Developing a Tire Blowout Kit

Do you know how to take care of a flat tire? Do you have what you need to do so in your vehicle?

Knowing how to change a tire is a skill every driver should have. While true, you might be able to call someone for help, that might not always be the case. I have had more than my share of flats, so I thought I would share my experience with you.

There are some items that I think each car should have. I call this a “tire blow out kit”. These items are: 4 Way Lug Wrench, a can of Fix-A-Flat, a usable spare, a pair of leather work gloves and a jack.

Some lug nuts have a special tool and you can only remove them with that specific tool. I have seen some lug wrenches that are all but worthless against any lug nut that has been on a vehicle for any length of time. This is why I like the 4 Way Lug Wrench. It fits many types of lug nuts and you can apply pressure from multiple points.

Some people don’t like to use Fix-A-Flat. It’s true that it will not fix all flats. However, it has fixed a couple of flats for me and people I know. I recommend having a can in each vehicle and knowing when it is appropriate to use. If you’re going to replace the tire and have a working spare, it might be better to use the spare and skip the Fix-a-Flat, as it can make it a bit more difficult to remove the tire.

Check your spare tire now and again, to make sure it’s full. If your vehicle can hold a full size spare, I recommend it. The “doughnut”, AKA the “55 MPH” spare, should only be used to get home or to a garage to have the tire fixed or a new tire put on.

I had one bad blow out on a freeway once going 65 mph. By the time I could pull over, the wire belts were sticking out. This was when I was young and my idea of vehicle preparedness was making sure the oil was changed and there was gas in the tank; so taking the tire off was a pain, literally. Living in Minnesota, I often keep a pair of winter gloves and a pair of leather gloves, having “the right tool for the job” and all that.

There are many types of jacks, and where you place them varies by vehicle. Many vehicles will say where to place the jack in the owner’s manual. As a general rule, you place the jack on the frame of the car.

Here is a video that shows the process of jacking the car up, changing a flat, lowering the car and tightening the lug nuts.

One thing I want to add is that I have had a couple lug nuts that were all but welded on and I could not get them to loosen. In this situation, I use something I call a “breaker bar”. It’s simply a pipe of some kind that I use as a lever, which is placed over the lug nut wrench to give the leverage to break the nut loose.

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