Spare Tire Location

[dw321]

I've had a number of flat tires over the course of my life too. One trip to Mexico in my off-road Nissan Patrol, I had three flats in a 6-day period while exploring remote coastal deserts, all punctures caused by cactus spines, all of them easily field repairable, although I didn't have the knowledge I have today to know how to do it so I wasn't prepared with a tire plugging kit. We did it the old-fashioned way with a big, heavy spare, stock car jack, and a lug wrench. It was a half-day affair to find the local tire shop to affect the repair so we had a spare again. Fortunately, we never got two flats at one time because we only had one spare (and no tire plug kit). Almost all of the flat tires in my life were back in the day, flat tires were super common back then, especially if not buying top quality tires, not keeping them properly inflated and not watching what you were doing when driving. That's how it became standard practice to always carry a spare tire/wheel (plus, tires and wheels were much smaller/lighter back then). Now, tires are something I never compromise on quality, even though good tires are expensive. I buy the best I can get, and it's worth it.

I can't remember the last time I got a flat, and I've never had one that wasn't easily field repairable. While that could suddenly change at any time, I think the odds are strongly in my favor, at least strong enough that I'm not about to spend over $1000 so I can lug around 100 lbs. of wheel/tire/tools just in case I get that rare tire damage that cannot easily be field repaired until I can replace it. You can even do a temporary repair on a cut or punctures sidewall if you know what you're doing. Spare tires no longer make sense. I wouldn't even bring one if I was going to travel remote areas of Mexico again.

Tesla will offer a spare wheel/tire kit as an extra cost option (probably well over $1000 extra on a truck needing strong wheels and tires), so the Cybertruck production ramp can become profitable sooner rather than later, and to take care of those people who have never plugged a tire, don't know how, and are convinced a vehicle is not complete unless it has an old-fashioned spare tire/wheel along. I like to do things the easy way, not follow irrational dogma that is no longer valid.

Keep in mind, as a TSLA shareholder, it's in my best financial interest to convince you to buy the optional spare wheel/tire accessory, and many will buy it, because it gives them warm, fuzzy, manly feelings, but I'm an honest person, so I have to tell you it's easier and faster to plug tires than dealing with bulky, heavy and expensive spares. It is an out-dated strategy, even if you want to be self-sufficient. And, yes, you will also feel manly lugging that 80+ lbs wheel out of the bed and trying to wrestle it on the hub studs on the side of the trail. 35" truck wheels might be heavier than you expect, if you have no experience handling wheels this big. When you repair your flat tire(s) the simple way, with a worm by the side of the road, you will feel more like a cross between MacGyver and a ninja warrior.

Always make sure you have a good plug kit, and the knowledge to use it for more tenuous repairs. Tesla will probably not offer plug kits for the same reason they are shunned industry wide, liability. Even the people who make the plug kits will not typically tell you how to shove three or four gummy worms in the hole to get you out of the backcountry, but it typically works really well if you have a bit of common sense.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, even for the cheap made-in-China plugging kits, you will see the gummy worm kits and replacement packs get higher ratings than most products on Amazon (mostly 4.8-4.9 out of 5), and thats a testament that even people that don't know what they are doing tend to have success with this method of emergency repair. If you are a "belt and suspenders" type of guy or gal, get some thin and some thick gummy worm replacements. The thin ones are handy for smaller punctures, cactus and small screws and nails, while the bigger ones can be doubled or tripled up for even larger damage.

I don't plug the tire plugging method to make money, I plug it because it makes more sense than investing a lot of money in a spare wheel and tire and a jack to use it (and I'm shocked that more people are still stuck in the old strategy).

I've had a number of flat tires over the course of my life too. One trip to Mexico in my off-road Nissan Patrol, I had three flats in a 6-day period while exploring remote coastal deserts, all punctures caused by cactus spines, all of them easily field repairable, although I didn't have the knowledge I have today to know how to do it so I wasn't prepared with a tire plugging kit. We did it the old-fashioned way with a big, heavy spare, stock car jack, and a lug wrench. It was a half-day affair to find the local tire shop to affect the repair so we had a spare again. Fortunately, we never got two flats at one time because we only had one spare (and no tire plug kit). Almost all of the flat tires in my life were back in the day, flat tires were super common back then, especially if not buying top quality tires, not keeping them properly inflated and not watching what you were doing when driving. That's how it became standard practice to always carry a spare tire/wheel (plus, tires and wheels were much smaller/lighter back then). Now, tires are something I never compromise on quality, even though good tires are expensive. I buy the best I can get, and it's worth it.

