Tires for 1979 Westfalia Camper
 

I would like to get some recommendations for new tires for my '79
Westfalia Camper. I've checked the listings at http://www.roadhaus.com/tires.html
but I'm still not sure what would be the best choice for me.

Here's my situation:
-- I live in New England and would prefer all-season tires.
-- The current tires are Nankang Gelux, 185R14 90S N802 tires but
they're showing signs of dry rot.
-- I primarily use my Bus for short to moderate length trips near
Boston, MA.
-- I would prefer reasonably priced tires, but I'll pay what is
necessary for a good handling, reliable set of tires.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

-- Robert Winters, Cambridge MA

Tires for 1979 Westfalia Camper
 

Robert Winters wrote:
> I would like to get some recommendations for new tires for my '79
> Westfalia Camper. I've checked the listings at http://www.roadhaus.com/tires.html
> but I'm still not sure what would be the best choice for me.
>
> Here's my situation:
> -- I live in New England and would prefer all-season tires.
> -- The current tires are Nankang Gelux, 185R14 90S N802 tires but
> they're showing signs of dry rot.
> -- I primarily use my Bus for short to moderate length trips near
> Boston, MA.
> -- I would prefer reasonably priced tires, but I'll pay what is
> necessary for a good handling, reliable set of tires.
>
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
>
> -- Robert Winters, Cambridge MA


pay attention to the load rating, passenger car tires won't work for
you... Also before forking out the money, check the manufacture date
(DOT number) especially on hard to find tires. the last 4 digits of the
DOT code are the manufacture week and year. You'll want 07 or 08 made
tires. They have a limited shelf life. In some places, it is illegal to
sell tires that are more than 6 years old. Even if they are unused.

Tires for 1979 Westfalia Camper
 

On Aug 10, 4:33 pm, Robert Winters > wrote:

> Any advice would be much appreciated.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within the scope of your question it really doesn't matter what you
USE the vehicle for. It happens to be a LIGHT TRUCK and requires
tires having an appropriate rating, especially with regard to side-
wall stiffness. Most shops will try to sell a wholly inappropriate
tire rated for an SUV or whatever. With the wrong side-wall rating
the VW gets blown around like a willow in the wind.

-R.S.Hoover

Tires for 1979 Westfalia Camper
 

Thanks to all for the good reminders about tires. Bus Depot has a good
page about tires for the Bus and Vanagon: http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp

I just ordered a set of Hankook RA08 all-season tires from them. The
reviews on the Roadhaus tires page all seem to indicate this is a good
choice for both quality and price and they meet all the specs.