I am the one who posted those links. I have used Tire-easy.com in the past
and have had great delivery service. This is probably one of a few suppliers
that even have choices for XL tires in the 205-70/14 size. It appears that
size is disappearing even in standard tires. It is possible these great
prices are due to these being discontinued. As for your past experiences
with "Eastern" tires, Hankooks are Eastern. Many manufacturers make stuff
all over the world. Nankang is one of the better tire manufacturers. But
like any manufacturer there is good and bad in the product mix. I've had
some not so good stuff from Goodyear and Michelin. When it comes to tires
price is not always a sign of performance.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Don Hanson
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2014 9:57 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Inexpensive tires in the proper load range

Someone recently posted a link to tires suitably rated to mount on 14"
wheels so I decided to try some.  Getting set to fly North, this Snowbird
decided the Nokians I'd been hoping would last on my front wheels were too
thin to trust for a fully-loaded 1500mile mountain/remote journey.

  I read the Web ad  copy and the few reviews (They all said don't buy the
tires BUT..none of those who reviewed them had actually tried them, they
just said their opinions based on??)...talked to the local tire guy who'd
done business with Tires-easy and who had no problem with me ordering 2
tires for drop-ship to his shop.

  Since I need tires but funds are short after 3 months with limited income,
these tires, or try the bald Nokians..I'm now on these ...
  Goform G520, in 205 70 r14.  With a load rating of 98 H extra load, and
suitable weight specs.  They were just $43 each and were here (near the
Salton Sea in southern California) in two days.  Ups shipping was around
$20 for the pair.  The ad copy said "built with Hankook technology.." and
they do feel identical, handling-wise, to the Hankook Rao8s that I've run in
the past.

  I've had awful Eastern tires in the past...Nankang (from LesSchwab  come
to mind) were almost scary-crappy on my van...but these seem to be good .
Half the cost of the Hankooks..

tires-easy.com