Tire Repair

Here is a common tire question I received from Dave in Colorado:

“The guy at the tire place said he can’t plug this tire because the
bolt is too close to the side. Is that true?”

It looks like he should be able to plug the tire it is not that close to the sidewall… The tire should be plugged to keep rocks/sand from getting into the tread, but after plugging, to fix correctly, a patch should be used on the inside of the tire to keep tread from delaminating from casing. Before patching the plug will need to be sanded off, inside the tire. If only a plug is used it is possible that the plug seals the tire at the tread, not in the casing, then air pressure is allowed to work between casing and the tread forming a bubble rendering the tire trash. This is not as big of a problem with radial tires (such as yours), as it is with older bias-ply and re-capped tires. Wow TMI. Hope this helps!
Tom