avoiding flat tires?

[Don Lobo]

is it at all wise to use any kind of anti-flat liquid inside the tires to avoid simple flats? I'm not talking about exploding tires, just a normal flat from a nail or something. would be a bummer to get stuck on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere if there's a way to prevent it.

thx!

[bus-bro]

There might something that does that ... but ... that's a 22.5 inch wheel. The tire is about 3 and a half feet in diameter. Any goo that lumps up, is going to make your tire go thump, bump, thump.

[peteg59]

There is no way to 100% "prevent" getting a flat tire. Even a brand new tire can blow unexpectedly for various reasons, however it is more unlikely.

Tire sealants are merely a feel good solution for the owner. Rarely, if ever, will they work effectively in the event of a puncture or sidewall failure.

The best advice for long tire life/service is check tire dates along with sidewall and tread conditions, and regularly check and maintain proper tire pressures.

Tires that are older than 10 years are living on "borrowed time" and could potentially leave you stranded and waiting for a fix...

[Sehnsucht]

Not really a way to prevent a flat tire but you can reduce the odds. In addition to what's already been shared, take the time to actually look at your tires. This is something professional drivers are trained to do yet once they get out there on their own many begin to neglect it until they are left stranded by an unforeseen flat tire. Look for foreign objects in the tread. If it's a nail or bolt, you may need to assess if it's punctured through to the interior which then means don't remove it until you've gotten somewhere that you can get it repaired or replaced. Look for bulges in the sidewalls, precursors to a catastrophic blowout. Look at the shoulder to see if the tread and sidewall appear to be separating. If you get new quality tires then as stated about at 8-10 years you're on borrowed time but that is lessened if the tire is a recap. Not discouraging recaps, just noting they won't last as long time-wise before showing signs of imminent failure.

Carry a spare even if you cannot replace it yourself. If you can provide your own replacement tire it's cheaper than having to buy what roadside will sell you plus you can widen your range of roadside assistance options to those who may be able to perform the task even if they don't carry your tire. Well worth the cost of weight and space to provide your own spare.

[BeNimble]

You should absolutely carry at spare if you are actually traveling over highways and camping. Note that a school bus only operates locally, RVs always have a spare.

[bus-bro]

Most skoolies don't carry a spare.

Where you going to put it? Those suckers are big and heavy. They torque down at 450 ft-lbs. Plus you pack the 12 plus-ton jack and appurtencas.

Or you purchase roadside insurance.

[Ronnie]

I do not carry a spare. I do have a 20 ton jack and wrenches suitable to remove a wheel though, this way can move a rear to the front to get it to a truck stop/tire shop, if a front goes flat. if a rear then I can pop the tire off the rim and run one tire in the rear at slow speed to a shop. Or call tire service. Unless you are off roading or going to junk yards with your bus a flat is pretty rare as long as you keep them properly aired and follow the advice already given.


Oh the tire sealant, yuck what a mess for who ever has to change it. Plus it really does not help and the out of balance it can create.

[Bus'n it]

My bus has two threaded nubs at the bottom center chassis in the front that would have been for a spare tire. I plan to get Alcoa's and keep one of the old front steelie wheel/tire as it is in a good date range/tread thickness. As mentioned, without roadside assistance, how would even I plan on taking down the tire and torquing the nuts properly on the side of the road? I guess its good to at least keep the spare for the road crews to do their magic...
So in answer to the prevention of flats, I doubt putting in Slime or other inner tire sealant would do much on a tire with 110PSI of pressure. Those things may be helpful for a car in an emergency.

[milkmania]

The air in my tires is 31 years old.... I ain't messing with it!
I will, if I hit the road and become NON-Stationary though

[Danjo]

I’ve used a plug kit to fix a flat. I was close to compressed air and I was able to plug a tire in about 5 minutes with the tire still on the bus.

I think it’s worth the $20 to carry one of those and a tube of vulcanizing fluid.

Ive also used a can of fix-a-flat recently on a car tire, but I wouldn’t recommend that for a bus unless maybe a couple cans of you have a cutaway-based bus and then only as a last resort.

If you are going to plug a tire or if a shop is going to apply a patch you don’t want slime in it.

A plug or patch or slime isn’t going to help you if you have sidewall damage.

[cadillackid]

I dont have a spare but I also dont travel to really remote areas so I figure im always a phone call away from a mobile tire rig.. from what ive found the mobile tire guys dont charge a huge amount more than driving into a tire shop.. sure it is a little more but not like one might think.. I do carry jacks and an impact that will pull off the nuts however my body strength is an issue in moving tires around..



my red bus has all 6 all position tires so technically if I blew a steer tire I could put one of the rears up front and limp slowly someplace as the actual load on that bus is under quite a bit what the tires are rated.. that bus has 19.5s and I can move those around myself..


my DEV bus has 22.5s with dedicated drives.. they are too heavy for me to move around myself much.. being daytons it is possible in an all out emergency I could put one of the aggressive drives on the front and limp if I had to.. ie life or death..



but again being that my bus is my mobile office rig for telecom I pretty much dont travel where there is no cell service.. and with Verizon, AT&T, and Tmobile I have yet to be where all 3 are dead...



-Christopher

[Don Lobo]

we spend half the year in remote parts of mexico every winter, if we need a tire on short notice we could easily be out of luck, so we carry an extra tire (no rim). there's always a "llantero" who can come to our roadside disaster, bust the dead tire off the rim and slide on the new one. but if we're not carrying our own extra tire... it could be a multiday epic trying to find what we need. yikes!

[peteg59]

Why not have the tire on a rim and ready? That'll save you some time and money when the "llantero" visits you.

It will weigh more, but it won't take up much more room wherever it is stored...?

[Oscar1]

As Ronnie has said either pack the gear to move a wheel and learn how to do it or pack a spare and call roadside assistance.
And although I've never used the slime in a car tire I've heard tire shops will charge a huge fee if they have to clean a tire of it to do a repair or outright refuse to service the tire. (Upsell a new tire)?
Cost and mess would prevent me from trying it!
Good luck, stay safe
Oscar