Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 10, 2025 ...

picked up a nail in front tire

September 27, 2015, 03:36:41 am

Bless my TPMS for low pressure alarm.  Called Good Sam to repair and was disappointed in their response.  They said they would not repair a front tire due to liability issues; and would only send a tech with a new tire "prepaid" before they would dispatch.

Unsure whether to repair with a tire plug repair kit.  Used my onboard compressor to stop when needed to top off air pressure up to spec while limping home.  Nail is less than a quarter of an inch in diameter and located in the puncture repair area between the shoulders.   

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #1 – September 27, 2015, 07:43:10 am

That's a common tire repair shop philosophy.  I'd have the tire repaired(with an inside plug/patch combo and shift it to the drive axle.  You can use the outside patch to get you to the shop.

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #2 – September 27, 2015, 08:52:08 am

Never had that response for a front tire puncture. WalMart won't repair if it is in the outside rib or further up the sidewall. I've always had whoever did the repair plug and inside patch being careful not to dress the inside through the rubber and into the cords. Don't just plug or just inside patch. Neither will hold for an acceptable time (read the rest of the life of the tire)

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #3 – September 27, 2015, 10:32:45 am

We have a tubeless repair kit on board for the tires and an airbag fix if not too bad. We also have a few new valve cores. Keeps from being stuck along the road, especially if you don't carry a spare.

Pierce

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Reply #4 – September 27, 2015, 11:02:25 am

Use a truck repair shop that can handle the large tire.  Put tire back on the same place or ideally rebalance.

Only use a "patch - plug combo" as shown below.

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Reply #5 – September 27, 2015, 11:57:03 am

Fiddler,
What does the tire manufacturer suggest?
JD

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #6 – September 27, 2015, 01:55:51 pm

Thx all for sharing your experiences and suggestions...according to my incident, Michelin follows most of your replies here.....

Tire Assessment | How to identify a flat tire | Michelin US

Now I'm going to give Good Sam roadside assistance another shot at responding to this as well.

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #7 – September 27, 2015, 06:07:17 pm

                               Have not been able to find a road service like Good Sam or any other that will actually  "repair " a tire . All say the same thing , "will change or replace only "  When I was still in business  and a road service ,--same thing -- Had a nail type flat in St Lewis , Mo.  , called the service , was told the same . I ask the guy , would $50.00 cash get it repaired ? He said you bet your ass . So ,brought my load of boats back to Virginia without a big delay .  Not much changing in this arena .      Brad Metzger 

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #8 – September 27, 2015, 09:34:35 pm

The issue up here with roadside tire repairs and even some in shop repairs are if the tire got soft and not totally flat internal damage to the tire carcass can occur that cannot be visually identified even with the tire dismounted. Most customers will claim it was only a little soft making it impossible for the tech to believe that. I would never use a recap but none of them do anything without x ray inspecting the carcass. The size of the hole is only the beginning so most services are avoiding the liability its more profit to sell a new tire and its more predictable to just remove and replace.

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Reply #9 – September 28, 2015, 10:29:20 am

Without going into detail.. I don't care for the options the road side club offered..

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Reply #10 – September 28, 2015, 11:03:49 am

Had a nail on one of our company trucks. The guy put a plug in it from the outside. When he got back we took tire in to get a patch. They said they would not patch if it had a plug in it. Reason was there was a chance that the cords could have gotten air in them and they started to separate.  That made sense to me. Last thing I would want was to have a blow out and then an accident.

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Reply #11 – September 28, 2015, 12:15:50 pm

I did the same thing yesterday turbojack... my tire man was out of state and I found a flat on one of my trailers... I don't break down tires anymore because of some back issues.. I took the truck to a Truck Stop nearby to repair so my driver could leave last night with no tire issues... The man said the same thing.. if you had plugged it I couldn't touch it.. seems this is the first I had heard of that on a trailer and I have bought and maintained more than a few tires.. I  still don't care for the options the club offered. There should be options of patching a tire and then rotating to another position. Instead we will only send a new tire pre paid.. Oh well I'm being no help but in my business I get similar crap thrown my way and get a mite sensitive to it.. What did you end up doing Fiddler?

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Re: picked up a nail in front tire

Reply #12 – September 28, 2015, 05:28:28 pm

Plug and Patch done;  Good Sam tech arrived with the understanding to mount the "spare"; seems I forgot to pack the spare.  sic  Thx for the reminder Brad; it's still King; worked for me.  And thx to all for the helpful input. 

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