High strength tire patch

As we were cleaning up our Tahoe the night before leaving for a 300-mile road trip, I noticed that the right rear tire was nearly flat.  Closer inspection found two nails embedded in the tire.  I swapped on the spare that night, but didn't want to leave town without a functioning spare.  With only a few hours to fix the problem the next morning before we were to leave town, we had some trouble finding a solution.

The tires were purchased at Sam's Club and still had a road hazard warranty there.  While I was at work, Stacy took the truck up to Sam's.  One of the nails was less than 1" from the edge of the tread, and the young kids in Sam's tire shop refused to patch it, fearing liability issues because it was too close to the edge.  We've patched our tires numerous times over the years, and have never had any issues.  Not this time, it seemed.

I phoned another nearby tire shop, and they also refused to patch it for the same reason.

All four these tires are getting a little worn out, and may need to be replaced before next winter.  However, I really didn't have time to choose a new tire model that morning, and nobody in town stocked the Goodyear Forteras that we currently had (and love).

Close-up of the patched hole

I decided our cheapest option to get out of town that afternoon would be to buy a used tire of the same size, so I called Pittman Tires, who could mount & balance one for just $40.  It was near Sam's Club, so I called my wife & had her stop there on her way hope.

While there, they pointed out that they had some high-strength tire patches that could safely patch a hole that close to the edge of the tread.  The best part was that it only cost us $15, and probably took less time then mounting a new tire on our rim.

The tire has been holding up fine so far.  I guess the moral here is to not give up on patching a tire as a cheaper option to replacing it.

As for this fall... if any of you have any recommendations on a good truck tire for highway use, I'm all ears.  Please speak up in the comments below.  We need it to come in a 265/75R16.  I'd be perfectly happy to buy more Forteras, but I'm open to options.