Steve,
You may want to consider that tire availability in Canada is substantially
different than tire availability in the USA.

For example, as of two years ago:
-Kal Tire was the only dealer of Nokian tires in Canada.
-The RA08 were widely available (at least in southern Ontario); although
they weren't necessarily in stock anywhere.
-Yokohama's were in stock at Bolton Tire because they are the tire service
shop for CN Rail, which specs those tires for their utility trucks that
drive on railways.

As this info is a couple of years old, at least, keep us posted on your
findings!

gab

On Mon, May 2, 2016 at 12:13 AM, OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@comcast.net> wrote:

>         Since My Post Only Made Reference to SideWall Height & Stiffness,
> Not Load/Weight Recommendations & they
>
> are Both Independent Spec's (1 Does Not Require the Other), I thought that
> it would be Intuitively Obvious To The
>
> Most Casual Observer that I was Making Reference to SideWall Stiffness,
> Not Load/Weight Recommendations, but I
>
> Apparently Thought Wrong ~ So Again to Be Clear For You Ron ~ My Point Was
> -->>
>
>         >>  As SideWall Height is Reduced the Need for Stiff SideWalls
> Also Reduces  <<
>
>
> On 1 May , 2016, at 7:46 PM, The Bus Depot wrote:
>
> >> Very Possibly the Only Reason that VW applied the Tire Spec's
> >> that they did to the Vanagon, was due to the Small Wheel Diameter
> >
> >
> > Not so.  Modern day VW vans (Eurovans in the U.S., and T5's in Europe)
> also
> > require extra-load tires (load index 100, which is 1674 lbs.) even though
> > they are factory equipped with 16" wheels and have a similar curb weight
> to
> > a Vanagon (within 750 lbs.).
> >
> > Ron Salmon
> > The Bus Depot, Inc.
> > www.busdepot.com
>