Stuart Redford wrote:
>
> At 11:57 PM 4/18/99 -0700, you wrote:
>
> >It would be nice if it was that simple.  The list members who have been
> >sold the wrong (and unsafe) tires by "professionals who do nothing but sell
> >and install tires all day" are legion.
>
> Yup
>
> >
> >Vanagons require either Reinforced Sidewall or Load Range C or better (like
> >D) tires.  If the tires don't say that right on them, they are unsafe no
> >matter what a misinformed or morally flexible tire salesman tells you.
>
> Yup
>
> The Vanagon is not a minivan. It's a truck. It's heavy (I don't know what
> the curb weight is, but my '91 Camper Van weighed 5250 lbs. loaded with one
> human and a mean stereo on an Idaho State scale) with weight tilted towards
> the rear. It's top heavy especially with that Yakima rack and stuff on top
> of that poptop. Figure 1500 lbs. per wheel, minimum. If you go to
> Michelin's tire load chart at
> http://www.michelin.com/us/eng/tire/guide/load.html you will see that's a
> load rating of  95. Go out to your wagen and read the load rating on your
> rubber.
>
And remember to reduce this figure by 10% for passenger ('P') tires used
on a truck.