How safe are these tires?

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On my wifes truck (2005 F-150 supercrew), the two back tires so far have been patched due to a screw and a roofing tack causing a leak in them. This afternoon when I came in from work I noticed the passenger front tire was flat. Will it be safe to patch this tire and keep driving or would I be better off to replace the tires being that 3 of them now have had to be repaired? This vehicle carries my wife and 3 year old little girl on a daily basis, mostly short trips but the occasional few hundred mile trip. The tires are General AmeriTracs with about 50% tred left on them. Thanks for any opinions.
 
Personally...I would purchase some new tires. One should never risk the safety of a child (even though the risk may be small). If getting flats seems to be an issue, you should check out some puncture resistant tires. Just my 2 cents.
 
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You're talking about $20 to patch one tire, versus $200+ for purchasing/mounting new tires. Depends on if your wife is Speed Racer. If she's not, patching the one tire seems cost-efficient (as long as the hole is not on the tire shoulder or sidewall). Good luck!
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Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
A properly patched tire is no less safe than an unpatched tire.



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Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
A properly patched tire is no less safe than an unpatched tire.



Problem is, a lot of places don't do it properly. To do it properly, one needs to put a plug in the hole, smooth it flat and then put a patch on the inside. The plug in the hole prevents the internal tire layers from degrading.
 
If it was a Ford SUV (Explorer/Expedition), given their propensity to flip when a tire catastrophically fails, I'd be buying some new tires.

On a pickup, that shouldn't be an issue. I repair my own tires and don't worry a bit about them after they've been repaired.

I'd base it on your wife's driving habits. If your wife drives like my sister does (last speeding ticket was for 78 in a 55).... break down and buy some new tires.
 
I've been plugging tires for years and never had a problem. If I can close the hole with one plug, I keep the tire until it's time to replace.
 
"Problem is, a lot of places don't do it properly."

Ask them to do it properly. Ask them if they think the puncture is too close to the sidewall, or if the tire has other damage that would warrant replacement. Any decent place will use a patch-plug. The tire must be removed from the rim to do this. Your rim weights should be different/moved.

On an older tire that probably needs replacing soon I can understand it. But telling someone to replace a tire with over half it's life left because you think it's not safe only shows how little you know about repairing tires. If you're really interested in an informed opinion, check out Michelin's opinion (they approve of patch-plugs, not plugs) here http://www.michelinman.com/tire-care/tire-diagnosis/tread/damage/

As for plugging it youself from the outside only, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I wouldn't pay someone to try.
 
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Originally Posted By: Junior
Problem is, a lot of places don't do it properly. To do it properly, one needs to put a plug in the hole, smooth it flat and then put a patch on the inside. The plug in the hole prevents the internal tire layers from degrading.



Then the solution is to find a place that do it properly. When I tried to mount a tire that has less than 5/32" thread, most places refuse to do it as the liability is too high. I'd imagine properly patching a tire is the most important thing they would do for liability reason.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
If it was a Ford SUV (Explorer/Expedition), given their propensity to flip when a tire catastrophically fails, I'd be buying some new tires.

On a pickup, that shouldn't be an issue. I repair my own tires and don't worry a bit about them after they've been repaired.

I'd base it on your wife's driving habits. If your wife drives like my sister does (last speeding ticket was for 78 in a 55).... break down and buy some new tires.


The problem with Explorer was the recommended tire pressure is too low and the Firestone tire has a failure mode that is very sudden and "explode" rather than slowly deflate yet hold onto the wheel.

You can get another tire that has this kind of failure mode, mount it with low pressure, and still be more dangerous than patching the originals.
 
Thanks guys. I had it patched for now but did price a new set of Goodyear Silent Armors. Anyone have any thoughts/experience with these?
 
A day or so after having this tire patched, another one went flat with the truck just sitting there. Being that these are the stock set, nearing 88,000 miles on them, I decided to replace them.

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