What Do You Carry For Flat Mower Tires?

image_pdf

Lawn Care and Landscape Professionals Speak Out

Ijustwantausername: “I REALLY need to do something before I slip up and get a flat 20 miles from home. I can’t carry a tank on my trailer, so do they sell something with compressed air I can put in the toolbox for a few times of use? Fix-A-Flat any good?”

macgyver_GA: “I have a 12-volt air compressor I keep in my truck. I keep it in there for when I need to air down/up the tires when I’m off-roading. I got it … for about $70 I think a couple years ago. It connects to the battery with positive and negative clips.

“I’ve used it a couple times to add air to the mower tires; also used it last week to air the tires back up after I was done driving on the beach up north of Corolla at the OBX instead of having to wait in line at the gas station for air.”

LGL: “I carry a can of slime; works great.”

ztman: “I fill my tires with slime when they are new. If you want to go compact they make CO2 inflators, but they are expensive. Fix-A-Flat will air up a tire, but I would rather have a small compressor if you are just inflating as opposed to sealing a puncture.”

rreyn1812: “I carry cans of mower Fix-A-Flat to air up quickly, and I also carry a small, high-capacity 12-volt pump, and I bought enough wire (30 feet) and 12-volt connectors to extend my cigarette lighter (I have one in the bed of my truck, too) to the rear of my trailer so I can work on a mower loaded on the trailer (I’ve had to do this before), a trailer tire or a truck tire. I also carry enough Fix-A-Flat for a trailer tire or a truck tire. I try to be prepared! Had it happen and didn’t have the stuff with me, so now I do!”

larryinalabama: “Don’t laugh, but I have ‘bicycle tire’ pump that I keep on my truck. It cost less than $10.”

BaxtersEssentialLawnCare: “I have a 1,500-watt inverter in the truck and a 3-gallon air compressor in the toolbox; works great. It’s a lot faster than any 12-volt compressor I have ever used. The inverter ran around $100 and $40 for the compressor.”

ed2hess: “I keep a tank and an electric pump and slime and tire patches. If one of those little fix-it cans will air up a Scag rear tire, I will eat it. And, mower tires aren’t the only thing that goes flat: how about a truck tire?”

gcbailey: “We have 10-gallon tanks on each truck, along with those portable battery booster boxes with a built-in pump, can of slime and plugs; roadsides and industrial commercial properties can suck at times!”

orangemower: “I carry a $10, tiny, little 12-volt compressor and a Black Jack tire plug kit.”

macgyver_GA: “If you go for a 12-volt compressor, get one that connects directly to your battery instead of the cigarette lighter. You’ll get much more CFM out of one that connects directly to your battery.”

caseysmowing: “Only one other person carries a hand pump? To each his own, I guess. I just have a 100 PSI hand or foot pump; it takes about 30 minutes to pump up a rear tire. I only use tire plugs, but would use slime if I had a slow leak I couldn’t fix. Anyone else use a long acre 0 to 30 PSI gauge? Love it. Plus, hand-pump tire gauge and plug kit all fit in the netting behind the seat! Not much room in a regular cab.”

daryl gesner: “I also have a little 12-volt compressor I keep behind the seat of my truck. There’s one in every vehicle I own. It would take forever to get my truck tires to pressure, but works fine for the mowers the few times I’ve used it.”

lawnboy dan: “I too carry a bike pump and a 12-volt compressor that plugs into the lighter to recharge. It’s got a big battery so I can take it where it needs to go. It’s a jumper box, but is worthless as a jumper; it’s got a good compressor.”

rvon99: “I carry a spare tire, small bumper jack out of a old truck, and a cordless impact gun.”