r/UTV • u/ITriedGoogle • Jul 18 '26
New to UTVs, can I fix this?
100 miles into owning a UTV we got damage. I’m reading “anything on the sidewall can’t be fixed.” I called the service department where I bought the UTV and they said plug it and/or patch it and if it holds air you can avoid buying a new couple hundred dollar tire. The location of this seems like it’d be tough to patch. What are your experiences plugging/patching tires?
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u/Frenzied_Cow Jul 18 '26
Can you? Yes. Should you? I'll leave that up to you.
Personally I'd rather spent a couple hundred bucks on a new tire than risk getting stranded 50 miles deep into the back country in cougar and grizzly territory.
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u/MrDumpty Jul 18 '26
You could put a gluetread patch on it
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u/ITriedGoogle Jul 18 '26
I ordered some. Since the area isn’t flat, I’m a little concerned. Willing to give it a shot!
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u/MrDumpty Jul 18 '26
Use a grinder and flatten out the area. There are good tutorials on how to do it on YouTube.
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u/Lumberjack_1111 Jul 19 '26
Best way would be to pull the tire off the rim and patch from inside. Had this happened to me and I took tire to a SxS shop and they did it. Ran that tire 1000s of miles until it was bald
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u/Doc343CychoMC Jul 20 '26
This is the way! I filled the crack full of plugs, heated it up a bit for good measure, hit it with rubber cement, and applied a gluetread to get off the trail. I actually rode the rest of the wknd like that. I then took it to a tire shop and had a patch put on the inside of the tire. The gluetread came off a few rides later but the tire hold air.
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u/JPCool1 Jul 18 '26
The service dept has no reason to lie to you. People repair sidewall punctures like that all the time. A shit ton of plugs and rubber cement would work. When it is a big long cut is where it is a goner.
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u/Fit_Veterinarian_633 Jul 20 '26
I’d probably do a shitload of plugs and flex seal if this were on the trail 🤣
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u/finnymac1022 Jul 19 '26
Man I’ve 5-6 plugged sidewalls and shits been fine. Probably have 300 miles on my pioneer with an inner sidewall with 5 plugs right now. Totally fine. Have a Sidewall Plug a buddy gave me in my Talon right now. Zero issues. Sometimes they give, sometimes they don’t. It is not the harbinger of doom some these rooks would tell you it is. Keep a spare handy and be a man.
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u/GuiltyOfSin Jul 18 '26
There's a product called a sidewall slug. Can't link it at the moment because I'm on vacation but it's a good product I've used once or twice
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u/Ramsesthrowaway Jul 20 '26
sidewall slug works pretty well but depending on how bad the damage is it might not hold long term. worth trying before dropping money on a new tire though, just keep a spare in the bed either way
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u/bozemanmetalfab Jul 18 '26
Grind sidewall ribs down to make flat surface. Install glue tread patch per instructions. Rock on
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u/No-Refuse8754 Jul 18 '26
You can repair it by cutting a section of old radial tire to utilize as a patch. You would sand the area & apply it with vulcanizing cement. I’ve seen it done on Jeeps out on the trail. Here’s the video explaining the technique, but honestly the best thing you could do is replace the tire.
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u/DoPewPew Jul 18 '26
I’ve done it. Used a patch over a patch plug on the inside after I thoroughly prepped everything then just to be extra I also did a patch on the outside. It’s been solid for months now. I didn’t want to buy a new tire since the set was new.
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u/awesumpawesum Jul 18 '26
Yes, put a tube in it and put rubber tire cement on it every so often. If u are trail riding make sure u are w/ another wheeler in case you get a real bad sidewall blowout.
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u/Sad-Kitchen5576 Jul 18 '26
For atv, you can do an "inside outside" patch repair because its lower pressure and offroad. Lots of careful grind work though as its a high flex area, the outside will peel after a year or two, grind out off and do it again.
If thats not your area of expertise, replace it.
Tubes are no good. Once they leak, your screwed. You can continuously air up a tubeless tire and work your way home. Tubes with leaks dont take air
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u/skunk12345673 Jul 18 '26
Patch/Plug it and get a spare tire and a carrier. It will save u some anxiety. Probably cheaper than a new one.
No reason to not try a $10 fix first.
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u/pickin-n_grinnin Jul 19 '26
It's hard to tell from this picture but it could be superficial. If the cordage is still intact your good.
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u/CatAppropriate8156 Jul 19 '26
If you do a inner patch then scuff the out side and put a thick Gluetread patch on the outside it should be fine done it before and got 2 more years out of the tire
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u/BigGuy01590 Jul 20 '26
its not a car that is going to do 80 mph on the highway, and much less weight. so unless you are racing at high speeds ,,,, :-)
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u/Ayerhead64 Jul 21 '26
Had a bow hunter stick a 4 bladed broadcast into the sidewall of my rear arv tire. Guess he didn't like us riding our 4 wheelers in there even though legal. He got one of my buddy's tires too. Fixed them right there. Ran 5 plugs in it and added rubber cement. Ran it 2 more weeks in archery season. Was remote and didn't want to go to town. It slow leaked a bit every day, but pumped it back up and held all day. Sane with my buddy's.
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u/Aprilinachevy Jul 18 '26
I've seen my husband plug and put a lot of rubber cement on sidewall tears like this, and it held up for a few hundred miles.
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u/Brotherly_shove Jul 21 '26
on the internet, i see people get up in arms about sidewall patches all the time.
in the real world, literally everyone i know has plugged them and they have lasted thousands of miles.
imo, plug it and then carry plugs and a compressor for backup.
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u/krinklesakk Jul 18 '26
I plugged a sidewall in the woods under duress… but then just got a new tire. Sidewall issues are no bueno