Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
I need to sew up an off road tire. A tractor inner tube is used in it so I'm not worried about leaks. Has anybody ever done it. Do I drill holes for the thread?
How do I sew a sidewall.
- Thread starter Stumpalump
- Start date
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
C'mon cheapskate that tires not that expensive. Is is a skat-trak?
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
Sand Tires Unlimited. 13.00 plus that has been comp cut, staggered cut and then cut some more. $400 each plus shipping and then I spend a day groving them. I'm headed over to tractor supply to buy a boot patch but should I sew it first?
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Total W.A.G......pickup a sewing awl from TS with HD nylon thread. Pre-drill the side wall maybe 1/2 in from cut. You'll need access to the inside of tire. Follow the sewing instruction on the sewing awl package for a lock stitch. Sew it. Glue it. Patch it. tube it and pray like hell.....good luck!
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
Thanks! I was about to use dental floss but I'll see what TSC has. I've only got two more weekend trips before it gets hot so hopefully it will hold. I'm getting $pent for this season. Wore out a 3rd gear stack earlier and broke a main shaft last trip. My tranny guy said he has never seen a main shaft break at 4th gear. It says right on Weddels site. "If you drive it like a race car then your going to be buying parts like it's a race car." It's worth every penny!
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
Move over Betsy Ross because here comes Dr. Frankenstein!
Here it is under full air pressure.
Big shout out to the Tandy leather shop in N.Phoenix. $11 for waxed nylon cord and neddles and a free education on sewing thick materials. They got a kick out of what I was doing and went way above and beyond. They said the sewing awl was for speed and not strength so the had me lace up the cord with two needles.
Before I started I used a die grinder with sanding disk to smooth the tire then cleaned it with break cleaner. After sewing the big patch was installed.
The trick to patching is glue on the tire or tube and glue on the patch then let them dry. Real dry. Slap on the patch and roll it with the rolling tool.
I patched the tube and used tire baby powder all over the tube. It helps the tube squirm into position as you fill it and reduces friction.
After it was mounted back up I coated the outside sewing cords with shoo goo. It's a real liquid thick rubber used to fix rubber rafts and shoes.
Anyway that's my first go at it... Do you think it will hold?
Here it is under full air pressure.
Big shout out to the Tandy leather shop in N.Phoenix. $11 for waxed nylon cord and neddles and a free education on sewing thick materials. They got a kick out of what I was doing and went way above and beyond. They said the sewing awl was for speed and not strength so the had me lace up the cord with two needles.
Before I started I used a die grinder with sanding disk to smooth the tire then cleaned it with break cleaner. After sewing the big patch was installed.
The trick to patching is glue on the tire or tube and glue on the patch then let them dry. Real dry. Slap on the patch and roll it with the rolling tool.
I patched the tube and used tire baby powder all over the tube. It helps the tube squirm into position as you fill it and reduces friction.
After it was mounted back up I coated the outside sewing cords with shoo goo. It's a real liquid thick rubber used to fix rubber rafts and shoes.
Anyway that's my first go at it... Do you think it will hold?
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
This what I carry with extra stuff in it. https://www.extremeoutback.com/product/27/The+Ultimate+Puncture+Repair+Kit+Part#+001-009.html
The long tire irons are harbor freight and the short ones are motorcycle. The glue and talc came from Nappa and if you want to carry a tube then just make sure the stem is in the right position and not the real fat truck stem. The best bead breaker I've found is the hi-lift Jack. They are a pita to lube up and use but nothing beats it for breaking a bead. Watch the you tube videos on breaking down and mounting tires and practice if you get the chance. It's impossibly hard if you do them wrong and fairly easy once you know the trick. I think I could change a tire with the motorcycle irons if I had to.
The other rear tire had a cut in the tread area that needed to be sewn today so now both tires are sewn. Previously a stick went thru it. I could only get inside the tire thru the beadlock ring so I wrestled my arm in enough to put a tube patch on the tire then installed a tube. Tube patches are only thin rubber and it bubbled out. Tire patches have cords in them. If you noticed in picture of the patch it tells you what way position the bead needs to be lined up. There are different patches available for bias and radial. Our local Tractor Supply Company had both but the biggest patch said bias tractor use only. Not sure any of that matters in a pinch. The brand they sold was Slime and they worked great. I'm going to beat both tires for 4 days and plan on doing a poker run on Friday. I'm only going to run 14 psi so that ought to be a good test. Wish me luck!
NMC_EXP
Explorer
I worked in a tire shop. If a tube type semi truck tire was run flat for a while, the inside of the tire would be chewed up by the valve stem. For the folks to cheap to buy a new tire the expedient fix was a make a liner for the tire.
Start with a junk inner tube of the same size, split it all the way circumferentially around on the ID, insert this liner into the tire, then insert a new tube inside the liner, reassemble and air it up.
It would work assuming the liner did wrinkle and pinch the new tube.
Start with a junk inner tube of the same size, split it all the way circumferentially around on the ID, insert this liner into the tire, then insert a new tube inside the liner, reassemble and air it up.
It would work assuming the liner did wrinkle and pinch the new tube.