Preparation: Plugging A Tire 101

Offroad tires aren’t cheap. The bigger you go, the more expensive they get. Roads and trails are a veritable minefield of things that want to destroy your tires, much like just about everything on the beautiful continent of Australia wants to kill you. Most of us carry spare tires on/in our Jeeps because of this, but swapping to the spare isn’t always necessary. A nail or screw through the tread is not a death sentence (usually) for a good tire and can be easily remedied with a plug kit you should already have in your off-road rig.

Tire Plug kits come in a multitude of configurations. Some are designed for general automotive needs and others are specifically geared towards the off-road community. Each of them will have the same basic tools and supplies as a base they may build from.

The kit shown here is a Made In USA kit by Victor with a couple items we added. The kit came with a reamer and plug insertion tools, both with durable plastic handles. The self-contained kit also includes a few packages of self-vulcanizing plugs, a few patches, valve cores with valve core tool, extra valve stem caps, rubber cement, and a pencil type air gauge.

Added to the kit is a small pair of diagonal cutters and an extra rag. With the tool bag kept in the Jeep, there are duplicates, but this ensures that the needed tools are always close at hand for the task, especially helpful for roadside repairs or a trail run that has your rig packed to the brim.

These days, roadside assistance comes from a lot of different sources. Not only does your insurance company likely provide it, often times tire manufacturers and other institutions offer it as well. There won’t always be a definitive need to repair the tire yourself, but 10 minutes plugging the tire yourself could save you the 45 minute plus wait for assistance to arrive.

The process is relatively simple. Many of you probably already know how to do this but it is worth explaining for those that are new, need a refresher or just want to see how other people do it. Check out the pictures and captions for a step-by-step process.