Mr. Rawles,
After getting a flat tire recently in the back-country I decided to beef up my off-road repair kit with more than just a spare tire. I now have two spares. I’ve also added a portable 12V compressor along with a portable tire puncture repair kit like this one.
For $35 the kit includes enough plugs to repair perhaps a dozen punctures, extra valve stems and valves, valve wrench and high quality reamer and needle for applying the tire plugs. It is an excellent kit and is much higher quality than the plug kits you find in typical auto stores.
In some states it’s illegal to use tire plugs, but for an emergency situation it may be just the ticket you need to get to a tire shop and have a proper tire patch applied. – Craig R.
JWR Replies: That is good advice. I must add one proviso: The 12 VDC compressors normally sold for roadside emergencies use a very wimpy compressor that will not re-inflate a flat tire that has the weight of a car resting on in. They just don’t have the requisite oomph. Buy a proper 117 VAC compressor with a 2 gallon pressure tank. (If you are a SurvivalBlog reader, odds are that you already carry a 117 VAC inverter, anyway. These compressors can be run from a small inverter. I’ve done so many times around the ranch.) If you pay less than $50 for a new compressor, then you can be sure that it will be inadequate for anything more than adding a few pounds of pressure to a tire with a slow leak.