Has anyone ever built up a tiger?

[brennanriddle1]

Has anyone ever built up a Tiger motorhome? They are made by a company called ProVan and come looking almost like an earthroamer LT.

You can get standard cab chassis, extended or crew cab.

v8 gas, v10 gas, or v8 6.6 diesel

2 or 4 wheel drive


Sounds like all it needs is a lift, tires and some bumpers and it would be ready to go with certain options.


Anybody done one of these before?

 

[elmo_4_vt]

Never seen one... Have any pictures?

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[haven]

This Tiger CX is owned by ExPo participant Lutzy48.

Tiger uses Ford and Chevrolet chassis. Check the manufacturer's web site for details:
http://www.tigermotorhomes.com/

There are a couple of recent threads on ExPo about Tiger:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33533

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24277

And here's a web site by a couple who drove a Tiger CX to South America and back:
http://www.travelin-tortuga.com/Site/Home_Page.html

 

[brennanriddle1]

They come with diesel and 4x4 available options.

I think it would be a great base to build an earthroamer-esque rig. (bumpers, mild lift and meatier tires, solar panels etc.)

It would probably come in at about half the price of an earthroamer, with all the options. :Wow1:

 

[elysium]

They come with diesel and 4x4 available options.

I think it would be a great base to build an earthroamer-esque rig. (bumpers, mild lift and meatier tires, solar panels etc.)

It would probably come in at about half the price of an earthroamer, with all the options. :Wow1:

The tigers are fine rigs and should definitely be considered. One point to note is that the camper portion of the tiger is _rigidly_ attached to the frame and not based on some type of pivot mount like the earthroamer. Just something to keep in mind, depending on how much frame flex you think you'll encounter while traveling.

 

[shortbusadventure]

Building a Tiger

My wife and I are currently having Provan build us a Tiger.
We opted for a Crew Cab Dually with the Duramax diesel. While I would prefer to have single rear wheels, and a shorter rig, we need the storage and hauling capacity. I plan to lift it mildly, improve the suspension, and make provisions to mount dirt bikes. We are transferring our solar/battery/and Engel cooler from our current rig. As the project progresses, I will do a write up. All of my dealings with Provan have been great. They have been acommodating and willing to work with us 100%. It looks like we will be one of the first customers with a revised model. They are making it slightly taller with more interior height, as well as improving the cap and construction methods. We are quite excited about the changes proposed.

 

[brennanriddle1]

My wife and I are currently having Provan build us a Tiger.
We opted for a Crew Cab Dually with the Duramax diesel. While I would prefer to have single rear wheels, and a shorter rig, we need the storage and hauling capacity. I plan to lift it mildly, improve the suspension, and make provisions to mount dirt bikes. We are transferring our solar/battery/and Engel cooler from our current rig. As the project progresses, I will do a write up. All of my dealings with Provan have been great. They have been acommodating and willing to work with us 100%. It looks like we will be one of the first customers with a revised model. They are making it slightly taller with more interior height, as well as improving the cap and construction methods. We are quite excited about the changes proposed.

Sounds like an exciting build. I'd like to see pictures as your rig comes along during its build stages.

The single rear wheel would be nice offroad; but what sort of towing capacity can you expect from the dually? or from the single wheel if anyone knows?

 

[suntinez]

I haven’t built up my Tiger GT, it does just fine for my types of trips the way it is. But here are some pics of NoNeck’s Tiger CX which he “expo”fied in an extensive rebuild.

He doesn’t post here on expo, but recently re-appeared on the yahoo usergroup after relocating.

My wife and I are currently having Provan build us a Tiger.
We opted for a Crew Cab Dually with the Duramax diesel. While I would prefer to have single rear wheels, and a shorter rig, we need the storage and hauling capacity. I plan to lift it mildly, improve the suspension, and make provisions to mount dirt bikes. We are transferring our solar/battery/and Engel cooler from our current rig. As the project progresses, I will do a write up. All of my dealings with Provan have been great. They have been acommodating and willing to work with us 100%. It looks like we will be one of the first customers with a revised model. They are making it slightly taller with more interior height, as well as improving the cap and construction methods. We are quite excited about the changes proposed.

