Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 1 in 5 drivers can't change a flat tire, but many don't have a spare anyway

I would have guessed the ratio of folks who don't know how to change a tire to be higher than 20%.


Tire shops do tend to over tighten lug nuts. I don't allow them to touch mine anymore, except when buying new tires. Quicker for me to rotate my own at home with air tools and floor jack than to drive to the tire shop anyway.

Those of you who are having trouble removing lug nuts and spares might put a little effort into rust prevention, BTW.

Vehicles without spares is nothing new. My then new 1987 F250 HD came without a spare or rear bumper! Dealer simply said "you didn't ask for a spare".

Since going to good tires, I haven't had to change a tire, and it's been years. Good reminder to make sure everything is squared away before hunting season.

I agree,if you drive it's something you should know how to do.Back in the day before steel belted radial tires,flats were very common and when you had a flat,you hoped you didn't have another one before you got that one fixed.These days a person could drive most of their life and never have a flat.

The wheels and tires on my wife's car weigh 97 pounds each. Changing a flat is beyond her physical ability. I got her a fan of Fix-a-flat and roadside service on the insurance.

Flats are pretty rare these days, but it still happens. I think the last one I got was from picking up a utility knife blade in a tire. A can of fix a flat or a plug wouldn't have helped. The tire was a goner. Had to run on the mini-donut until I could get a new one.

I was just on a trip with a friend and compared notes on flat tires. I wondered if the spare in my Suburban would make it to a repair shop. I don't think it has ever been on the road in the over twenty years it has been with the vehicle. I know it holds air because I check it at least once a year, but it might be rotten from age.

Jerry

DAGGUMMIT, BLOWOUT!





Dave

Unless things have changed, it's all there in the owner's manual in exquisite detail complete with drawings. That's how I learned with my first car. Read the f-ing manual, that's what its for. Guess maybe if there was an app for that - What? Actually read from paper? WTF?

Agree with overtorqued lugs. Almost couldn't get them off one dark night (nail). Talked to the tech where they were tightened and he said their air wrenches got calibrated frequently. He's a friend so I believe him. Went home and re-torqued them all. Needed a way long Johnson bar and it sounded like someone was shooting a .22.

Funny thing is, the past 15 years or so I have had more tire shops look up and torque the lug nuts to spec that you would expect. I helped a woman change a tire on her car and I literally had to stand and jump on the end of the lug wrench to break the lugs free. In the trailer I carry a spare tire, bottle jack, lug wrench, and hub with bearings and grease. Lose a hub and you aren't going anywhere and they are a lot harder to source that a spare tire.

some cars come with a inflate a can, some with a 12v. compressor. there are still a few that have the mini donuts, which shouldn't be put on the front for steering or with fwd. 98 F150 has a real spare, but it is a steel wheel that doesn't match the aluminum ones. I cracked one wheel, and the tire shop had a take off for $40. which was pretty good. I keep saying I will buy one more and 5 wheels alike. The 06 Sorento has the spare on an identical wheel, but I didn't feel like springing another $200 for the 5th tire and the tires I put on didn't match size for the supposedly identical Michelin, so theoretically, the spare could overwork my limited slip. Maybe next go round. wife's little 15 chevy trax still has a donut though

Related; I have seen Ford trucks with 7 hole wheels, and 6 hole, but naturally not the same as Chev 6 hole. Remember when all there was was 5 hole GM, 5 hole Ford/Dodge, Chevy truck 6 hole, Jeep/Ford truck big 5 hole, and the 8 hole? and the left hand lugnuts on Dodges, Nashes, and a few.

Except for the spare spare, you can get all that at Harbor Freight for a small price. It won't be the best stuff for repeated use, but it'll get the job done for emergencies.

Haven't had a flat on my trucks in years.. That said, I know where the jack and tools are and I removed the spare from the hanger underneath and put it in the bed. I've had enough practice changing tires on the camper that I can stop - change it - and get back on the road inside of 15 mns.. Oh, and I carry TWO spares for that one (triple-axle)..

I think many women dread having to fight to get a lug nut off. I bought my girlfriend a long breaker bar with corresponding socket. Now she can take them off in a breeze.

Next vehicle I get I'll be damn sure it has a spin on metal oil filter. My Tundra with the "add five steps and cover yourself with oil" paper filter is for the birds.

The under bed carrier on my Dodge works pretty well. I run it down and up occasionally to make sure it stays that way. A can of WD40 under the seat can cure a lot of problems, too. A quick shot of it can change a hi-lift jack from an expensive pry bar into something that will lift a serious load.

A big problem with trailer tires (without TPM's) is that you often can't see or feel a flat until the tire is ruined. If you see pieces of tire flying, it's a bit late.

The lug nuts on my Dodge 2500 truck are torqued to 135lbs and I can break them loose with an extendable Gorilla Bar I bought years ago. I carry a 12v compressor and so far I haven't a flat. I've always noticed when a tire was low, aired it up before it got flat and drove it to the tire repair shop. I'm not too sure I can change a flat on this truck by myself anymore, the tire and wheel weighs 125lbs.

Went to rotate my tires and the lug nuts were so tight it bent my 4-way wench attempting to loosen them. Had to return to the dealer and have them properly torqued. I wouldn't have been able to change a flat. Now I check the lug nuts after my tires have been rotated. Freckin air wenching monkeys!

Once you get past that for-real skid plate, that filter is pretty insignificant. By my third filter change, I wasn't getting any on me.

BTW - I've been told that the internal filter is where the entire industry is eventually going.

To add, all my trucks also carry a plug type repair kit and an electronic inflator. If you are just low on air and in or near town with a slow leak, you can just pump it up and go get it fixed. The string plugs have saved me on a few occasions when I was out in the sticks. Worst was a full on rock puncture. I only had about 3 strings left but I could have fixed the tire and limped in if I had a few more. I cahnged to the spare and went and got a 25 pack of strings.

I have seen a couple studs broken, and a few skewed threads. Makes you mad, and haven't those guys ever heard of Neversieze? I broke a cross at the cheap weld once, apparently smart people take the new ones in have the weld redone right away.

Those plug kits and an inflator are a life saver, specially if you have a motorcycle. We have had a can of snot frozen, which means it didn't work until we could warm it up.

I"m amazed anyone would have to read anything to figure out how to change a flat tire, but then again I'm old.