I can't remember the last time I got a flat, and I've never had one that wasn't easily field repairable. While that could suddenly change at any time, I think the odds are strongly in my favor, at least strong enough that I'm not about to spend over $1000 so I can lug around 100 lbs. of wheel/tire/tools just in case I get that rare tire damage that cannot easily be field repaired until I can replace it. You can even do a temporary repair on a cut or punctures sidewall if you know what you're doing. Spare tires no longer make sense. I wouldn't even bring one if I was going to travel remote areas of Mexico again.

Tesla will offer a spare wheel/tire kit as an extra cost option (probably well over $1000 extra on a truck needing strong wheels and tires), so the Cybertruck production ramp can become profitable sooner rather than later, and to take care of those people who have never plugged a tire, don't know how, and are convinced a vehicle is not complete unless it has an old-fashioned spare tire/wheel along. I like to do things the easy way, not follow irrational dogma that is no longer valid.

Keep in mind, as a TSLA shareholder, it's in my best financial interest to convince you to buy the optional spare wheel/tire accessory, and many will buy it, because it gives them warm, fuzzy, manly feelings, but I'm an honest person, so I have to tell you it's easier and faster to plug tires than dealing with bulky, heavy and expensive spares. It is an out-dated strategy, even if you want to be self-sufficient. And, yes, you will also feel manly lugging that 80+ lbs wheel out of the bed and trying to wrestle it on the hub studs on the side of the trail. 35" truck wheels might be heavier than you expect, if you have no experience handling wheels this big. When you repair your flat tire(s) the simple way, with a worm by the side of the road, you will feel more like a cross between MacGyver and a ninja warrior.

Always make sure you have a good plug kit, and the knowledge to use it for more tenuous repairs. Tesla will probably not offer plug kits for the same reason they are shunned industry wide, liability. Even the people who make the plug kits will not typically tell you how to shove three or four gummy worms in the hole to get you out of the backcountry, but it typically works really well if you have a bit of common sense.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, even for the cheap made-in-China plugging kits, you will see the gummy worm kits and replacement packs get higher ratings than most products on Amazon (mostly 4.8-4.9 out of 5), and thats a testament that even people that don't know what they are doing tend to have success with this method of emergency repair. If you are a "belt and suspenders" type of guy or gal, get some thin and some thick gummy worm replacements. The thin ones are handy for smaller punctures, cactus and small screws and nails, while the bigger ones can be doubled or tripled up for even larger damage.

I don't plug the tire plugging method to make money, I plug it because it makes more sense than investing a lot of money in a spare wheel and tire and a jack to use it (and I'm shocked that more people are still stuck in the old strategy).

Well, I'm not too old to learn new tricks. I have plugged tires and been 100% successful, but sidewalls were a different story. So, after your reply, I went online to look at sidewall repair kits and that may be the ticket the next time I am 150 miles from the nearest town in the middle of nowhere and slice a sidewall. Perhaps the days of the spare tire have indeed past.

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[dw321]

I've been driving over 40 years, and I've picked up quite a few nails and screws. But none of them caused a flat that had to be changed roadside. They have all been slow leaks that I have been able to put some air in, drive to a tire shop, get fixed or replaced, and move on. Aside from accidents, I think I've had to change a tire once. Now, that being said, I've had two or three roadside flats, but with AAA or the OEM service, I just make a call, wait 15-20 mins, and as they say "Whoomp, there it is!" And the OEM trucks had full size mounted tires to loan you. I've stopped more than half a dozen times to help someone change a tire, or change it for them.

I won't order an optional spare.

I an referring to places where roadside assistance will not go. I live in the west and am often 100 miles from the nearest town on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. But since this tread started I have investigated sidewall repair kits and that may be the way to go in the futre.

 

[PilotPete]

I an referring to places where roadside assistance will not go. I live in the west and am often 100 miles from the nearest town on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. But since this tread started I have investigated sidewall repair kits and that may be the way to go in the futre.

Well DW,

I'm west-er than you! And I appreciate that many will take this places that AAA won't go. I was only related my experience, and why I personally won't be buying a spare. I understand that you might need one. Just explaining that not everyone will. Thus the concept of making it an option.

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