You're overthinking it!

 

I'm running the LT e rated with a slightly higher weight rating than my factory tires had.

 

You got it right - the fancy eurospec tire don't mean beans over here. Any load range E light truck tire will be fine. I was a big fan of the Vancos because they wore like iron, but they are pricey. On my vans now, I have 2 Michelins which are very nice but expensive, some BFGs which were cheap, and we are experimenting with a pair of Mastercraft Coursers. These may be the winners - they are blocky like off road tires (they are for hillbillies in pickup trucks mainly) but they perform well in snow, are way quieter than they would be appear to be, and were $150 per tire out the door including tax! I've had good results with Mastercrafts in the past as well.

The truth is you could probably put any tire you want on the PM and it would be fine, including under-rating the load range. My 159" extended (the heaviest van in the lineup) weighs 5440 dry. That's not too far off what a big SUV weighs, and is only 1360 per corner. An E range tire is what, 2500lbs? So the spec covers the GVW, which is important if you are hauling heavy loads. But in an RV the load is always pretty much the same. Others will poo poo it, but I think a load range E tire is not necessary for such an application.

 

How much do you load your van? There is 515 pound load rate difference per tire. Looking at Tire Rack now, the price difference is $308 for set of 4.

Chances are you aren't maxing it out, so choose whatever load range E tire you like. The higher the load rating the harder the sidewall the harsher the ride. However, don't go so soft and low load rating you turn the van into a Ford Explorer and roll it with a blow out. If the manufacturer recommends at least an E tire and you have less rating and cause an accident, I hope you have a great lawyer.

 

Thanks everyone. Kip-on-truckin, I hadn't seen the Coursers as an option before, I'll keep them in mind.

 

The Mastercraft Coursers are made by Cooper. I have had good results with the Cooper AT3 (more aggressive) and the HT (more of a road tire) on my Sprinter van. The load range E tires in this size are 2680 lbs / tire I believe, so plenty for the van.

 

TIre shops I've dealt with lately won't install tires with a lower load rating or speed rating than the vehicle's specifications call for. Information is normally visible on inside of driver door opening. Liability is too great for them.

If making changes, it's also important to go by weight rating of each axle rather than the total weight divided by 4 to get an average. That's not the right way to look at it because excess tire capacity at one end won't help at all on the other end if tires are overloaded.

Ford E-350 vans are a good example of this. Total GVWR is +/- 9,500 pounds, or about 2,400 per corner. But since rear axle is rated at 6,084 pounds, lesser tires could easily lead to a blowout. Actually, that 6,084 pounds is the tire limit because the axle itself can be rated higher (in my case over 6,300 pounds total).

In case of ProMaster the rear axle is rated higher, so you have to at least meet that load rating.

 

Just bring the rims and tires to a shop and have them mounted then put them back on your van. Don't let some tire shop determine what you want or need. It's easy enough to do two at a time twice. Better still buy the tires and have them mounted at any independent garage.

 

Many buyers would want a warranty paper trail.

I've had a smaller tire with much lower load rating mounted on a wheel as an emergency spare, done at local one-man tire shop, but if I ever have problems with it I'm on my own. And that was an accepted risk. When buying a set of expensive Michelins I prefer a clear path to any possible future warranty claim. I'm sure others' needs are different.