Patching an air mattress

Nick

Nick

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Aug 9, 2007
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Ok, so I feel kinda stupid right now. I really wanted to use my ultraplush car camping pad this weekend, but I ripped a nickel sized hole in it on my last trip. So I go to REI and buy a $6 pad repair kit. It comes with a bunch of different material swatches and a tube of some sort of rubber cement type adhesive. It's not a small hole, so instructions just say cover the patch 'evenly' then stick it over the hole. But when I apply that stuff to the patch, it just curls up like crazy and won't stick flat on the pad. I went through the whole tube of glue trying. I sort of got one patch on but I'm not thinking it's enough. Anyone have any tips on doing that more effectively. I'm not at all worried about adding weight to this particular pad.
 
Never had any luck patching those...usually vinyl and nothing sticks very well..
Lots of duct tape maybe???? :cry:
 
Ever tried this ? Haven't myself, but someone whom I trust swears by it.
 
I recommend a clamp or a vise. Maybe you can cut a large patch about 2" around, and patch it from the inside, then sandwich the pad with another patch on the outside.

If this is a walmart queen size $10 air mattress, chuck it. Those things always get holes. :)
 
I would chuck it if its cheap. But if you need to do a temporary patch try the black Gorilla Tape brand. The grey stuff is crap! I bring that Gorilla tape with me on all my camping and backpacking trips. Small roll when car camping. And I wrap a 1" x 2 foot piece around both trekking poles for backpacking. The stuff will stick to most everything. I would use it to patch small holes in my Kevlar canoe when on canoe trips. Also used some this past winter on a snow tube for the kids. The kids are still using the tube. It may not stick so well if the mattress is fuzzy though.
 
I always stuck some books on it when I was patching inner tubes. With a big hole like that you might end up gluing the insides together though...
 
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