Bad luck...Good comment!

[Capt Nemo 882]

Had the bad luck of having a flat during the snowstorm.  I have flat tire indication on my Escape and pulled off into a gas station lot.  Lost the driver's rear.  I tried filling the tire, but the air was escaping as fast as it could be pumped.  Now I'm cussing!  Also in the lot was a state trooper behind a white SUV giving a ticket for something, and another 2 local PD just entered the scene.  So I dig out the spare and jack.  Start cussing some more as the jack point is buried under snow, and the jack wants to slide in the slush.  Even more fun was breaking the nuts as the slush starts soaking through my knees.  The one PD officer just smiles at the fun I'm having.  Got the tire back on and was just finishing torquing as the officers led some woman into the station.  The trooper took a quick look at the emergency preps stored around the spare and said, "You're well prepared for just about anything.  You even have flares.  Cool!"  That made my night, and my knees feel much warmer!

 

There's one prep I now want.  A capacitor driven impact driver.  I saw a NASA person that replaced the nicad's in a 18V DeWalt driver/drill with ultracapacitors.  It will drive about 5-6 screws before needing a recharge, but the recharge was about 1 minute.  That would be perfect for long term storage, as it doesn't have to be stored charged.  You could charge it from the cigarette lighter just before use, recharge as needed, and no worries about the battery not being charged when you need it.  That would save a lot of cussin at trying to bust lug nuts by hand, and screwing the jack up and down.

[YOT 3,743]

AAA. I haven't changed a flat in a decade. Even better with a wife and daughter on the road.

[Mullet Man 2,114]

"Ooooohh....Fuuuuuuuuuuuudddgge!"

[JoeAK 337]

I'd add one of those surplus folding shovels to your kit too, I had to use mine to dig out of the snow several times last year. Could've used it to clear a spot for your jack and your knees.

[Capt Nemo 882]

I have my Army folder back there.  Wouldn't have helped much.  The hard slush was softer on the knees than wet pavement.

 

But having a powered impact driver would have made things MUCH nicer!

[yakdung 2,926]

I carry a very long handled breaker wrench with the appropriate sized impact socket for the lug nut. I was going to purchase a DC impact driver driven by

the battery(s), but have not gotten around to it. Not certain it would give a positive result with an 8 lug HD PU. Good luck.

 

http://www.sears.com/search=1/2%20breaker%20bar

https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A15684181%2Ck%3Aimpact%20wrench%2012v

[Ronin38 2,117]

I've been using a breaker bar for years. Make sure you get a good 6 pt. socket for what you need.

[Capt Nemo 882]

Got the tire patched.  They had to do an inside patch as a plug wouldn't hold.  That'll be good enough for now, but I'll have to replace it before I head out to the boonies to go mining again in the spring.  I'm going to pick up a full size spare, as I don't trust the doghnut on all the gravel roads out there.  Add 600 lbs of black sand gold concentrates to the back (4x5 gal buckets), and it gets real iffy.

[montec 164]

Ive always preferred patch on the inside over a plug. They now have patches that include a plug, im on the fence with them as they poke out and will be pressed back in and could cause the patch to fail.

[Sdustin 578]

I started carrying a plug kit. It's a bitch to put a plug in but having that and a small 12v compressor is easier than changing a tire sometimes. I've actually unfortunately gotten better than I'd like at installing a plug.

 

There's not much room for a spare on a motorcycle so I improvise.

 

And YOT, I work with a guy that won't change his own tire. Also calls AAA, he had his car in his driveway they told him since he was at home they wouldn't change it. What's he do? Roll the car down into the road.

[YOT 3,743]

I started carrying a plug kit. It's a bitch to put a plug in but having that and a small 12v compressor is easier than changing a tire sometimes. I've actually unfortunately gotten better than I'd like at installing a plug.

 

There's not much room for a spare on a motorcycle so I improvise.

 

And YOT, I work with a guy that won't change his own tire. Also calls AAA, he had his car in his driveway they told him since he was at home they wouldn't change it. What's he do? Roll the car down into the road.

 

 

I have a friend that own a garage that accepts AAA. He very much appreciates the calls, and the location doesn't matter. He usually gets a tow charge out of it, too.