Poll: If You Get a Flat Tire, Who Are You Gonna Call?

[NW-Bound]

Walt was rebuilding his dad's model T.

 

[aaronc879]

I've made sure to learn how to change a tire if I need to but I have AAA and will let them do it under most circumstances.

 

[W2R]

[silly] Ghostbusters? [/silly]

Sorry, couldn't help it! Every time I see this thread title that response comes to mind.

 

[Walt34]

I thought at 14 you would have been shoeing the horses Walt.........

....well, we had to mine the ore to make the steel to make the car first.

 

[MichaelB]

[silly] Ghostbusters? [/silly]

Sorry, couldn't help it! Every time I see this thread title that response comes to mind.

Same here.

Depends on what vehicle has the flat:

- If it's DW's car, she calls me.
- If it's my truck, I change it.
- If it's the RV, I call roadside assistance.

Same here for DW and my car. At least once per year over the past 4 years for me, just bad luck.

Yesterday afternoon after the roofing crew left I went out and double checked the driveways and street using a large magnet they left behind. Picked up 8 roofing nails between my house and the one next door. Had a nice chat with the job foreman this morning.

 

[Koolau]

As the resident belt, suspenders AND elastic waist band guy, I carry the following (in order of preference to use): 1)AAA card and cell phone. Very handy if the tire actually needs to be taken off and changed out with the spare OR if the car really needs to be towed due to traffic or damage. 2)Emergency Starting Battery with built in tire pump, emergency flasher, emergency LED lighting. Works for "slow leaks" AND when the bead-seal hasn't been lost. Won't work for explosive decompression (severe damage - aka blow out). 3) Free standing 12v tire pump - also with emergency flasher and lights - just in case I have moved the "Jumper Battery" out for a day or 3 to add more luggage, etc. - or when I've forgotten to charge the Jumper Battery for a year or three). Works with cigarette lighter and also only to re-inflate an intact (but slow-leaking) tire. 4)Costco's finest tire sealant, inflator. I used to use these a lot (heh, heh, meaning every few years) to get me where I'm going in a hurry - then on to the tire repair place. NOTE: OF LATE, TIRE REPAIR PLACES ARE SKITTISH ABOUT DEALING WITH TIRES THUS INFLATED. One place charged me (Maybe) $10 extra - after I honestly answered that i had used the stuff. Truly, I would NOT want to injure a tire person, so if I have to go this route, I'll fess up about it. 5) I'll dig out the manual and figure out how to change the bloody tire - assuming I can find everything. Haven't gone this route in maybe 20 years. Hope I never do again, but I remember how. Oddly (or not) some car companies suggest strongly that the consumer not even attempt to change a tire OR in some cases, there IS NO spare - just a so-called run-flat. YMMV

 

[splitwdw]

I change flats on my truck--industrial job site, metal bits everywhere.
Husband changes flats on his trunk--construction job sites, metal bits everywhere.
Older corvettes, whoever is driving is responsible.
Newer corvettes, have run flats.
My husband has had a couple of tires go flat in our driveway. Tires have had screws/bolts embedded in them. He locates leaks and plugs them.

 

[FUEGO]

I have a $6 12v tire inflator in my trunk. Sold by Harbor Freight. I use it to reinflate my tires whenever the pressure runs a little low. I also have a spare. I haven't changed a tire in 10-15 years but it's pretty simple.

DW had a flat while at work a few years ago. She had someone at work change it. Unfortunately the spare tire was also devoid of air. Somehow she made it the 25 miles home. I need to put the $6 tire inflator in her car since she drives way more than me.

 

[calmloki]

I change flats on my truck--industrial job site, metal bits everywhere.
Husband changes flats on his trunk--construction job sites, metal bits everywhere.
Older corvettes, whoever is driving is responsible.
Newer corvettes, have run flats.
My husband has had a couple of tires go flat in our driveway. Tires have had screws/bolts embedded in them. He locates leaks and plugs them.

I noticed I'd picked up a drywall screw and rather than pull the screw and have the tire go instantly flat drove to a tire shop for a patch - they came out to the waiting room to say it couldn't be safely patched, I called bull$$t and hustled out to give them static about trying to up-sell this knowledgeable consumer a new tire when I just needed a plug and patch. Harumph!

When I got there I found the point of the 3" (!) screw had abraded the inside of the sidewall as the tire made it's revolutions, making a nice deep 2" arc in the sidewall. yikees! I thanked them for their assessment and agreed that they were totally correct.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have noticed that over the years, I tend to have more flat tires in the rear due to nails than in the front. My theory is that as the front tires run over the nail or screw, the latter got stood up, if only momentarily, for the rear tires to get impaled.

Do you have the same experience?

 

[calmloki]

I have noticed that over the years, I tend to have more flat tires in the rear due to nails than in the front. My theory is that as the front tires run over the nail or screw, the latter got stood up, if only momentarily, for the rear tires to get impaled.

