On 10/3/05 11:05 PM, "Jake de Villiers" <crescentbeachguitar@TELUS.NET>
wrote:

>    To address your concerns:
>  (1) Before I had passenger tires on that van, I had truck tires, and
> before that, 3 different sets of car tires, so I know what it drives like 5
> different ways. 

  The load rated tires on the vanagon are there for reasons.  The safety
requirements for the vehicle and to meet NHTSA rules on safety for gross
weight.  Note that the vanagon base tire rule also is actually a german
safety rule as well.  At the time of the vanagon there was no real advantage
to getting LT rating for CAF� as the vehicle was a light truck under the
rules any way you configured it.    To get any kind of exemption it would
have needed a (legal) gross weight capability of 8500 lbs. (at that time an
exceedingly rare vehicle that wasn�t  a commercial truck, now the hummer and
others fit that exemption)

I have experienced my vanagon with a load and standard tires and will never
do it again!  
Also another reason...
Many years ago I was driving a light cargo truck that had a load and
standard tires.  Took low speed sharp turn and almost lost the truck.  Yard
boss that witnessed it said he thought the tires were going to fold right
under it. He had several complaints on the vehicle handling and after
witnessing my incident he looked at the tires and then referred it to base
safety and motorpool inspection section. The tires had just been replaced on
that vehicle and the rest of the fleet by an off base provider for those
vehicles because they were under contract rather than Air Force owned.  The
specified tires for the vehicle were C rated minimum but the contractor had
replaced with standard tires without checking the specs (or just trying to
cheat the contract).   OSHA (don�t know why), NHTSA, and Air Force safety
investigated.  The contractor was fined by OSHA (never understood that one)
after the NHTSA and the Air Force investigations found that the tires were
not just out of spec but a gross violation of basic safety.  At the time the
contract for the vehicles was under consideration for expansion.  It was
cancelled instead. (purchased more dodge rams)

Changing of spec to tighter is many times encouraged.  To change specs to
lesser is usually a violation of safety and/or laws.  In some states it is a
heavy fine to have under spec tires on and most you qualify for a small
ticket (if they bother to check the tires).  In all states if you have an
accident and it is blamed on under spec tires you may kiss your financial
(and possibly legal) bottom goodbye.

jimt