1995 Provan Tiger CX
- Thread starter Hallmark_Ute
- Start date
ovrland6250
Active member
Awesome! Anyone know if this chassis/engine combo is desirable/reliable?
"5.3 LS LM7 Engine"
"5.3 LS LM7 Engine"
Herbie
Rendezvous Conspirator
Depends on your needs. I like a gasser like that one. Any small-block V8 would be fine, that one should make sufficient power for that rig. Some people might hold out for diesel, and feel strongly about it.
IMHO, the bigger question is on the rest of the chassis. I like that it's single-rear-wheels. Hopefully it was built on a SRW 2500 or 3500 chassis to take the weight.
My ideal Tiger would be an extended-cab or crew-cab 4x4, gas-engine, SRW on a one-ton (3500/350) chassis, but that's just me. There might be a half-dozen built to that spec, though, so some flexibility is required when shopping used...
RAM5500 CAMPERTHING
OG Portal Member #183
Appears to be six lug, so i am guessing a 1500
Herbie
Rendezvous Conspirator
Good catch!
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
I looked this over a little more and have a couple questions/answers based on my 1995 Tiger.
$40k for this truck is a great price if it’s a real ad.
Chevy did offer the 5.0 v8 and 5.7 v8 and both auto transmission and a manual trans (and diesel options). The vortec in the photo appears to be newer replacement motor and not the original.
Just the paint, wheels/tires, suspension lift, awning, rear toolbox mod, battery box mod, batteries and additional mods could easily all add up to approx 15k.
In the mid 90’s you could order a light duty k2500 4l60e transmission (6 lug and 7200gvw) or a heavy duty k2500 4l80e transmission (8lug and 8600gvw) truck. Most of the mid 90s Tigers were light duty k2500 trucks.
In 1995 Tigers were built in Colorado. Ours is number #35 out of 35 trucks built. It would be interesting to see what number this truck is.
Mid 90’s Tiger suffer from leaking mid seams that rot out the floor. Would be good to check that out.
It appears the bathroom has been remodeled. Water damage to floor and cabinets is common.
All the weight on the rear is not good for it and can cause cracking at the top of the side door and roof due to frame flex. Check the side door for binding.
The front two windows all leak and it appears to have water damage above the top bunk due to sagging headliner.
The cabinets above the sofa tend to break free if not properly anchored (note support bracket)
States it has a generator but no photos.
Early Tigers really didn’t have any insulation and aren’t very comfortable in the winter.
The interior is vinyl covered particle board and subject to water damage, sagging and breakdown.
None of this is terrible and can be dealt with but, I have a sense there is something afoot. Good luck!
$40k for this truck is a great price if it’s a real ad.
Chevy did offer the 5.0 v8 and 5.7 v8 and both auto transmission and a manual trans (and diesel options). The vortec in the photo appears to be newer replacement motor and not the original.
Just the paint, wheels/tires, suspension lift, awning, rear toolbox mod, battery box mod, batteries and additional mods could easily all add up to approx 15k.
In the mid 90’s you could order a light duty k2500 4l60e transmission (6 lug and 7200gvw) or a heavy duty k2500 4l80e transmission (8lug and 8600gvw) truck. Most of the mid 90s Tigers were light duty k2500 trucks.
In 1995 Tigers were built in Colorado. Ours is number #35 out of 35 trucks built. It would be interesting to see what number this truck is.
Mid 90’s Tiger suffer from leaking mid seams that rot out the floor. Would be good to check that out.
It appears the bathroom has been remodeled. Water damage to floor and cabinets is common.
All the weight on the rear is not good for it and can cause cracking at the top of the side door and roof due to frame flex. Check the side door for binding.
The front two windows all leak and it appears to have water damage above the top bunk due to sagging headliner.
The cabinets above the sofa tend to break free if not properly anchored (note support bracket)
States it has a generator but no photos.
Early Tigers really didn’t have any insulation and aren’t very comfortable in the winter.
The interior is vinyl covered particle board and subject to water damage, sagging and breakdown.
None of this is terrible and can be dealt with but, I have a sense there is something afoot. Good luck!
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Herbie
Rendezvous Conspirator
Good info Paul. All your cautions seem dead-on. I observed just about every one of these issues on the one example Tiger I've actually looked at with an eye to purchase (extended-cab diesel). That particular truck was otherwise a fair (but not perfect) fit for our needs, but was priced $10k higher. I couldn't justify that price, given that I felt it needed a back-to-studs interior cleanup similar to what you did with yours.
AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
Back then the Tigers were built on a 3/4 ton chassis, not a one ton or half ton.
86scotty
Cynic
@BritKLR. Very good info, thanks for sharing. I've seen your Tiger in person and have always loved them but I wonder if a Chinook converted to 4x is not a better starting point? I say that based on your experience above. I have not heard of leaks or many other problems with the Chinook. The only problem I have with them is the rear door. The awesome conversion here on Expo (can't remember his name right now) that just got painted is one of the very rare side door Chinooks. Anyway, Ford V10 power, one ton chassis and lots of 4x conversion options.
I'm rolling a 5.3 GMC truck with an older 5.3 these days and loving it though. It seems to me like it would be plenty of power for this rig if the chassis can hold up it's end. I'm kind of bummed to hear of the problems with Provan, I thought they were a bit better built. Still, it wouldn't stop me on this one. If this was close I would go look with intent to buy.
On offroading a motorhome I can say that I've inadvertently done a good bit of it with my old lifted Itasca Cambria and the cheaply built cabinets, etc. held up pretty well.
I'm rolling a 5.3 GMC truck with an older 5.3 these days and loving it though. It seems to me like it would be plenty of power for this rig if the chassis can hold up it's end. I'm kind of bummed to hear of the problems with Provan, I thought they were a bit better built. Still, it wouldn't stop me on this one. If this was close I would go look with intent to buy.
On offroading a motorhome I can say that I've inadvertently done a good bit of it with my old lifted Itasca Cambria and the cheaply built cabinets, etc. held up pretty well.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Good points. As a matter fact when we started looking for a off road camper I tried to go the Chinook Baja or 2wd/4wd conversion route but didn’t find the right one when our Tiger came along. Now, with that said I have found that a since the Tigers were built on a truck frame versus van chassis there is a ton of aftermarket support. The 90s vintage truck are what they are and a thirty year old design. Parts are cheap and easy to find and typically easy to put in due to the truck engine bay configuration. The Tiger short comings are all fixable and livable. Ours didn’t have the side seam leak so no floor damage. We have the 5.7 with 180k on it and it still doesn’t burn any oil and can out run our 97 k2500. When rebuilding ours I stuffed it with new insulation and new solid wood cabinets
(Even the chinooks interiors need freshing up) and then the floor plan of aTiger is just so easy to live with without having to foldout the bed every night. Now, if a Baja came along at the right price I’d have think hard about it. Cheers and great points.
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vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
If a 5.7 350 Vortec engine build is ever needed in a 1996-1996 Chevrolet you can buy a NEW 5.7 350 Vortec complete engine with the tin from GM with a 3 year 36 month 100K mile warranty for less than $1,800 all day.
What a BARGAIN!
What a BARGAIN!
86scotty
Cynic
Speaking of that, the Tigers have always appealed to me for that very reason. When I was about 30 I bought this camper (trailer) with the same floor plan as a Tiger. It was like pulling around an anchor behind my T100 of yore but was a great little camper with a great floor plan. The camper was a 1986 Scotty, one of the last Scotty's made I think. I joined a camper forum and needed a handle (86Scotty). The rest is history.