Kevin, that is exciting ... I’ve heard nothing but great things about the new owner at Provan too. After what you’ve done to your shortbus I can’t wait to see what you come up with for your Tiger! Keep us posted.

Here is another website "WhiteAcorn" of a couple currently on extended travel in South America. If you look in the prep/vehicle section of their site there’s some information on towing, they tow a 97 wrangler with theirs.

 

[dzzz]

I looked as provan briefly but there was not enough headroom. I would prefer this camper on a heavier cab/chassis than the one ton.
I would put the spare tire on the back and order the chassis with two gas tanks.
As I remember it their preferred chassis was chevy/gm, which doesn't go as heavy on single rear wheels as Ford.
Upgrading tires is limited by the rear cutouts. To cut more out would require an interior remodel.
For an expe vehicle, the one ton won't be able to carry a lot of fuel before hitting it's max weight. But many people have gone around the world with much less.
I wonder if they will build on a used chassis? Lots of good deals at auction on full size trucks.

 

[Ironduff]

dzzz, the Tiger CX is now made on your choice of Chevy or Ford. There was at least one early on made on a Dodge, back in the mid-90's. IIRC, it changed hands in the past year. I kinda doubt that a second fuel tank is doable, since most of the underside is occupied by either the original chassis stuff, or the RV conversion stuff (waste tanks, batteries, etc.). In four years I've had my '06, I'm reasonably sure the factory hasn't done one on a used chassis.

www.tigermotorhomes.com or www.tigermotorhomes.com

Jim H.

 

[shortbusadventure]

Hey Suntinez,
Thanks for posting up those pics of NoNeck’s rig.
I have read whiteacorn site extensively. There is also another couple who have a Tiger they travel full time in. I don't remember the site, but it was equally helpful.

Hey dzzz,
The Tiger we have on order is the new model. They are re-engineering the shell cap to give more head room. We will probably have the first production model. The interior head room is getting raised 3-5 inches. They are also smoothing out the look to update the look of the Tiger.

We are going to run slightly bigger tires with a mild lift. If you were going for BIG tires, Provan could work with you to make em fit. They are very accommodating.

In regards to the chassis. For single rear wheels, the Ford can do more weight. Thats why we went dually, as I would not own one of the new Ford Diesels.

Provan will build you a Tiger on your own provided truck. They are currently considering offering Dodge. They can do it currently. You pay a few hundred for custom sheet metal. No big deal.

I am willing to bet they could build one on a Kodiak. I thought about this, but was happy with a standard dually.

As far as fuel capacity, adding a second tank would be difficult, but upgrading to larger tank would be no issue. I have looked at Titan and Transfer-flow, we shall see.

 

[Ironduff]

Shortbus, Sincere congratulations on the new Tiger! Wahoo!!!!

It sounds like Mark is going to be very accomodating to folks who want to customize a CX. I'm very happy with my 'old' one, but his changes sound pretty positive. Sounds like they address most of the few serious 'issues' folks have with the design. Judging from the number of 'wannabes'and 'almosts' and 'on orders' on the yahoo group, he's got a thriving business well into the future. I still get questions about my '06 almost every time I drive it. Be sure to get a stackof Mark's business cards to give out to the inquisitive for when you don't have time to talk Tiger...

It's a dang shame GM quit making the Astro van, tho'... the smaller XL & GT Tigers on the Astro chassis were pretty neat units, too.... especially the AWD ones.

Jim H.

 

[GlobalMonkey]

Tiger

Any pictures of the new TIGER design?

 

[shortbusadventure]

Any pictures of the new TIGER design?

They are in the process of building the new model. I will try to get any advanced pics if possible.

 

[spencyg]

Kevin,

Dare I ask what happened to the Shortbus to cause this drastic reversal in vehicular ownership?? Did it involve a tow truck in Pennsylvania?

Spence