2001 Provan Tiger (F250 4X4) modifications

[ersatzknarf]

Hook, line and sinkered from Yakko and Wakko down through Chicken Boo and the Randy Beaman Kid. Sad that the current youth of America don't have the daily challenge of trying to "get' everything in those shows.

And for you, Frank . . .

"This is the earth. And this is Pinky. You can tell the difference quite easily. One is a lump of inert matter hurtling blindly through the void. The other... is the earth."

Thank you for the quote, Mike !
Can we start calling you, "the Brain" ?
:jump:

I miss Yakko, Wakko and Dott...

More than that, I miss, as you said, the challenge of "trying to 'get' everything in those shows."

Remember what Pinky always said ? "Narf !"

Now, don't get me started on 'the Muppet Show'

(fear i am in perilous danger of completely derailing this thread ! :Wow1: )

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker. The Swedish Chef (i can speak "Mock Swedish," just so you know )
Animal ! :sombrero:

 

[ersatzknarf]

We need a Wakko smiley

Definitely ! Tongue out, hat sideways !


:chef:

:coffeedrink:

 

[mhiscox]

Can we start calling you, "the Brain" ?

I'd be flattered. Most people don't know that I came up with the plans for the magnetic Infindibulator* before it was on Animaniacs.

You're right . . . there's some serious thread hijacking going on here. Still, you've got to cut slack for old farts and their mid-90s memories. And how depressing is it that I can remember virtually every "Are you pondering?" but sometimes can't remember why I walked out to the shop?

* For the uninitiated . . . By using the infindibulator to deplete hydrogen and promote gravitational collapse, there'd be a magnetic charge from the center of the Earth so strong that every person who had loose change in their pockets would be flattened on the ground and stuck there, so that no one could stop Brain from taking over the world.

 

[Mc Taco]

...magnetic Infindibulator...

Is this akin to the "Turboencabulator"?

 

[mhiscox]

Is this akin to the "Turboencabulator"?

Equally fictional, to be sure. I've no information as to whether the Brain's magnetic infindibulator replicated General Electric's use of six hydrocoptic marzul vanes to prevent side fumbling on the turboencabulator.



And now, back to the Tigers . . .

 

[Esmi]

Very glad to see you're letting the Tiger out! You are already a way better owner for that rig than I ever was :bike_rider:.

I've been meaning to email you that there's a low-dollar RV ladder currently offered on the San Looie Oh Craigslist. If you're still looking for one ...

 

[suntinez]

And now, back to the Tigers . . .

Esmi, it’s just wrong that both your Tiger and your thread got hijacked. Since I’m responsible for snitching this Tiger from you and though I had help with the thread hijack (I can just see the smirk on Brain’s face) , I figure it’s up to me to get things back on track. I managed to get down to the hardware store so here’s a couple updates on the interior. Nothing major but I know you were interested in seeing all the little processes to make (me) a happy camper.

As for parenting the Tiger, we just have different styles. I tend to take them out immediately and see what needs attention for me and my dog. Your plans were undoubtedly more well thought out, and thanks for everything you did. It’s all I can do not to jump in it and go somewhere all the time. So far I’ve slept in it 20 nights and put maybe 2600 miles on, just getting started …

Thanks for the lead on the ladder, may wind up going that way. But I can’t stop thinking about the elegant roof access I saw on the Siberian Tiger. With some re-work in the back and a custom fabbed ladder for the CX, I wouldn’t mind having something like this:

Still got a few months until snow, so that matter is tabled for now. Just dreaming, places to go first ...

I’ve owned Ford trucks before - a Bronco, a Ranchero, an F150 and an F350 – but was totally ignorant of the F250 super duty with the ginormous V10 6.8L engine in it. In fact it’s the only Tiger I know of with the V10 in it. The rear sway bar feels a little weird to me, but handling offroad and on has been great so far.

I asked a couple of folks before buying it who knew about this engine since it had such high mileage. Turns out the SMB that adventureduo used to own had this engine, and my friend Doug has had an F250 with the same engine, they both love it. In fact the first time I parked next to Doug’s, my jaw dropped a little – same truck, weird.

I learned about the known problem of spark plugs blowing out, but with the meticulous care and records from the original owner, I think we’ve got miles to go. In any event I imagine I’ll be picking Doug’s brain for info on this one, he’s had his for a while and his is dialed in pretty well (just found this thread!).

Hard to tell it’s the same from this pic, the CX actually looks small next to his beast with the Lance camper on it.

 

[suntinez]

interior

For the interior, knowing what worked and what didn’t in the GT & XL helped a lot.

Storage in the GT (with the popup) was so limited I found myself buying any container for the kitchen and over-the-sofa slider storage cabinets which would fit - exactly one toilet paper roll high. There’s so much storage in this Tiger that I find myself trying to figure out how pack more stuff in so things don’t rattle around. The quality of my problems has definitely improved

There are 11 cabinet doors and 5 drawers in this one. And that’s not counting the two horizontal cabinets at the end of the sofa. :Wow1:

One thing common to the GT, XL and CX is that the Provan supplied latches are ok on pavement, but not nearly enough to keep the doors closed when bouncing around washboards or in rocky, off camber situations.

Granted the GT had only two cabinet doors (the closet and beneath the stovetop), but it took at least 3 different instances of knocking doors open and picking up multiple pounds of dog food before I got around to double latching them. The XL had the same issue, but more cabinets above. The new Tigers have much nicer cabinets and a sturdier latching system than these vintage ones.

