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Emergency Tire Repair

D

daredevil

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Beaverton, OR
So I woke up today and we had a flat tire. We filled it with air and noticed a leak in the tire on the edge of the sidewall. When we took the tire off the Jeep we noticed a pin hole in the edges of the tread that was leaking air audibly from about ten feet away. I figured the tire was toast because of the area the whole was in (sidewall). I called to find a price on a new tire (I have Interco TRXUS M/T's 33x12.5x15's). They run about $185 per tire plus mounting and balancing. I live on a limited income and can't afford that much right now. So I called around to see if anyone could fix it. Most of the tire shops told me that area can't be patched. I then remembered all the RC crawler guys...they use this cool rubberized glue (Bob Smith Industries, Rubber toughened IC-2000), to attach the tires to the rims on their RC crawlers. I called the Local hobby shop and asked for the car counter. The guy I usually talk to there answered and I asked him if he had ever heard of anyone patching their tire on a full size car/truck with that glue. He informed me that he had patched a tire on a BMX (tire pressure of 100psi) and that his co-worker had patched his tire on his Dodge truck with the same glue. I ran down and bought a bottle. We sprayed the spot with the hole in it down with electric motor cleaner and wiped it with a rag to remove all residual chemicals and dirt. Then we completely aired the tire down and poked the nozzle of the glue into it and filled the hole. Sprayed it with Insta-set. Two minutes later we had a tire that was patched. We rolled the tire next door to the gas station and aired it up. WOOHOO!!! IT HOLDS AIR! The total cost of our emergency repair was under $10 and I still have enough to repair many more pin hole punctures. I will never leave home without this stuff in my emergency kit again.

The guy at the hobby shop also informed me that his co-worker with the patched Dodge truck tire had been driving on it for over a year, and had taken a road trip to Montana (We are in Beaverton, OR) on that tire.

When it is all dry and set it retains a rubberized flexible texture.

The hobby shop is your friend!
 
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I put a nine inch nail through the side wall and out the tread of one of my BFG 33" M/T's in a mud pit once. I took it to Les Schwab, and at first they wouldn't touch it for liability issues, but I took it to another Schwabby and they patched it up for free. I had them put a heavy duty patch on the inside and then stuff the crap out of the holes with rubber tire plugs. That was almost a year ago and I have been wheeling it HARD ever since without a problem!
 
Euphamisms dont work well on the internet.

I assume hobby shop means a shop that sells plastic models and trains?

What is Insta-set? Full product name please.

Where to purchase the bob smith industries product?

Thanks
 
The hobby shop I got my stuff at is called Tammies Hobbies in Beaverton, OR (503-644-453). They do ship. Aask for Mike in RC cars. Insta-set is the product name, also made by Bob Smith Industries.

I was concerned with the same issues when I first came up with the idea. However my concernes were quickly extinguished by the sight of his co-workers Dodge and the massive hole he fixed on the tire. You could see where he had originally mounded the glue up and there had been a nub on the tire. It was worn down some since it sticks off the tire farther than the surrounding tread, but was thoroughly intact and stable, after over a year of driving on it in all kinds of weather on and off road. Like I said he even took a trip to Montana from portland on it that was mostly Highway speed stuff. It sold me on the idea. I was only going to do this for a temp thing until payday so I could get a new tire. But the guy I mentioned siad that he rode his BMX (100psi tires) around for years on that patched bike tire before it finally gave out) I'm sure my 35 psi that I roll around on on the road and 10-14 off road won't hurt the 'patch.'

We took it out in a field and romped around on the tire pretty good to make sure it wasn't going to blow up on me. It held fine. Since the fix, I've also flexed the Jeep on a four foot boulder in a parking lot with the repaired tire on the opposite corner from the high tire so it would support the weight of the rig. Held up like a champ. We also spent all day yesterday pulling a trailer around loaded with scrap wood back and forth to the dump. No problems what-so-ever.

The only draw back to this whole thing so far has been that the GF told me I had to wear out these tires before I could get larger ones. So I kind of shot myself in the foot with my fix. =0Þ

Anyway, the glue is intended for gluing rubber to plastic or metal rims on RC trucks, cars, and rock crawlers. The RPM's that these tires turn to move some of the cars at the insane speeds they go are much like the stresses my big monster off road tire will put it through on the trails/road.

I'll keep you all updated.

If you use this fix you just want to make sure you clean the area you are patching VERY well so the glue bonds to the actual tire and not the dirt in the hole. That's why we used electric motor cleaner and a rag. It makes sure there are no chemicals left behind and cleans the dirt too.

Have a good one.

Matt
 
I tore a hole in one of my new 33" Wildcat EXT's at Rausch Creek a few weeks ago. It's been laying in my shed awaiting a tube so I could use it as an emergency spare. I may have to give your compound repair a try instead...although I'll prob only use it as an emergency trail spare.
 
daredevil said:
Anyway, the glue is intended for gluing rubber to plastic or metal rims on RC trucks, cars, and rock crawlers. The RPM's that these tires turn to move some of the cars at the insane speeds they go are much like the stresses my big monster off road tire will put it through on the trails/road.
Click to expand...

While I'm sure the glue will hold well enough for you, the stresses of a 3700lb vehicle are significantly higher than a 6lb vehicle.
 
jbjustin33415 said:
i had a nitro buggy that was so powerfull if you full throttle on hard clay it would tear the tires off.
Click to expand...

But, that takes nothing into the effect of the massive amount of weight difference.
 
No wonder they call you crabapple.

Just kidding. I think the patch would be a good temp fix, especially if you didnt put a patch on the inside. I personally wouldnt trust it for too long.
 
I was planning on taking the tire off this week sometime and putting a patch in it also. However I think that this stuff is an awesome thing to have in the toolbox for an emergency. Furthermore the guy at the hobby shop that patched the quarter size hole never used a patch and is still running on the same tire over a year later. Not that I am advocating doing this...but it seems to have proven itself. I'm not really worried about it. The reason I decided to use it in the first place was that it actually chemically bonds the material (melts into it) thereby making itself part of the tire. It flexes with the tire and has almost the exact same material characteristics of the original material. It's just kind of cool that it worked.

Use it, or don't. Make up your own mind.

Thanks guys.

Matt
 
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