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Old 06-30-2020, 07:30 PM   #14
Terri Kennedy
There and back again
 
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Carmudgeonly Ride: 2003 BMW 325xiT; looking for a new fun car
Location: New York
Posts: 2,939
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff_DML View Post
My plugged tire failed today but it was on a mountain bike
A couple of times I've been offroading with people in the Mojave desert where people have gotten flats. The rule is "if you have one spare and you use it, you turn back". One time a guy limps back into camp with two flats, one where the bead unseated. And of course since everybody has different vehicles (mainly Jeeps, but with very different sized tires and even bolt patterns) it isn't just a case of borrowing somebody else's spare to limp back to civilization.

We set up a team operation where one guy filled an air tank with the highest pressure portable compressor the group had, somebody else was standing by with the highest airflow rate compressor, and 2 other people contributed a can of starting fluid and a plug kit. A quick shot of ether and a lighter to reseat the bead, followed by a blast from the high pressure tank got it to stay seated after a few tries. Then we switched to the high flow compressor and started pouring bottled water on the tire while rotating it to find the leak (no big dunk tanks full of water in the desert). With the leak spotted, it was patched and the tire inflated to the proper pressure and reinstalled. on the Jeep The other tire was a simple case of plug and fill.

That's the group I hang with. Not everyone is so resourceful. One time I was driving down CA 136 by Keeler in my E46 wagon when I spot a heavily customized super duty Jeep at the entrance to Cerro Gordo Road with its hood up. So, being a good citizen I pulled over and asked the guy if he needed any help. He said no, he was just airing back up after coming down from Cerro Gordo. I said "Really? I was just up there yesterday in this (pointing to the wagon). It was obvious he didn't believe me, so as he didn't need help I got back in the wagon and drove off.

Admittedly, Cerro Gordo Road is a bit extreme for a wagon. Here's my BMW in the center of the picture. Note that everything else is Jeeps or pickup trucks:



The road seems fine in many places, but then there are very bad spots with deep ruts, washouts, or sheer rock made smooth by 150 years of pack animal and vehicle travel. Often with 1000' drops on the edge of the 1-lane road. Once you head up there, you're committed - no place to turn around. Here's someone else's picture of one of the mildly bad spots:



Yup, I did that in my E46 wagon with 205/50-17 Potenza S-02 A tires.
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