Load rating doesn't mean a lot if they aren't actually C or D (light truck,
6ply or 8ply) tires. There are a lot of tires for big cars with high load
ratings but really mushy sidewalls. The difference is the much taller vanagon
exerts a lot more side pressure as the van leans on curves or blows in the wind
-- softer sidewalls will be more unstable in those situations and can even
fail. I just had an almost new passenger tire on the '82 westy I just bought
(the PO had put all 4 new tires on recently, but none were LT) fail suddenly
with severe internal structure damage -- no leaks, but the tire is almost >
shaped.
   The reinforced wall (6 or 8 ply) is really not an option, IMHO.
I looked at the Vredsteins, couldn't find any suitable in the size I wanted
(207/70/15).

On Fri, Aug 16, 2002 at 10:53:57PM -0700, Leon Korkin wrote:
> What exactly is "reinforced wall" ?
> Vredestein has 3 tires suitable for Vanagon with better load rating then Michelin-
> Transport snow, transport steel and comstock. I like "snow" non-directional and
> grippy looking thread, don't know ply count or pressure. May be 8ply tire.
> There are few listees riding on Vredesteins, could you comment re plys and pressure?
> TIA
> Leon
>
> 8/17/02 6:23:11 AM, Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET> wrote:
>
> >To the best of my knowledge, Michelin was the only company to market the
> >205/70-14 with the 'reinforced" sidewall. Note that it never had an LT
> >rating. My solution has been to go to a 215 or 225/70 and make sure it
> >is rated to be inflated to 44 psi. This will allow the stock tire
> >pressures for the 207/70 reinforced and you get a taller-wider tire at
> >the same time.
> >
> >Dennis
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> >Of Chris Earl
> >Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 1:31 AM
> >To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >Subject: Tires again: Are there any 205/70R14 LT tires on the market?
> >
> >To put the question from a recent post another way: My 87 Westfalia has
> >Michelin 205/70R14 tires on 14 inch alloy wheels. Searches on the
> >various
> >tire sites shows a few in this size but all appear to be auto tires, not
> >light truck tires with reinforced sidewalls. Does anyone know of
> >available
> >brands? Retail sources?
> >
> >Chris
> >
> >

--
Harmon Seaver
CyberShamanix
http://www.cybershamanix.com