Do you have the same experience?

Yes, and that is the same theory I've heard to explain the phenomenon.

 

[Ronstar]

My truck - I change
Dw's car - she calls me and I change it
My corvette - no spare - never had a flat- but I have a tire repair kit and have no idea if it will work

 

[NW-Bound]

Speaking about tire puncture repair, plugs are not kosher and the hole is supposed to be patched from the inside. Places like Costco and Discount Tire do not use plugs. The reason is that the plug does not ensure that compressed air cannot get in between plies of the tire and cause thread separation later on.

The above said, I do carry a tire plug repair kit for emergency repair if needed, then have the tire fixed properly later.

 

[jollystomper]

It depends on where I am and what the weather is. If I can make it to a parking lot or quiet road on a warm day. I'll change it. On the side of a busy interstate in rainy/freezing weather, time to call road assistance.

 

[donheff]

Interesting that this question reminded me that I am sorta unprepared. I have roadside assistance with insurance and with the car purchase but I am not sure where the number is. Need to make sure it is in the car. On the other hand I have changed many a flat so shouldn't have too much trouble BUT I don't know what is involved with flats on my car. Don't know what tools are in the back. Don't know what kind of spare is in there. Don't know where the jack points are. Don't know whether they are locking hub nuts. Need to check that out. I can't remember the last time I had a flat and don't look forward to having one.

 

[braumeister]

I've thought about this often over the years, and I'm always amazed at how tire quality has steadily increased.
When I was young, flat tires were extremely common (usually at night, in the rain), but over time they have become extremely rare.

I remember getting a private tour through the Goodyear tire factory in Akron back in the late 70s, and the manufacturing process was much higher tech than I expected, even then.

 

[HFWR]

I call myself...

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

The last 5 out of 6 vehicles I've owned , always bought full-sized rims and spare tires (wife's Taurus wagon can't accomodate a full-size, so we're stuck with the donut tire). Memory indicates none of these tires ever hit the ground, so I guess I do it for the comfort factor and the fact that donut sizes can throw off the alignment and you aren't supposed to drive over 50mph. I also carry a 4-way lug wrench in each vehicle (super hard loosening lug nuts after tire shop has overtighted them after a rotation, etc), plus a can of WD-40 and regular oil among other tools. As said before, the hardest part would be getting the jack to work after so many years of sitting and not being used.

 

[sengsational]

I have noticed that over the years, I tend to have more flat tires in the rear due to nails than in the front. My theory is that as the front tires run over the nail or screw, the latter got stood up, if only momentarily, for the rear tires to get impaled.

Do you have the same experience?

Yep. Kick it up, pick it up. And more often right rear (nearer the lower part of the crown in the road, where debris migrates).

 

[MRG]

I've changed a hundred or more. Last one, at home in driveway, my Silverado has a safety lock on the cable that cranks the spare down. It wouldn't release, so I touched the spring(8" with coils of 1/4" spring steel), immediate release with the meat of my finger trapped.

Realized I couldn't escape with my finger intact, no one around except DW. She calls 911, they hear 'man changing tire is trapped under truck'. Twenty minutes later, ambulance, two emergency vehicles, and a pumper were there. I sheepishly asked if they had some needle nose vice grips. A minute later I'm free, they asked if I want to go hospital via ambulance? I asked if the ER could fix my pride? We all had a good laugh, lesson learned wack that saftey spring with tire iron.

MRG

 

[sengsational]

Here's a picture I took a few days ago of a Cartagena de Indias "flat tire", hehe.

 

[splitwdw]

MRG, Wow, you are really lucky. Hope there was no permanent damage.

 

[imoldernu]

In the 40's (war years), changing a flat was a no brainer. Dad's 29 Ford, and then 39 Olds, with a powderpuff paint job (who remembers that?) had tires, and tubes with literally a dozen or more patches. I learned at age 7 or 8 "how to". In those days, you wore tires down to the cloth treads, and flats were common. Even if you had money, you couldn't buy new tires.
So today... Never realized that my insurance included road service... Called Michigan office from Florida... Turnpike and 10 miles from nearest exit. Service truck there in 20 minutes, and on our way in another 5. Free. Small add on to insurance, nowhere near the Allstate or AAA fees.

And about flats... with older cars, wheel rims become corroded and tiny leaks happen. I use one can of sealer for four tires. If the guy at Walmart complains, I ask him why his company sells the product. So sorry... not my problem. Now, pressure checks don't show any leaks.

 

[Ronstar]

A couple of years ago on a winter night, I got a flat in my truck - and I called DW. She brought me my coveralls, boots, hat and gloves so that I could change the tire without freezing to death. I've kept disaster clothing in my truck ever since

 

[RockyMtn]

Have AAA and run flat tires.