For that money I wouldn't consider such a limited purpose tire except as a
trailer tire!
In a number of respects trailer tires have to be better constructed than
motorized vehicle tires. They have to better handle bouncing-oscillation
loads especially on trailers with limited or no suspensions and they need to
tolerate scrubbing (sideways) dragging  loads and the major requirement is
low rolling resistance. However they do need much in the way of traction,
tracking, or hydroplaning resistance so the best trailer tires can make for
the worse motorized vehicle tires.

For vehicles that operate within city limits and at low speeds this may be
an excellent van or delivery vehicle tire.  Think like the local post office
trucks that never see a highway.
Do the sidewalls of those tires indicate the usage? Tires get marked for
usage in different countries. Can those even be used in the US?

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Jeff Schwaia
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 7:35 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Interesting Tire Info

I had a van come in from Germany with Kumho 857 tires on it.  A quick check
at Tire Rack ( http://tinyurl.com/7rbgptj ) shows that it's for "Trailer Use
Only".

The Kumho USA web site ( http://tinyurl.com/6elsv2p ) says "The 857's
primary application is to be mounted on a trailer".  But then goes on to say
"For commercial light truck, transporter, van and trailer."

The Kumho UK web site (http://tinyurl.com/77qbon4 ) says "The Radial 857 is
Kumho's core range for commercial vans and is widely accepted for its
durability, traction and high mileage performance."

Comes in 185R14, 195R14 & 205R14 from Tire Rack.

So... anyone using these?  Looks like a decent tire for the Vanagon.
Perhaps a little stiff with a "D" rating.

Cheers,

Jeff