will do (plug the hole), but I see a lot of comments that a plug is "temporary" and you need to go to a shop for a "proper fix"; I'm guessing "proper" means demounting the tire, removing the nail/screw, patching from the inside, remounting, rebalancing.
 

Coachgeo

Explorer
For the massively serious overlander/expeditioner when your spare is flat...... and so is one on your rig and you got a long ways to go.... break her down pull tire from rim then- repair method and parts/materials/tools/methods shown in below vids

- Puncture - regular gash - Massive gash
- Oh shiat all I have is a cup of fuel and flat tires.... (fills in the details )
 

teotwaki

Excelsior!
I have this kit plus I carry a sealed can of patch glue and some other extras

The Ultimate Puncture Repair Kit
https://www.extremeoutback.com/product/27/The+Ultimate+Puncture+Repair+Kit+Part#+001-009.html


ultimate_puncture_repair_kit_27.jpg


This kit is designed to work on any tire you encounter, from a quad to a semi and everything in between. We can honestly say that this is the best portable puncture repair kit available, period! We spent months testing tire plugs. We looked high and low for a hand cleaner wipe that actually got grime off your hands when you were done with a tire repair. We wanted a kit that would work whether you were on an expedition or on a job site. It had to be able to handle high-pressure RV tires to high flotation off road tires. Ease of use and quality products were our most important goals when designing this kit. We challenge you to look at other kits on the market. Some have plugs only. Some make a meager attempt to include a patch or two. You want a kit with stocked with multiple repairs. This gives you the ability to help others on the trail with repairs, yet have the confidence that you've got enough product in your kit to work on your own tires if the need arises.

After three months of our own experiments, here are some of the reasons we designed our kit the way we did.

Tire Plugs. Everyone loves tire plugs..People also call them strings or string inserts, the name is interchangeable. Some kits only have plugs and some are black, some brown, some are thick and furry and some are smooth like a pencil lead. Which are best? Well, our testing revealed the brown type in our kit is the best for emergency repairs and wound closure. The brown plugs were also the strongest and did not tear in half when going through multiple steel belted tires. But, most of the brown plugs on the market are big and thick. Ever try to push one of those thick suckers through a brad hole size puncture in an "E" load range tire?? It is hard! You end up having to probe the hole more and more just to get the tire plug into it. Why make a bigger hole in your tire if you don't have to? To solve this problem, we sourced brown plugs that were of a thinner design. So our kit includes 50 plugs in total, 25 of the fat ones and 25 of the thin ones. This way, you've got every size hole or wound covered with the right sized plug!

We included three individual tubes of tire glue. Once opened, if the tube dries out, you still have brand new tubes of glue available in your kit. Most kits forget about tire valve stems and valve cores. We not only remembered, but included both standard pressure and high pressure valve stems. If your tires are over 50 psi, you should have high-pressure valve stems installed. We also included 6 high temp valve cores and 4 steel valve caps. No amount of tire plugs or patches will fix a torn valve stem or damaged valve core. Of course, we also sourced the best 4 way tire tool we could find and the best plug inserter and probe on the market. When ******** Cepek had a tire kit available through his catalog, he included a very large patch for emergency sidewall or tread gash repairs. He called this patch the "Baja Boot". We've also included a "Baja Boot" patch and thank ******** Cepek and his tire repair vision. All of our patches, plugs, valve cores, valve stems, glue and parts are stored in individual Ziploc bags. This keeps your products clean and dry. Also, you don't have to worry about losing or contaminating your product if you drop your kit in the sand, mud or snow. Finally, we've stored all this product in a high quality box with extra room so you can include specific items that you want in your kit.

Here's a list of what comes in each kit.

QTY- 25 THICK STRING INSERTS
QTY- 25 THIN STRING INSERTS
QTY- 2 VALVE STEMS (STANDARD PRESSURE)
QTY- 1 VALVE STEMS (HIGH PRESSURE)
QTY- 2 LARGE SIZE TUBELESS PATCHES
QTY- 3 MEDIUM SIZE TUBELESS PATCHES
QTY- 4 SMALL SIZE TUBELESS PATCHES
QTY- 1 4" X 6" LARGE WOUND REPAIR PATCH "BAJA BOOT"
QTY- 2 LARGE TUBE REPAIR PATCH
QTY- 3 MEDIUM TUBE REPAIR PATCH
QTY- 3 TUBES OF RUBBER CEMENT
QTY- 6 HIGH TEMP VALVE CORES
QTY- 4 STEEL VALVE CAPS WITH O-RING & CORE REMOVER
QTY- 1 4 WAY TIRE TOOL-HARD ANODIZED BLACK
QTY- 1 10 PSI TO 75 PSI PRESSURE GAUGE
QTY- 1 UTILITY RAZOR KNIFE
QTY- 1 BUFFER & STITCHER TOOL
QTY- 1 TIRE PROBE-CHROME PLATED STEEL
QTY- 1 NEEDLE INSER TOOL-CHROME PLATED STEEL
QTY- 2 EXTRA SET OF SCREW & ALLEN WRENCHES
QTY- 1 CHALK FOR MARKING TIRE
QTY- 3 HAND CLEANER WIPES-INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED
QTY- 1 STORAGE POUCH
 

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
I've tried a lot of both on-wheel and off-wheel tire repair kits over the last 50 years and the clear winner is as described above the Safety Seal kit: one or the other of their offerings that fits your size tire. I've owned 13, 4WD's and traveled and camped over 1.5 million miles in a vehicle with more than one lever penetrating the floorboard. I too have gone through maybe 75 of those sticky, caterpillar like plugs and keep a red box of Safety Seals in each of my 4WD's. The secret is the glue. Once installed and trimmed, the plugs will simply not loose air. I would take the other stance regarding: they are a short term fix. I've had some little reddish brown worms sticking out of the sidewall or tread for years until the tire was completely worn out. I carry on board air so everything short of catastrophic failure can be handled without jacking up the rig or removing the wheel/tire. Just find the offending puncture and get it into working position. When I was a hard core rock crawler, tire failure was a way of life. You get very adept at quickly plugging the gash and carrying on. The all time record for number of plugs in one sidewall, at least in my circle, is 17. We called it the Medusa's Head repair.
You don't need all the extra stuff included in the kit posted just above.
Here's the kit.

Below is a much less precarious repair (than the '17') that held lowered pressure air for a week of pass bagging up in the high reaches of the San Juans in CO. (35 pounds instead of 80 pounds)
Approaching 13,114 foot Imogene Pass from the Telluride side with our homey 10K pound sleds.



regards, as always, jefe
 
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jgaz

Adventurer
X2 to the extreme kit shown above in post #15. As also stated above I too carry a brand new, sealed can of glue given the AZ, in vehicle, desert temps where the kit is stored. After a couple years the kit provided glue tubes still seem pliable but you never know.

I’m going to add this tool for installing valve stems.
https://www.opentip.com/product.php?products_id=3613634&ats=product_landing
I have done this job a couple times in the field by various other methods but this seems like a good idea given the small size.

Is all this overkill? Maybe, but time will tell. My wife bought the kit for me for Father’s Day a couple years ago. She is the queen of practical gifts!
 

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