[Thelt]

One of my factory Long Trails picked up a nail. The tire shop says they can't plug it because it is too close to the side wall. They put on my spare for me but now I have three tires with over 22k miles on them and one with almost no miles.

I guess I could just buy a used tire for a spare and go with this since they match. My OCD is kicking in though. I guess when the 3 with 22k miles on them wear out I can buy a new set of four and use the spare as a spare again. Of course that does not work if I go with a different size tire.

Kind of frustrating that they would not plug it, it is not in the sidewall, just fairly close to the edge of the tread.....

 

[Contra]

just buy 4 new tires

 

[Lowcountry]

I had the exact same thing happen - only at about 30K. I just had them replace the damaged one with a new long trail. Then buy all new tires when your ready.

 

[shift_RUSH]

BFG Long Trails are discontinued...though you may be able to locate another to match your spare w/ some luck.

 

[TruckIt]

ask here, someone that went to larger tires may have their old spare they can sell cheap enough and then you can have 2 new ones as a pair.

 

[Thelt]

BFG Long Trails are discontinued...though you may be able to locate another to match your spare w/ some luck.

I guess that is why the tire store said they could not order me a new one. It might be time to move up to some 265/75/16s....

 

[Zero Six LE]

One of my factory Long Trails picked up a nail. The tire shop says they can't plug it because it is too close to the side wall. They put on my spare for me but now I have three tires with over 22k miles on them and one with almost no miles.

I guess I could just buy a used tire for a spare and go with this since they match. My OCD is kicking in though. I guess when the 3 with 22k miles on them wear out I can buy a new set of four and use the spare as a spare again. Of course that does not work if I go with a different size tire.

Kind of frustrating that they would not plug it, it is not in the sidewall, just fairly close to the edge of the tread.....

If it's outside the red painted area shown in this photo, they won't repair it. This is displayed inside the Discount Tires store I got new tires from in January.

 

[Thelt]

I took it to a different tire store this morning and they patched it for me. The nail was about where the edge of that red area ends. I guess it was a judgement call.

 

[Cusser]

I took it to a different tire store this morning and they patched it for me. The nail was about where the edge of that red area ends. I guess it was a judgement call.

Absolutely a judgment call. Remember: tire shops are in business to SELL TIRES. And sometimes their claims of legal liability push folks to buy new tires.

Glad you got that patched; I was going to suggest patching/plugging it yourself. I have fixed about 6 holes in the last few years using a good-quality plug kit.

Typically, getting a tire patched/plugged will be $10-$15; sure, Discount Tire will repair for free, but only if such criteria as wear, tire age, location of the hole is.

 

[Thelt]

This may be the last straw for me with this tire store. I have been going there for years. A few months ago I took my wife's CRV there to check out a clanking noise in the front end. They wanted to sell me a new set of struts for $1,400. I took it to the dealer and they replaced one strut mount and it was less than $200. I chalked it up to them not knowing any better but now I am not so sure.

This store used to be pretty good but they have changed managers a few times and the new one does not seem to be very good.

 

[Nissan4Life]

Tire shops typically patch and not plug. If it is close to the edge then the patch will not site flat and will have issues. I have plugged my own tires for the last 20 years. Never had one go bad on me. The tire We put 8 plugs in the side wall and a can of fix a flat in. We retired as soon as we got a a tire shop though.

 

[Cusser]

Discount Tire used to patch, then they changed to plugs, don't know what they use now.

Thelt - local radio show mechanic (with his own respected shop) says that with oil changes, coolant changes, all at longer intervals these days, some automatic transmissions don't even call for ATF changes, plus vehicles being more reliable these days - that shops will try to rack up the bills when a customer comes in to the shop, simply because they have less customers and employees to pay.

Go somewhere else !

 

[Zero Six LE]

Discount Tire used to patch, then they changed to plugs, don't know what they use now.

