Snow tires on an Uplander

Is anyone running snow tires on their Uplander for the winter? Living in Central NY where we average over 10 feet of snow during the winter, they have become a neccesity. We recently had a bout of winter weather and I noticed the van acted differently on the slick road surface than my old Ventures did when I used the brake. I decided this vehicle too needs snow tires to get through the winter. One problem I noticed while looking for snow tires is the lack of available brands and a high price tag. The lower cost snow tires run about $105 ea,(versus $52 for ones that I used on my Ventures.)Another problem I am having is trying to locate a spare set of steel factory rims to mount the snow tires to. (My van came equipped from the factory with steel wheels.) One reason I believe the rims are hard to find is that they are unique to the Uplander and are 6 lug 17" rims. Has anyone else experienced a hard time locating snow tires and /or spare rims for their Uplander. I noticed none of my local tire stores carry snows for this vehicle and I had to go online to sites like tirerack.com and Mavis Tires to find some.