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Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:24 am

I thought the same, but there was no discernable pothole where it happened.

Oh well. Stuff happens I guess.

I ordered a set of 4 Hankook RA08s from onlinetire.com last night.
$59 each; total of $274 including shipping (thankfully they are located in California).

I'm going to keep the remaining Yokohamas as spares.

Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:50 pm

Last failure I had that looked like that was a "road hazard", namely a chunk of angle iron.

Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:30 pm

I got an email stating my tires have shipped! Not bad, less than 24 hours after ordering.
They are scheduled for delivery on Saturday.

Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:15 pm

My tires arrived today as quoted. Now to get them mounted!

Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:22 pm

My tires were mounted tonight. After a few miles I will post my thoughts.

Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:51 pm

EZ Gruv wrote: I thought the same, but there was no discernable pothole where it happened.

Oh well. Stuff happens I guess.

I ordered a set of 4 Hankook RA08s from onlinetire.com last night.
$59 each; total of $274 including shipping (thankfully they are located in California).

I'm going to keep the remaining Yokohamas as spares.

Good deal on the tires.

I've looked locally and found a shop that'll mount, balance, and send me out the door with four 185R14 RA08's all for $293. I'm gonna' go ahead and do five. No telling how long that spare's been in there. Peace!

Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:05 pm

I've been running Firestone FR380 passenger tires on my bus for a couple of years now, admittedly oversized at 215/75R14. They're load rated at 1664 Lbs at 44psi max, which seems more than sufficient for factory load ratings. They replaced a set of stock-sized (185R14) reinforced Bridgestones that handled like crap and looked like rollerskate tires. Much happier with the look and handling of the FR380s, which have a 60k mile treadwear rating. The speedo seems to be off by about 10% at any given speed, but it doesn't bother me.

Anecdote-wise, I loaded my bus down with over 3200 lbs of architectural rock last year, and drove it home at highway speeds with tires inflated to max pressure with zero issues. I had pictures somewhere of the bus sitting on the bumpstops all the way around... If I find them I'll post them.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:48 pm

hey guys looking for a cheap used set of studded snow tires to get me to montana and back and that's it not needed for anything else other than this one trip so price is a big factor, what sizes should i be craigslisting?

right now i'm looking @ 205/70,195/70,195/75,185/70

which size would be best for my '71 with stock rims ( 14 inch right?)

or will all WORK for my purposes?

Wed Dec 17, 2008 3:51 pm

theizzardking wrote: hey guys looking for a cheap used set of studded snow tires to get me to montana and back and that's it not needed for anything else other than this one trip so price is a big factor, what sizes should i be craigslisting?

right now i'm looking @ 205/70,195/70,195/75,185/70

which size would be best for my '71 with stock rims ( 14 inch right?)

or will all WORK for my purposes?

soooo this is where your ment to post tire questions? i may just say f the rules and start a thread if i don't get a response in another few hours it's a simple question, i see that everyone's running the 185/r14's but what be the width? and can i run larger or smaller? just for this one trip? thanks!

Wed Dec 17, 2008 4:00 pm

My choice would be in order....

195/75/14, 205/70/14, 195/70/14 and finally 185/70/14. Get whatever has the best or most weight rating.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 4:03 pm

Randy in Maine wrote: My choice would be in order....

195/75/14, 205/70/14, 195/70/14 and finally 185/70/14. Get whatever has the best or most weight rating.
dude randy..... your rad, always chiming in and helping me out thanks dude your great! just needed one person to help point me in the right direction!

an honorary wayne and garth...w're not worthy we're not worthy! thanks again and have happy holidays!

Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:06 pm

theizzardking wrote: i see that everyone's running the 185/r14's but what be the width? and can i run larger or smaller? just for this one trip? thanks!

185R14 has an implied width of 83 if I remember correctly.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:06 pm

theizzardking wrote: Randy in Maine wrote: My choice would be in order....

