Do we really need a spare tire?

[Flyin6]

I think we missed an opportunity to turn the entirety of Afghanistan into a big off-road desert resort. Every time I see pix of that place, it looks awesome. I would love to wheel there. Get all those guys to stop fighting over poppies and goat fields and set up some guide services. Its a shame the way it played out.

Man that has to be the quote of the decade!

I'm was not high enough up in the decision chain but I would have liked to nuke the place. Nothing of value there at all and those sand people were easy game if our government just allowed us to go kill them. Sounds harsh, just the way I feel. Not worth one good American, and I'm trying not to be prejudicial... I have to leave that alone...too much emotional investment in that hole.

But, Wheeling you say? So being a pilot I got in with everyone there. Became really good friends with the Brits and the Canadians...great people, both. The British Royal Marines set up an off-road driving course (One without IED's) and taught folks (us) how to drive their diesel 5-speed Defender 110s. What a hoot, and with a darned capable vehicle.

I actually had a Land Rover all the way back in Desert Storm. Would run it wide open in the middle of nowhere, Saudi Arabia...What a hoot. We modified a bunch of something like an FJ-40 pickup. Lifted, tires/wheels. Those were fun too. Then there was the Armee HUMVEs. We'd modify the crap out of them. Lifted, 40's, winches, lights, and of course cool gunz.

The Stan is really rugged. I don't think we have anything here to compare. Passes can be at 12,000-13,000 feet. Shelf roads that fall off the planet. and of course people shooting at you while all you're doing is trying to have a little fun...;-)

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[Mash5]

Thanks for serving our country and putting your life on the line for freedom. If you ever make it out west I'd love to hit Death Valley with you and get your take on how it compares. I'll buy you dinner for sure. I would recommend a spare for that trip .
I think we all struggle with what we accomplished over there. I'm sure you guys that lost friends more than most.

 

[Flyin6]

Thanks for serving our country and putting your life on the line for freedom. If you ever make it out west I'd love to hit Death Valley with you and get your take on how it compares. I'll buy you dinner for sure. I would recommend a spare for that trip .
I think we all struggle with what we accomplished over there. I'm sure you guys that lost friends more than most.

I'd be happ-ee to drink a cup of Joe with ya, but the Kali is a long way from here. I believe if I showed up, as a citizen from Kentuckee, I'd be arrested on the spot for something. Who knows what, but I'm sure I'd be found wrong, non-woke, non-liberal, something-phobic, or something else. Best I keep my distance! We are quite different from what I am seeing as being accepted as "Normal" out there. ;-)
You show up on the KAT and I'll buy the dinner!

 

[fourfa]

Try fixing this with plugs:

Stock Wildpeak 33. Ironically on a week-long spring break wheeling trip (just got back), it was on pavement at high pressure (Burr Trail out of Boulder UT) where this happened. Narrow cliffside road, someone coming the other way so I edged over a little too far to the right where there was some fresh rockfall, and caught it exactly wrong

On passing thru Escalante UT after this, I found a used but not bald Cooper Discoverer E-range to replace this as a spare for the rest of that trip ($30). In my experience this is not the place to save 100 lbs

 

[Flyboy2109]

OK, allow me to ask a good question:

Do we need a spare tire?

So in all my days off-roading and on several different continents, in Jeeps, Land-Rovers, Hummers, Chevies, Fords, Dodge and Ram trucks and Ramchargers, in Blazer K-5s and Broncos, in a Tundra and a Tacoma, in a Landcruiser FJ-40 and some Hap thing I can't pronounce. Well in all of those in all "adventures" I have had, I have had almost no flats, and none that I didn't fix, and I never once had to bolt the spare onto the vehicle to be able to drive out.
So, with all this weight savings, I am asking myself, why carry that huge chunk of rubber around when the chances of my ever needing it approach zero?
I have popped a bead, just like most of you, but I just reseated it. Actually, three times in one day once. I even gashed a tire and I just loaded it up with tire plugs, like a dozen of them and the lumpy thing held air and drove to the tire store.
So why do I need anything other than a mini compressor and a good tire repair kit?
Opinions?

Last year I ran into a goat at 50mph here in Hawaii. His horns ripped out the sidewall on a stout 33 tire. Yes, I had to change. Carry a spare? Yup, you never know!

 

[Mad Dog]

I had a 4 inch slice in my sidewall one trip. There isn't a trail repair for that.

 

[Flyin6]

I had a 4 inch slice in my sidewall one trip. There isn't a trail repair for that.

If that happened to me, On some days, I would be tempted to just leave it there...

Put a note on it:

"Give me a good home"

 

[Flyin6]

Last year I ran into a goat at 50mph here in Hawaii. His horns ripped out the sidewall on a stout 33 tire. Yes, I had to change. Carry a spare? Yup, you never know!

That's right up there with being hit by a meteorite...YIKES!!! ;-)

 

[Flyin6]

Observation: It seems almost all of these testimonials were hazardous encounters that destroyed the sidewall. Not many holes in the tread face caused a stoppage that couldn't get repaired. And all the years I have played off-road, not a single sidewall encounter that I was aware of or part of that wasn't caused by something manmade and explosive.
And
This has all been quite convincing. The spare stays...Now saving my pennies for a V8 conversion...

 

[Flyboy2109]

That's right up there with being hit by a meteorite...YIKES!!! ;-)

You should have seen the goat accelerate! Though I was going 50 he somehow got knocked out ahead of me after wrapping around that tire. I bet it threw him ahead by the horns. Ruined tire that I can't get anymore. so my spare is now my main and the spare is same size but different brand. Bummer, I really liked those tires.

 

[Flyin6]

You should have seen the goat accelerate! Though I was going 50 he somehow got knocked out ahead of me after wrapping around that tire. I bet it threw him ahead by the horns. Ruined tire that I can't get anymore. so my spare is now my main and the spare is same size but different brand. Bummer, I really liked those tires.

Normally rapid deceleration and sudden stoppage kills guys like us, I guess the goat died from, what, ..."Rapid Acceleration?"
My only goat experience was when I came back from a mission one day and the "Guys" had one tied up in the maintenance connex! Just like two Marine privates trying to explain anything, when I inquired about it, No one seemed to know anything...

 

[Rusty PW]

With my Power Wagon on 37" Toyo MT's. I found the only rock on a trail at Rausch Creek. 4" gash right in the sidewall.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Yes

 

[Flyin6]

With my Power Wagon on 37" Toyo MT's. I found the only rock on a trail at Rausch Creek. 4" gash right in the sidewall.

Why are we messin' with air anyway?

The Fix to all this nonsense:

 

[Rusty PW]

Why are we messin' with air anyway?

The Fix to all this nonsense:

From what I have read on those. They have their own set of issues for off road use.

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