Can you tube a normal tire?

[mabrodis]

Not specifically Cruiser related but my brother had one of his 285x75 MTRs slashed with a razor by some kids about a month ago. (He got out good, some people had their cars torched, they went up the whole street, like 18 cars had slashed tires). The tire company won't cover it as road-hazard since it was a deliberate act, the slice if very small, but does go through.. Can't even see where it's sliced, very clean cut.

So any chance you could just put a tube in it and use it as a spare? He has been driving on his spare since then and hasn't gotten around to getting another tire...the tire has about 90%+ tread left on it, so would function very well as a spare I would think.

Ideas?

Thanks,
Mark Brodis

 

[Beowulf]

Mark,

If it were a sidewall puncture like an ice pick or something then I would think that a tube would be OK. A razor slice in the sidewall would make me worry about how it would hold up if called upon to get me back down the mountain safely. We're pretty hard on the sidewalls of our off-road tyres.

-B-

 

[mabrodis]

Very true, I thought about that, I couldn't even see the slice, but I didn't air it up to really look closely at that area...maybe a propane torch to melt it back together?

 

[Doc]

Take it to a tire shop, they may be able to patch it so that you'd never know. It's a process that involves fire and chemicals, woldn't try it with a torch....

 

[IdahoDoug]

I recall only enough of a thread from years ago to remember that a tire not designated for use with tubes should not be used with a tube. The reason had to do with internal friction and subsequent heat buildup due to the tube-tire movement. Tube tires have a different construction. I'd take it to a tire shop emphasizing it's future as a trail spare. Liability may still prevent them from working on it as obviously the customer could then go out and use it any way they like.

DougM

 

[Rich]

Here is what goodyear says:

Most punctures, nail holes, or cuts up to 1/4 inch -- confined to the tread -- may be satisfactorily repaired by trained personnel using industry-approved methods. Don't repair tires with tread punctures larger than 1/4 inch, or any sidewall puncture. Also, never repair tires which are worn below 1/16 inch tread depth. Your best bet is to make sure your spare tire is always ready to do the job. Check it regularly for proper air pressure and be sure that it is in good shape. If your car is equipped with one of the several types of temporary spares, be sure to check the spare tire's sidewall for the correct inflation pressure, speed, and mileage limitations.

That being said, some shops with different standards will patch a sidewall.

Myself, I would replace the tire with new and ensure that I have 5 good matching tires and rotate through all of them.

 

[mabrodis]

Good info...makes sense about having a useful spare, it'd be one thing if it was on a trailer that never left the yard or something...but 80mph on the way home from a wheeling trip could easily be bad news...

Thanks guys...
Mark Brodis

 

[JB80]

FWIW, there are shops/companies that specialize in patching sidewalls. I had a small slice on a sidewall on a fairly new tire. Was pretty bummed until a fellow cruiserhead pointed me to a local company called Valley Retreading that specializes in commercial retreads and patching tires on commercial vehicles. I was amazed when I went to their warehouse and saw what they do. they retread and patch thousands of tires each year. I saw tires out there that had many, many, many sidewall patches and were in to have another added. These were tires for dumptrucks, 18 wheelers, etc. They have a vulcanizing process that they use that adheres the patch or re-tread to the original tire that involves chemicals, heat and pressure. I decided to go out there and get their "expert" opinion. My slice was small and looked like it came from a razor (it actually came from a sharp rock, naturally). Anyway, after chatting with them I took their advice to patch it and use that tire as my spare. I think it was about $40.

Of course, on the last run I went on (with wife and two kids and a dog and a log of gear) I got a flat and had to put that patched sidewall tire on. I put about 100 miles on that spare off track and another 160 on the highway before I got into town. Worked out fine.

Certainly you are taking a risk doing this and if I had more $$ I would have bought a whole new set of tires. Most national franchises / chains won't take the risk of touching that tire because of the liability. The company that did this work specializes in it and told me that they do hundreds of similar patches every year on tires that go on vehicles used in mines and that sort of environment and they said that they have not seen any failures. There are other ways to patch a sidewall that will not hold like one that is done properly through this specialized process, and taking a shortcut and doing that is a bad idea. My suggestion would be to only do it in a pinch, and if you do it, make sure it is done properly. I don't run the patched tire on the front of the vehicle. Anyway....that's my sidewall patch story. The guy that sent me to this company had them do a sidewall patch on his MTRs.

 

[Steve C]

It ain't worth it. Just get a new tire, forget about it and move on with your life. Of all the things you can skimp on, tires are not one of them.

One of the problems with tubes is that if you get a nail in the tread, the air will tend to leak out very quickly from around the valve stem, rather than leaking out slowly over a period of days.

There are just too many things that could go wrong to take any chances with a bad tire. If it were a dedicated trail rig, it would be another story though.

All just a friendly word of advice, from an ex tire man.