To clarify I’ve not put a spare tire on a personal vehicle in my 40 years of driving. I can only think of 3 tires that needed repair. Last one was found 5 years ago during a routine rotation. Better lucky than good I guess.

4 wheeled passenger vehicle - I've never had a tire go flat before I could get it fixed.

Motocyle - twice

Bicycle - regularly

Travel trailer - twice, one catastrophic tire failure, one picked up a large piece of metal in a construction zone

5th wheel - one catastrophic failure

Boat trailer - 3 months ago, two catastrophic tire failures in the same day.

All of the trailer tires were less than 1 year old and had less than 2,000 miles on them. All were inflated properly and none were overloaded as verified by multiple trips to the CAT scale. The boat and 5th wheel were under 80% of their max load.

It’s been about 38 years.....though I found a nail in one a couple of weeks ago and had it fixed before it went flat.

 
I had a trailer tire disintegrate on my way to the transfer station about 5 years ago. They really put some cheap tires on utility trailers (this is a Big Tex trailer). Thankfully, I had bought the trailer with the optional spare. That is the only tire I've had to change on the road in a long, long time. And I was thankful I had the proper equipment to change it (quality bottle jack with wood blocking). As soon as I emptied the trailer, I went straight to the tire store and bought 3 decent steel belted radials. Otherwise, I've picked up a few nails/screws, but always noticed a low tire and had it fixed/replaced before it went flat. Once my TPMS batteries went dead, I just disabled the idiot light. I've been driving for almost 60 years and never had TPMS for most of that time. I can tell when a tire is low myself, either by inspection or driving it.

Thanks for the thread. I was thinking about replying, but didn't want to tempt fate.

Didn't work. Got a flat on the way home last night!

To be honest, we get more than a few flats. Live on a poorly maintained dirt/gravel road.

The wife is a nail in the tire magnet, at least a couple a year. I keep plugs at home and they work well, I had a heck of a time getting a plug through the tire of her new Caddy last week

I'd guess, on average, one a year for the past 3-4 years. Prior to that, it had been a while.

quote:

All of the trailer tires were less than 1 year old and had less than 2,000 miles on them. All were inflated properly and none were overloaded as verified by multiple trips to the CAT scale. The boat and 5th wheel were under 80% of their max load.

Because the trailer doesn't follow the path of the tow vehicle ("off-tracking"), the tires are subject to getting dragged through the debris that builds up at intersections (also a hazard for motorcyclists), over pavement seams, sometimes even off the pavement altogether, and other road hazards.

I just had a flat on the rear tire of my motorcycle a month ago. I went to go for a ride and found it flat. I have no idea how, but a very long framing nail somehow got into the tire. The tire is brand new and luckily it was in the center so I was able to plug it.

I got new tires on my truck about a year ago and they had Kevlar lined tires for a cheaper price so I bought them. Three times since buying them I have found sheet metal screws or nails in the tires that were not able to fully enter the tire despite having been driven on. When I pulled them out I lost no air. I am really impressed with them.

took a nail entering I-91 South in WRJ, VT. Luckily there was a rest area just down the hwy. Changed it out (in the rain) and I was up and moving in under half hr. It was a pretty new tire too!!!

16 years since I had a flat on my personal car...

But when I was a cop, I’d have three or four a year...lot of driving...a lot of driving...picking up bolts, nails, weird twisted metal bits, and the occasional nail put under a tire while my patrol car was parked outside of my home, always figured it was local kids..specially the teenager from two doors Down who I found and arrested for pills and weed in his driveway

About a year ago

I put a set of new, state of the art, tires on my sports car about 6 months ago....Less than 50 miles later, I had a flat. Sheet metal screw in the center of my tread. At least it was repairable.

Earlier this year I went out to find that both front tyres on my Boxster had a four inch roofing nail driven through the sidewalls.

I don't recall pissing anybody off, but they sure as hell were NOT accidental. That cost me $120 less than my compulsory insurance excess, and I was spitting feathers for a month or more.

Son had one yesterday. drove over something sharp. luckily it was in the center of the tread. he did not take the opportunity to learn how to change a tire. I am aggravated about that.

It had been years since I had a flat while driving. This past July, after returning from Yosemite, I hit something in the road and soon had a flat - five miles from home at 10:30 at night! After waking up at 4:00 am, hiking Half Dome (17 miles roundtrip) and driving home - I got to fix a flat? The spare was low. I ran about 1/3 mile to the Shell station where the compressor was fortunately working!. I was back on the road in about 15 minutes. Even the CHP stopped to provide cover for me. Crazy day! Got home to discover my wife had fallen in the bathroom and was sitting on the floor for about an hour.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Boston:
Son had one yesterday. drove over something sharp. luckily it was in the center of the tread. he did not take the opportunity to learn how to change a tire. I am aggravated about that.

Next time, have a 'sprained wrist' or 'painful sciatica' and watch the little bugger get down to it.

Too much new construction in my neighborhood. Flat last month - roofing nail just far enough to the side to require replacing a new Pirelli snow tire.

Tire Rack's tire warranty worked without hassle, paid for replacing the tire.

Less than six months and insult to injury, new pickup with less than 500 miles on it.

I honestly can't say how long it's been. If it's been so long I can't remember, maybe it's been 6 or 7 years because my car is only 8 years old. But I believe I recall that the last time I had a flat, it was conveniently in my garage when I walked out to go run errands one morning...tire was really low. Jacked up the car and took the tire off the hub...immediately found the sheet metal screw right in the middle of the tread. Put on my full-size spare and went and did whatever I had to do after taking the tire by Discount Tire. Repaired at no charge...THAT'S the kicker!!