Tirerack.com.
That's all you need to know.
Then you find your local tire shop and ask them if you bring in the tires
and wheels, will they mount and balance them.
Most will.  Some won't.
I even have tirerack just ship the tires directly to the tire store, if the
tire store is willing to do that.  Then I schlep the wheels down there.  I
never give them my vanagon.
I never even let them know what kind of car it's for.

It's just my tires that I selected, my clean wheels, and their job is to
mount and balance.
That way I maintain full control of my project.

There are LOTS of parts people and tire people that know nothing of
vanagons, and don't want to be educated either.
If you try to depend on a local tire guy for 'the real dope' .....you'll
likely get in trouble.   If they really are vw and vanagon specialists,
fine, but just generic parts and tire people.....you can't depend on them.
WE know far more about vanagons and their requirements than generic parts
and tire people do, by far. We here on these vanagon lists.

Scott
www.turbovans.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Jarrett Anthony Kupcinski
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:28 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: SSOOORRYYYYYY another tire thread

I don't know about whether the RA08s are discontinued, but my
experience was that ordering from Bus Depot and getting them mounted
locally was still cheaper and easier than getting other tires through
special order at a dealer.  I went to a small local shop and they
mounted and balanced my tires for $5 apiece in 20 minutes while I
waited.  That was far easier than explaining to the monkeys at the
tire shops that I needed LT tires in an odd size for a Vanagon...

"...A vana-what?"
"Vanagon.  Made by Volkswagen. From 1979 to '91."
"Must be foreign.
"It is.  It's a Volkswagen.  It's German."
"Nope.  They don't make tires for that anymore."
"Um, ok.  Your website says you can special order them."
"Nope.  I'm looking in the book right here.  Don't make 'em."
"Hooookay.  Thank you."

...that was when I called a dealer about Continentals, mind you.  My
next call was to Bus Depot.

-Jarrett
89 Westy