How to Plug a Tire


Fixing a leak on my trailer tire with a tire plug

On my last trip, I noticed that I had a leak in one of my trailer tires.  I did not spot the injury on the road so I just kept an eye on it and made sure to keep refilling it with air.

Back at the shop I removed the tire and spotted the problem right away. There was a nail in the tread.

I used pliers to remove the nail. Sure enough, it went all the way in and the air began to hiss out one it was removed.

I got my tire plug kit out and began reaming out the hole.  Be sure when you do this step you are sure to follow the original injury and don’t add a second hole. If you do you will end up with a leak right beside your new plug.

Once I had the reamer inserted, I cheated and used a drill to spin the reamer. 

With the hole opened, up I peeled a plug out of the pack and put it in the insertion tool.  Since it was cold and the pug was very stiff, I used a heat gun to speed things up. You can always lay them in the sun to do the same thing.

I pressed the plug into the hole and then removed the tool leaving the plug in place. 

I then inflated the tire and used some soapy water to check for leaks.  With no leaks, I reinstalled the tire on the trailer.