Hey Dan,
I've been getting a lot of parts from David Porter at 4wdparts.com.au. I came across them when I bought some aftermarket parts, and then found that they were happy to locate oem stuff as well. They're honest and give excellent service, and communicate well.
I discovered today that the Toyo M/T tires were also 10 ply and considered them anew, but, given the reality that 95% of the miles I will do with the truck are going to be on the pavement, I think I made the right choice with the M55's for my situation.
Tire size was one of the main things I wrestled with in the decision process. I was looking for the 'rubber overdrive' effect, but didn't want to push the tires too big or I'd run into issues with the engine struggling too much to roll them. I mean, at 103 h.p./177ft.lbs, , the 2H isn't exactly a powerhouse, and I've come across enough accounts of sluggish performance with oversize tires and diesels (yah, I know, go turbo...). I felt that 32" was a good compromise, though time and miles will tell.
Also, these M55's are durable tires from all that I have been able to learn, and that was confirmed again today by the guy at the tire shop. Around here, with all the logging roads and forest industry business (Vancouver Island is pretty close to moonscape in many areas unfortunately), there is plenty of real-world brutalizing of tires going on and a lot of experience to draw from. Another factor in the choice was that 235's are one of the most common tire sizes out there for trucks, so I'll have no problem getting a spare if I were to trash a couple of tires in some out of the way locale.
And finally, well, this may seem silly but, Toyo tires from Japan - -they just seem perfect, based on name-similarity alone, to go on a Toyota from Japan.
The Sino-Japanese character read 'Toyo' by the way, means 'luxuriant', or 'abundant'
