Thoughts on sidewall repair kits …

Hello friends.

Those of you who might have read the Someone Had To Do It thread may remember that I’m looking at tires, and that the tires I’m leaning towards would be 265/70R17, and under 45 pounds. This would limit me to SL or XL rated tires, which we assume are less cut-resistant than LT tires. if I stick with that plan, could I mitigate the risk of a sidewall cut by carrying a sidewall repair kit such as the GlueTread or Sidewall Slug offerings? Has anyone here used one of these kits with success? Failure?

I understand the need to carry a compressor, and the limitations of these repairs, and would of course only use them to get back to the pavement where I would mount the spare.

So what say ye? Success? Failure? Sing out!

 

Your assumption about LT tires may/may not be correct. We use LT tires to hopefully prevent tread and sidewall punctures when going through the rocks in the area we like to go. As far as doing a "sidewall fix" to get back to the world, ya whatever it takes, but to travel for any extended time on a tire with a questionable sidewall... no, shouldn't happen. When you get the sidewall cut why don't you just put on your spare?

 

Depending on your sidewall some patch kits might work... But I've never seen them work in the real world.

I had a buddy who slashed his tire right next to the sidewall design. A patch wouldn't work there. To make matters worse he did not have a spare tire.. We shoved about 14 plugs in the thing and got it out.

I haven't seen success with sidewall patches, just a few failed attempts before swapping to the spare.
In my experience sidewall tears merit the use of your spare tire.

 

Tried to convince Dirk to run a spare after this one.

 

I guess my thought was to preserve the spare for the drive home rather than risk it on the trail.

 

Well, i have had C load LT tires that supposedly had thin/weak side walls and had no issues at all.

But why not go an extra pound and get the Kevlar reinforced Duratrac RT's in XL? I have them and love them and they are super durable, I even chose them over the lighter BaJa Boss. That said why not go for the BaJa Boss that are actually under 45lbs?

 

I have a second spare I toss in and strap down, figured that’ll cover my bases. My last busted tire had a sidewall crack that went into the lugs so not much help a patch like what Gluetread’s hawking would have been. (but being less lazy and airing down might have very well saved me the trouble)

 

I understand the wanting to "save the spare", when you're a couple of miles from the world the spare is an option that pops in lots of peoples' heads. Besides, think of how careful you'll be picking a line through an obstacle!

 

Not to derail, but also what about replacement valve stems like Colbys?

 

Duratrac RTs are pretty great - zero regrets going SL instead of E and haven't had any issues with punctures on desert trails.

 

I seen where someone had cut a section off an old tire sidewalk and put together a kit with some adhesive (not sure what kind) to use in an emergency case just to get off the trail. It worked but sketchy. I’d think it would be a great idea as a backup if you had already used your spare and absolutely needed to get out.

 

Dura Trac RT’s come in SL?

 

Only XL & E from what i understand. I guess he meant XL?

 

255/75R17 are SL. Slightly taller and slightly narrower than stock.