195/75/14, 205/70/14, 195/70/14 and finally 185/70/14. Get whatever has the best or most weight rating.
dude randy..... your rad, always chiming in and helping me out thanks dude your great! just needed one person to help point me in the right direction!

an honorary wayne and garth...w're not worthy we're not worthy! thanks again and have happy holidays!

I have run 205/75R14's for decades with no problem, slightly larger than stock and they get your load range up pretty well. They also typically will put your speedo right on. Both 195/75R14's and 205/70R14's are stock diameter. If you go with anything smaller than these last two you begin to really compromise your weight rating, so I would suggest you avoid doing so.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:15 pm

theizzardking wrote:
soooo this is where your ment to post tire questions? i may just say f the rules and start a thread if i don't get a response in another few hours it's a simple question

Ooo. Implied thread violence. [-X

Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:52 am

1977_L63H_P27 wrote:
I've looked locally and found a shop that'll mount, balance, and send me out the door with four 185R14 RA08's all for $293. I'm gonna' go ahead and do five. No telling how long that spare's been in there. Peace!
Where?
I am near Chattanooga and would love to get that price!
My best was a set of the Hancooks for $100 more than that...
Seriously, let me know as I am giving this to myself as a Christmas present.
Thanks,
KC :D
-in Dalton, Ga
_EDIT_ for some reason I thought that you were closer. Oh well...
I may bring the wheels with me The next time I come through from the Carolinas if I haven't found them by then...

Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:15 am

can some one comment on studded tires vs. chains which one delivers better traction and control, as always in the bus speed is not an issue and i for see from steven's pass wa to montana will be chain-able condtions so the whole taking on and off advantage is viod,

thanks again guys!!

hehe thread viloence...funny ;-)

Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:16 am

Just pull the rear two Hancooks off of my 83 1/2 Vanagon to install my studded tires. The Hancooks are only a year old and have only 20-25K on them, but the tread is at least 3/4 gone at this point, no more than 8-10K left at best. The fronts are better, maybe only 1/2 gone. No cupping or any other signs of misalignment. This makes the Hancooks look like a not so good deal to me, will look for something better soon or go back to car tires which have served me well enough in the past.

Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:25 am

theizzardking wrote: "can some one comment on studded tires vs. chains which one delivers better traction"

If Mont. has big hills I would use chains.
Otherwise, I would just put snow tread on the rear and have chains for emergency situation.

All the weight is on the rear anyhow

i drove a truck in the 90's 600 miles in snow and ice with mag wheels and slick (60's) and had no problems

Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:53 am

theizzardking wrote: can some one comment on studded tires vs. chains which one delivers better traction and control, as always in the bus speed is not an issue and i for see from steven's pass wa to montana will be chain-able condtions so the whole taking on and off advantage is viod,

I put studded Nokkian's on this year. Just on the back. Unstudded Nokkian's on the front. I really like the way they work. Chains are brutal if you're going from hardpack to slush to dry pavement. They make for an incredibly harsh ride on wet or dry pavement and if one comes loose your looking at real damage. Proper speed, using the gearing to slow instead of braking and distance from everyone else is the only way to go.

Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:45 am

theizzardking wrote: can some one comment on studded tires vs. chains which one delivers better traction and control, as always in the bus speed is not an issue and i for see from steven's pass wa to montana will be chain-able condtions so the whole taking on and off advantage is viod,

thanks again guys!!

Mount up the snow tires and keep the chains in the bus. Make sure you know how to install the chains (practice it in your driveway). If you need the chains for traction to get up a hill or the cops tell you to, put them on. Plan on taking them off again when you don't need them anymore. Just the way it is.

Another option would be to put the chains on a spare set of tires/rims and keep them in the bus. Even if they are on your summer tires, that will be OK since the chains do all of the work anyway. If you need the chained tires, jack up the bus and swap them out. Don't need them anymore, jack up the bus and swap them out. A 10 minute job (5 per wheel).

Studded snow tires really don't give you much better traction in snow than snow tires. They pay off when you go to stop on ice.

FTR, I don't use studded tires anymore as they do not stop as fast on dry pavement where I do most of my driving.