Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 01:25:57 -0800 (PST)
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Craig Standley <cstand@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Tires
>1. Is the high ply tires needed for vans because:
>
>a.) The weight of the van
>b.) Because the handling is so odd and the added ply is required for
stifness
>and intern better handling.
>c.) None of the above.
>The answer is (b) and (c). And (d), if (d) is:
>d) Most VW vans have huge cargo-carrying capacity-- see the "Gross Weight"
>specification in the oweners manual. If you fill it up with firewood or
>whatever until it reaches this max weight, you will overstress ordinary car
>tires-- that is, load them to a higher weight than that specified on the
>tire sidewall.
Boy I'll say. This last summer a friend of mine got married and needed
someone to carry all the alcohol to the reception area. Of course I was
volunteered, since the others in the wedding party drive Camaros, Jeeps
and other low-interior-space vehicles.
We loaded up the bus with 25 cases(that's 24 bottles) of beer and 7 cases
of wine. Then, since the springs had not totally bottomed out, we all
got into the bus for the trip. Each of us alone is 200+ pounds, and
there were three of us total. Now, for those who are unfamiliar with
Seattle, you can't drive three blocks in this city without going up or
down a hill. So, needless to say, it was a VERY slow trip.
About two weeks later I needed to replace two of the tires, and I'm sure
my little stunt didn't help too much in that regard.
Craig
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Craig Standley 1974 Volkswagen Westfalia; The Cow Van
University of Washington "You know you really like your vehicle
Physics Major when you have to squeegie the INSIDE
cstand@u.washington.edu of the windshield and you still always
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~cstand volunteer to drive"
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