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Date:         Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:05:14 -0700
Reply-To:     Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Cross Country Travel Tips Wanted
Comments: To: Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@gmail.com>, robertmstewart@mac.com
In-Reply-To:  <67f8ac6c0904142145l2db23628q5c32b95066fb891@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

dear tire thread weary but setting out with confidence anyway ...

wallmart or canadian tire or nearly any auto store sells three dont leave home with out it items yea four 1. portable mini compressor that runs off 12 volt 2. tire valve wrench http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=86089&group_ID=1668&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog 3. tire plug kit http://www.autobarn.net/vicv104.html 4. pressure gauge to qualify air levels in tires after repair also useful but only if you have room and sufficient paranoia a small hydraulic jack that fits under the axle or some other suitable jack point for situations outside the norm

A cautionary word of note ... leak detection and tire repair takes some practice ... -use your pliers to remove the road hazard from the tire ... nails can be pulled out with a slight twisting motion ...and screws can be turned out ...

-shove the awl into the hole immediately both to mark it and to allow easy access before the rubber remembers where it once existed and returns -- one of the failures is often realized when the repair person is not aggressive enough with the awl in finding the direction of the hole ... especially with radial tires where the foreign item can enter strait on then angle sideways ... causing it to squirm between each layer of steel belting ... rather than strait in as one might assume ... -place the plug in the needle applicator ... -pull the awl out with a quick wrist turn ... -insert plug needle with a slight turn of the wrist and then pull handle back out strait - -plug should stay in tire - -use flat linesman pliers to cut tail off plug *with out* pulling on plug ...

air up -- to pressure ... use eye and very light soapy water to search for other leaks

Never use your hand to check for road hazards on the face of a tire ... at the very least a piece o sharp radial steel may be sticking out... these hurt... a lot...

Never under any circumstances repair the sidewall of a tire > PERIOD< Never patch -plug - or reuse a tire that has a damaged sidewall ... No Matter what any one says or tries to sell you

Very often these repairs can be affected with out removing the wheel from the vehicle --yet it is important to note that laying on the road to look at your wounded tire will likely cause serious harm ... pull over where it is safe... air up with the road hazard still in place ... move to a safe place off the road ... then commence repair ...

so much to think about for such a simple procedure ... whould a thought it yours

On Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 9:45 PM, Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@gmail.com>wrote:

> Robert, > > Just catching up on the Digest Mode, something Don Hanson said caught my > eye: > > > Establish a routine for fuel stops. Follow the routine faithfully so > as > > to avoid mistakes. > > I second the motion! Not only that, but once you're west of Kansas or > so, Never, Ever, leave a town with your gas gauge below the half-way > mark. Just because a town is on a map Does Not mean you can get gas > there! > > Also, you asked about the product known as Slime - - great stuff, in a > mountain bike, but I think it's not really meant for speeds above 45 > MPH. There may be a newer version that is, but I haven't seen it yet. > Myself, I'm very proficient with the plug method. Living in an area > with a LOT of nails I have to be. I will say, however, that if your > tires are in good shape you probably won't be getting a flat, seems > like I almost never get a flat until I've got 10 to 12K on the tires, > then it seems they're fair game for almost any nail (I run the > Yokohama Super-Vans). By the time I replace my tires, I usually have > around 4 or 6 plugs per tire (but then, I have quite a bit of the > Scotsman in me). :^) And for those of you who feel plugging tires is > a mortal sin, I guess I'll be seeing you in Tire Hell! > > Gary (currently running with no plugs on fairly new Yokos) >

-- roger w From Proverbs: Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a servant who becomes king ... ---------------------------------------------------------- Explore printed work at: http://www.prliving.ca/ View the growing list of video work at: http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners and ... older work at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7135104650374818257 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259745150182742364


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