Our "new" Tiger...

[Herbie]

Woot! Congrats. I too am an Astro-geek and I love the Tigers. Its interesting to here suntinez second-guessing the XL vs GT decision, as I think I would have gone pop-top (for clearance/nimbleness offroad).

The only thing that kept me away from these beauties was that the interior layout isn't fantastic for 2 adults + 1or2 kids. I know I HATED riding sideways in the way-back of my mom's RV when I was a kid. My sisters and I were always fighting over who got to ride shotgun (single parent family). I'm doing my "Astrolander" in a more or less classic-westfalia layout specifically so that the munchkin doesn't feel exiled!

Hey T.Low, if you do end up going to Baja, let us all know ahead of time, we'll lay out a grand SoCal welcome for you. You can crash at Casa-de-Herbie if you need a few nights of regular bed and home cooking, so long as you don't mind the rugrat!

 

[T.Low]

Woot! Congrats. I too am an Astro-geek and I love the Tigers. Its interesting to here suntinez second-guessing the XL vs GT decision, as I think I would have gone pop-top (for clearance/nimbleness offroad).
The only thing that kept me away from these beauties was that the interior layout isn't fantastic for 2 adults + 1or2 kids. I know I HATED riding sideways in the way-back of my mom's RV when I was a kid. My sisters and I were always fighting over who got to ride shotgun (single parent family). I'm doing my "Astrolander" in a more or less classic-westfalia layout specifically so that the munchkin doesn't feel exiled!

Hey T.Low, if you do end up going to Baja, let us all know ahead of time, we'll lay out a grand SoCal welcome for you. You can crash at Casa-de-Herbie if you need a few nights of regular bed and home cooking, so long as you don't mind the rugrat!

Thanks for the compliment, H, and thanks for the offer Herb.

Thats the same thing i thought regarding the hard top vs pop top. It's more because of me living in the forested PNW, roof clearence is often an issue with downed trees etc. Also, I would think COG with all the off camber trails. However, if I were more able to desert camp, and the like, and already had a quite capable well outfitted Tacoma like H has, the hardtop most certainly has its appeal.

Either way, it's a great find.

 

[ujoint]

Cooooooool. Looks to be in excellent condition!!!

 

[haven]

For those inspired by this thread, here are two Tigers on Craigslist tonight:

91 AWD Tiger Astrovan, $7400
http://reno.craigslist.org/rvs/1587785915.html

94 4x4 Tiger Silverado, $18,500
http://eugene.craigslist.org/rvs/1554781168.html

 

[T.Low]

A little more background on the GT and XL w/ interior pics.
http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22189891/srt/pa/pging/1/page/3.cfm

Good thing I'm not making any money anymore; I'd be that guy with the fleet of Astros at his house.

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

very nice!!:sombrero:

...I've looked at those and Tlow's pop top for later on in life after the kids are grown and its just me and the wife...

 

[suntinez]

A little more background on the GT and XL w/ interior pics.
http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22189891/srt/pa/pging/1/page/3.cfm

Good thing I'm not making any money anymore; I'd be that guy with the fleet of Astros at his house.

That's the GT that I bought on that link, was practically new (6500 miles, 2005 astro) when I got it in 2008.

Main reasons I would've gotten the hardtop - simple stealth camping, no setup, and much more storage. The handling is undoubtedly better with the pop-top, but mine is RWD so I don't usually plan to go on tough offroad trips with it. Learned my lesson on Lippincott Rd in DV. That is, I don't PLAN to take it offroad but I have this insatiable "what's down this road" thing going on and wind up offroad quite a bit. It is nice to have the lower clearance in those cases and at ~16ft long, much easier to turn around than my Tundra.

 

[HMR]

This thing is way too much fun!

Our Tiger sat, unused, for a long time before we bought it. I've been driving it everyday looking/listening for any quirks. I'm changing all the fluids, checking and/or changing plugs, wires, belts, etc... all the stuff you do when you purchase an older vehicle... So far, so good. This thing seems to be in great mechanical condition.

My wife wanted to do a little shakedown run to check the interior for squeaks and rattles so we went back to where it all started, Fiesta Island.

The cabin is surprisingly rattle free and quiet. One of the roof vents starts humming above 70mph. I'll be replacing it soon with a newer design.

We drove the beach for awhile progressing from hard pack to soft sand. The AWD works great. The Tiger won't be climbing any dunes at Pismo or conquering the Rubicon but it should do fine on our favorite deserted beaches. :costumed-smiley-007

This awning is 16 years old and works like new. We have a 2 year old Fiamma on the Tacoma that we like but this design (Catalina 2500 by Dometic) is strurdier and even easier to setup:

Borrego and Indi give it 2 paws up:

 

[T.Low]

Great beach shots. I'm drooling.

Major bonus that you got nice looking cabinet veneer.

 

[Herbie]

This awning is 16 years old and works like new. We have a 2 year old Fiamma on the Tacoma that we like but this design (Catalina 2500 by Dometic) is strurdier and even easier to setup:

Awesome. I'm guessing the awning support is somewhere aft of the passenger door but forward of the RV doo?

I've been wanting the same sort of awning, but without a "b-pillar" between the passenger door and slider (on an unmodified Astro) I'm afraid I'll have to just do ground supported legs unless I figure out some way to come from underneath. (The Volkswagen guys have a way to put a plate into the jackpoint just aft of the front wheel that the awning leg slots into, which might work)

 

[T.Low]

BTW, I have fond memories of my times visiting bonfire parties on Fiesta Island in the early '80s. My buddy worked the counter at a liquer store. All the girls thought he was a really good looking guy, so they always made sure to tell him where they were going to be partying that night. I remember staying up long enough to be suprised by the sunrise on Fiesta Island and seeing a water skier in the bay. Good times.

Hey, what is the exterior overall height of your rig? Is it that much taller than a lifted Sportsmobile?

 

[HMR]

Hey, what is the exterior overall height of your rig? Is it that much taller than a lifted Sportsmobile?

The highest point on our roof is 103". Not sure on the height of the SMB? Every now and then we have a loaded, Ford, 4x4, EB, pop-top SMB parked under the same roof. It would be cool to get side by side pics sometime.

 

[HMR]

Awesome. I'm guessing the awning support is somewhere aft of the passenger door but forward of the RV doo?

Here's a pic of a different Tiger showing the mounting points. It's a simple, one-man procedure to raise and lower the awning.

 

[slooowr6]

what kind of gas mileage are you getting and what's the tank size?
The more I looked at it the more I like the setup. So compact, self contained and hard shell comfort.

 

[T.Low]

Do SMBs get 16mpg?

Actually, my buddy Railbat Brian ges 15.5 with his Powerstroke SMB. We get very similar mpg on the trips we've done together.

I didn't go with an Astro for the MPG because its nothing fantastic. Rather, I like the nimbleness and sportier feel both on and off road. Just my preference. SMBs are great and I may still own one some day as my needs change, who knows.

Wow. The more I look at it and think about it, the more I realize how difficult for me it would be to choose between the XL and the GT. I've always thought the pop top would be my choice, but for a motorcycle shuttle rig, the hard top would have been perfect this weekend as we took a break out of the rain from riding. How perfect would that be to have a hot lunch inside with helmet cam videos of the morning ride plugged into a laptop or tv. Lots of times the hard top would be the preference. But for kayak shuttle, the pop top would be better. Glad I didn't have to make that choice and looks like you got what works best for you. Bravo.