A small board or piece of sheet metal to put under a jack. I've had a bottle jack sink a few inches into a dirt road and was not able to mount the spare tire.
A set of reverse helical threaded sockets for stripped lug nuts. I haven't needed one for my cars but I've helped change several flat tires where the people did not have the key for their security lug nut.
Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right.
YEP pretty much anything other than a flat is probably electric related. In any case a blanket, gloves, board to support a jack, small air compressor with cig adapter, rope, duct tape, pliers, and a screw driver, oh and 1 extra wind shield washer blade.Originally Posted by M2CattleCo
My Viair 88P has been great for the last 5yrs, I follow the power on/cool down cycle recommendation. Hose + power cable is juuuust long enough to reach back tires on the Tundra Access Cab. Have used on slightly longer trucks by putting the compressor on top of a front tire. Would need to splice an extension for longer vehicles.
I use the 18" Craftsman bag. The 13" that comes in the combo makes a decent little range bag, and I appreciate that it doesn't say "guns inside".
If your spare is maintained, the tire plug kit doesn't really add much for a street vehicle. Off-road, I've seen a guy Frankenstein-stitch a three-finger-wide sidewall flap with baling wire and get it to hold about 10-12 psi, which was all he used in his rock crawler anyway. He added plugs as it began leaking through the day, finishing the trail with 13 plugs in it.
+1 for the safety glasses. I need to add them. I keep a flashlight in the glovebox, not in the tool bag.
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Not another dime.
If you've got a screw or nail in a tire, especially on a truck where you have some room to work, pulling out a plug kit and fixing the tire permenantly is a lot less work than putting on a spare tire. The plug kit is the spare for your spare, and on my motorcycle it is the "spare".
Also, I've driven by the aftermath of someone dropping a box of nails or screws on the interstate more than once and seen several cars on the side of the road waiting for a tow because they had more than one flat tire.
Last edited by Caballoflaco; 09-17-2017 at 12:06 AM.
My only objection to that is that a plug applied from the outside really isn't a permanent repair. A correct repair is both plugged to seal the structure of the tire from weather (the steel belts can rust and cause problems if not sealed) and patched on the inside of the inner liner. Anything less has greater risk of failure.
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Not another dime.
The only time you really need a spare tire on the freeway is if you have a blowout and throw the tread on a drive tire, and are just spinning a rim on the pavement. Maybe if you're in BFE and it's more than 15 miles to the next exit. There's aren't any wheels and tires that cost more than getting hit by some idiot that isn't paying attention. The fatality rate for stranded motorist getting hit by cars at freeway speed is close to 100%.
I stop sticked a car one night in a chase and it was 15 more miles at 50+ mph before it was on rims. People just need to limp their cars off of the road.
Last edited by txdpd; 09-17-2017 at 01:08 PM.
Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right.
Some excellent points here. I've never used one to try to inflate a fully deflated plugged tire, but I've fully gotten my money's worth out of one of the lead acid battery jump starter/tire inflator combos I picked up a while back. I don't have a full size compressor, so I use it regularly to stay on top of tire pressure at home and on trips while avoiding the convergence of task fixation and stupid people, stupid things, and stupid place that comes along with using a gas station compressor. I have used the jump start feature many times to assist co-workers and others (amazing how many people have no idea how old their car battery is), and it is worth the space and weight of hauling it on road trips to have some ability to self aid without seeking the "kindness" of strangers that jumper cables entail. Features (and quality, I'm sure) vary, but most of these have a light and charging ports for other devices, too, and some have a built in inverter so it can be used as a power source at camp site, etc.
After assisting a co-worker with a dead battery recently, I had a new (for me) experience: the battery was so dead that the electric power steering in her vehicle would not function consistently after the car was running. That reinforced my practice of keeping a dedicated box wrench in my glove compartment that fits the battery terminals and holddowns so that I can pull it and replace it if necessary. Mine came with some assemble it yourself furniture, so it wasn't separated from a set and there's no chance I'm going to pull it out of the car for another task and forget to put it back like I might with a Leatherman or socket set.
Believe someone mentioned these already, but I'll put in a plug for the Cold Steel "Special Forces" shovel. Lame name but legit tool. Don't cheap out and skip the sheath--sharpened up, it is definitely multi-purpose.
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-Sp...d+steel+shovel
Last edited by Gater; 09-17-2017 at 01:58 PM.
Thanks for the reminder that just because we can doesn't mean we should, and you're right we shouldn't.
I just picked up a Pittsburgh 12V Compact Compressor for $60 at Harbor Freight. It's rated at 1.35 CFM, compared to the VIAIR 300P at 2.3 CFM. VIAIR also has the 88P and 90P that have price point and CFM ratings closer to the Pittsburgh unit but don't appear to include an installed pressure gauge at the air chuck, which is nice.
I didn't try to inflate any fully flat tires but all the tires on my minivan and sedan were about 5-10 psi low after a temperature drop last week. Each tire took about 20-30 seconds to bring back up to proper pressure. I'd say this unit is the way to go for occasional (emergency roadside) use. I'd probably invest in the higher end VIAIR if I intended to regularly for air up tires after four wheeling, or whatever.
My only minor complaint so far is the pressure gauge on the compressor reads a few PSI high compared to my digital pressure gauge but is close enough to get me in the ballpark. This in not terribly surprising considering the cost, and I wouldn't be surprised if the more expensive VIAIR suffered the same problem. I carry a separate digital pressure gauge anyway.
David S.
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