Thelt - local radio show mechanic (with his own respected shop) says that with oil changes, coolant changes, all at longer intervals these days, some automatic transmissions don't even call for ATF changes, plus vehicles being more reliable these days - that shops will try to rack up the bills when a customer comes in to the shop, simply because they have less customers and employees to pay.

Go somewhere else !

Patch plugs are common these days.

 

[mtyler11]

One of my factory Long Trails picked up a nail. The tire shop says they can't plug it because it is too close to the side wall. They put on my spare for me but now I have three tires with over 22k miles on them and one with almost no miles.

I guess I could just buy a used tire for a spare and go with this since they match. My OCD is kicking in though. I guess when the 3 with 22k miles on them wear out I can buy a new set of four and use the spare as a spare again. Of course that does not work if I go with a different size tire.

Kind of frustrating that they would not plug it, it is not in the sidewall, just fairly close to the edge of the tread.....

Not sure where you are, but I have a set of 4 BFG LT with 20K sitting in the garage and brand new spare on the rim. I'm in NH. This is also a good example of why folks should rotate in their spare.

 

[Zero Six LE]

Not sure where you are, but I have a set of 4 BFG LT with 20K sitting in the garage and brand new spare on the rim. I'm in NH. This is also a good example of why folks should rotate in their spare.

If it wasn't for the TPMS light I would gladly rotate my spare in the rotation. I can do it with my car because all 5 wheels are monitored by the system. This is my first truck with a full size spare and I can't rotate all 5 tires without having to look at a warning light staring at me.

 

[mtyler11]

If it wasn't for the TPMS light I would gladly rotate my spare in the rotation. I can do it with my car because all 5 wheels are monitored by the system. This is my first truck with a full size spare and I can't rotate all 5 tires without having to look at a warning light staring at me.

didn't realize the TPMS recognized rotation. Thought it was purely psi and abs ring told ecm when it had had a good pressure for a minimum distance. I don't rotate my spare because its a mis-match.

 

[Zero Six LE]

didn't realize the TPMS recognized rotation. Thought it was purely psi and abs ring told ecm when it had had a good pressure for a minimum distance. I don't rotate my spare because its a mis-match.

I am not completely sure how it works. I do know that my light was on when I first used my spare tire when the TPMS tire was at the shop for repair. At another time when I had a flat repaired and drove home on the spare, the light did not come on. It's quirky to say the least. On my Avalon I can turn the light off with a button under the dash once I adjust tire pressures. One time the light came on because the spare tire was low. I wish that my truck had the same system as my car does.

 

[BeefKaKE971]

Yeah, you gotta watch....shops are in it for the money and there is a lot of trust there.

 

[roo_ster]

Thelt:

Yep, judgement call on patch/not-patch. If it holds, good for you.

If the patch does not hold, you might want to consider:
1. Putting your best two tires on the front.
2. A new set of skins on the rear
3. Keep the third/worst Long Trial to mount on a steel wheel you can buy off ebay (I paid $59 incl shipping) so you have TWO spares for when you travel into dinosaur country. (Also easier to get at a spare in the bed when you are towing or the bed is full and have a flat. I keep a kit in a 5-gal bucket that includes a bitty 2-ton bottle jack & socket set, so between the 2nd spare, my socket set, and the bottle jack, I can change a tire lickety-split and not get filthy.

I was never a fan of the Long Trials(1) (wore like iron, but marginal in the dry, bad in the wet, and useless in snow or slop). When a rear tire had a rock punch through the middle of the tread, I replaced both rears with mud grips from Treadwright.
https://www.treadwright.com/search?q=265 70 16
https://www.treadwright.com/products/g26516p
https://www.treadwright.com/products/guard-dog-g26516d

I ran with the 8-ply D load rating.

Of course you don;t have to run mud grips.



(1) Not a misspelling. They _were_ a trial.

 

[Thelt]

The patch is holding so far. The Long Trails have 25k miles on them now. I am not sure how much longer they will go but i want to get the good out of them before I replace them. Based on how they look 40k would be on the high end of when they will be done.

I will probably go with some Michelins when it comes time. I may go up to 265/75/16s then as well.