Let’s just say that the road to glory is riddled with rocks, ruts and a rude awakening for some of those who had not the good thought to pack a two-dollar tire repair kit.

The first thing you want to do is ream the puncture, roughing it up so that the rubber cement and plug adheres properly.

You see, a flat tire is easy to come by when you’re wheeling around in the bare-naked outback. And you may have packed yourself a primo spare with all its Armor All glare, but there’s one thing that you didn’t consider, Murphy’s Law. It’ll find you quicker than the tax man on the fifteenth of April and do some serious damage to a disco Jeeper’s image.

In other words, don’t be caught with your spare tire flat! It seems that once one goes, he others go like dominoes. Well, that’s Murphy’s Law after all. Right?

Trust me. I’ve been witness to a handful of hilarious scenarios involving some cry baby who’s backed over a tire-flattening culprit more than once. Fortunately, I was sitting shot gun and had gotten in the habit of carrying a flat repair kit. It was either fix-it or end up walking it out of the Baja back country. My best advice, go prepared -- even if you’re sitting shot gun. Self-sufficiency is the best way to overcome tyranny as well as idiocy.

Pull the plug from the protective packaging. Notice that we kept the ream inserted in the puncture to keep the tire from losing more air.

So, let’s move onto the crux of this article. Tire repair kits range in complexity. A few kits found on the shelf will set you back a hefty chunk of change, but there are others which were made for those thrifty shoppers in the audience. Being a thrift store shopper myself, I keep a keen eye out for them blue-light bargains the ladies are always bragging about.

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While roaming around an RV shop for a set of 12-volt water pumps I was planning to use in a plumbing system for the Jeeps in the stable, my razor sharp senses honed in on a junk-drawer sale stashed away in the corner. My eyes lit up like a set of HIDs as I dove into the mishmash of throw-away auto accessories.

Now this is where the story takes a bit of a twist for the untrained eye. You see, the only thing I was seeing was China-man markdowns, and this born
and breed, patriotic, flag-flying, Republican don’t go that route.

Once you've threaded the plug through the needle, apply generous amounts of rubber cement.

But much to my eyes’ delight, I saw the perfect set of stocking-stuffers, a “made in the USA” tire repair kit. It came with the simple ingredients for a field repair: a ream, a needle, some rubber cement and a couple of plugs to fill the crucial gap of that ornery flat.

You’ve got a flat. . .

Repairing a punctured tire is an easy five-minute fix. We’ve been successful on punctures created by objects as wide as a nickel. These repairs were made on the tread as well as the sidewall and did not require us to remove the tire from the vehicle. We removed the tire in this series of photos to make it easier on the photographer.

All that is needed for this repair is a ream to clean the puncture, a plug to fill the puncture, a needle to push the plug into position, rubber cement to seal it all up and compressed air to reinflate the tire.

Now it's time to insert the plug. Push it in, and pull it out. Be careful not to push it completely through.

If you’re quick enough, you can make the repair before too much air escapes from the tire. But if compressed air is needed, a cheap can of fix-a-flat can be used but is not recommended. For a more complete field repair, an on-board air compressor is recommended.

Locate it: As you listen for the hissing sound, feel around with the palm of your hand for the hole. You may feel it. If you don’t, run some dust, spit or a bit of water over the general vicinity which you suspect the hole to be. You’ll see the dust blow or the spit or water bubble. Note: It will be easier to locate hole the higher your tire pressure is.

Ream it: Regardless of how much air pressure remains in the tire, grab the ream and drive it through the hole. Don’t be shy. Push and pull. You’re doing this to clean and rough-up the hole to provide a good surface for the rubber cement to adhere to. There’s no need to spend more than 30 seconds driving the ream in and out.

This is about as far as you want to push the plug through. Notice the excess rubber cement. It's better to have a little too much than not enough.

When you’re done honing the hole, leave the ream in to eliminate more loss of pressure to the tire.

Thread the Needle: Pull the rubber plug out of its protective cover. Thread it half way through the needle.

Rubber Cement: While on the needle, spread the rubber cement onto the entire
surface of the plug. Also, dab some cement around the hole (while the ream is still in the hole).

Plug It: Yank the ream, and immediately push the needle through so that the plug goes at least half way through (1/4 of the entire plug). Do not push all the way through.
You may slowly pull the needle out. The plug should remain in the hole. If it doesn’t, there’s something wrong with you. Try it again.

Trim: Trim the excess plug which protrudes from the tire. Carefully use a set of scissors, or cut it off with a knife. This action is similar to that of an umbilical cord. Don’t cut yourself or your baby!

Now it's time to trim the plug. This is done to reduce the chance of the plug getting snagged on an obstacle.

Test it: Listen, put some water or spit over the entire surface of where the puncture once was, making sure the leak is cured. If it ain’t, try again.

Note: This set of BFGs used for this demonstration have logged over 85,000 miles. During that time, the tires were rotated only once. This flat was not staged and was the first and last flat the tires experienced during their term on the 1989 Jeep Cherokee. This is quite amazing since the vehicle had frequented some of the roughest terrain in Baja and the Western United States.

Final Note: Remember, debris left inside the tire will bounce around and eventually eat away at the tire's inner liner causing tire failure. Remove all particles within the tire immediately.