On a recent trip I had maybe 2 lbs of coffee come tumbling down so no dinking around this time, the cabinets got latched. I took a cue from the one latch that was already in place on the closet door and went with a simple hasp that matched the brass hardware.

The right hinged-doors got “hasp with hook”, the others got hasps and these tiny carabiner clips. I suppose you could find left hand “hasp with hook” ones if you looked, but I’m lazy – one hardware store trip was enough for me.

The ones in back don’t seem to have the problem as much, I’ll wait on those. The storage system I’m using for clothes back there holds things in place pretty well. I got these fabric cubes from Target for the XL, they fit fine in the CX.

I also mounted this all-important item for both inside and outside access. It’s a bottle opener that TACODOC gave me a while ago, and it’s moved between 3 different rides so far – I love it!

My quick and dirty solution for my dog knocking the sofa cushion off was to mount a 1x3 covered in upholstery fabric at the end. I’ll probably wind up covering the joint with a piece of trim wood at some point. I bought a large piece of this fabric, the whole cushion will get covered to slow down the inevitable invasion of puppy hair.

While gluing/screwing that piece in, I discovered that the original owners did have a solution for holding the bench lid up. Just an eye hook on the wall and a picture hook under the lid, connected by a loop of string. Alrighty then, it works, it stays! With as much overhead storage as I have, I shouldn’t need to get in there too often. In the GT, the only significant storage I had was under the sofa – a whole different situation.

I still need to work on something for the other hinged piece of the bench, but it’s pretty small so …

That large carpeted box at the back is the generator storage area, currently inaccessible.

 

[suntinez]

coach lighting and some tracking electrical runs

This CX has lots of everything – including lighting.

Too much lighting actually, if you boondock a lot. There are two ceiling lights in the coach, two under cabinet lights, a fluorescent light over the sink, a light in the vent hood over the stove and a light in the bathroom. Plus the exterior coach door light.

While adding the latches, I started noticing that changes made by the original owners had standard #2 Phillips head screws involved, and the original Provan items were the combo Phillips-square screws. I was starting to get some clues of what had gone on before and where the weaknesses were from dental fillings.

Since you can't carry every tool with you, I was lucky that some time ago Jack gave me this handy dandy got-everything tool with an assortment of bits, including an S2, perfect for the Provan screws:

With such prestigious former residences as Draco and Casa Azul, I'm happy to have it in the Tiger. It definitely got a workout today.

During this archaeological dig, I found a LOT of taps and bypass switches that had been installed by the original owners. This one was pretty obvious - a permanent 12V tap to feed the CO detector.

But some were not, so I broke out a tool from my telecom days called a toner.

The clip on part puts tone on a set of wires, and the inductive amplifier probe helps you trace where the wire goes by means of an audible warbling. I didn't finish everything, but I have a feeling that the branch circuit to the converter is overloaded with all this stuff on it. I need to finish that project and probably add another DC circuit to split the loads, don't want to just up the size of the fuse.

On to a more gratifying project … lighting.

If you live in SoCal and don't know about Walt's RV Surplus in Rialto, you should. I found out that every major RV shop around has an account with them. Very knowledgeable folk, they dismantle abandoned RVs and sell the bits off cheap. They also stock some new stuff and I'd picked up some lights for less than $10 a few projects ago.

So I swapped out old lights

for new ones with fresnel lenses:

and will soon get to replacing the incandescent bulbs with at least some LED ones. All the ones I had got sold with the GT, so on the hunt again …

A couple years ago I was bartering with Travis from Safari Pacific, and wound up with these cool LED strips. I really like them because they have an almost yellow color, very natural looking. I don't recall the specs, but will probably be contacting him for some more.

The light under the vent hood, besides having a switch on it, got ridiculously hot in a very short time.

I don't need to know any more than that to know it's inefficient and drawing more current than it's putting out in lumens. Out it goes, I paralleled in two of Travis' LED strips instead.

Here's how the new ones look in place – direct:

And ambient:

Honestly I don't need much more than this for the coach at night. But I still have 5 other inside lights to turn on if I do.

In checking the electrical out, there's several wires feeding this thing from the rear. And one of the first things I really liked about this Tiger, before it was even mine - a monitoring system for fresh/grey/black holding tanks, the propane tank and battery bank. Something I really wished I'd had in the GT and the XL.

Ever the skeptic (I don't like empty, 1/3, 2/3, full - I want numbers!) I did some checking on the sending units underneath for all these things. So far it seems to be pretty accurate.

I did find a bunch of dangling wires for the sensors on the holding tanks. So that'll be up soon, as well as some other holding tank attention. I still don't know how big the propane tank is, the on-tank gauge there is replaced by the sending unit. I know what the specs say – but after 20 nights and running the fridge/heater/stove, it's still 2/3 full. Life is good.

 

[mhiscox]

Ever the skeptic (I don't like empty, 1/3, 2/3, full - I want numbers!)

Of course you do. What empiricist wouldn't?

FWIW, I can give an excellent report on the SeeLevel system:

http://www.rvgauge.com/

They read to the nearest percent with a claimed 2% accuracy and I found mine seemingly accurate on the Sprinter. They work with external tank sensors that' are ideal if you want to replace or add to the current sensors, but not so good if everything is you have is fine as is except the readout.

I had this one on the Sprinter:




Tiger 3 is looking great; keep up the good work.

===========

P.S.: We all really appreciate all your information, but what are we supposed do now for an Animaniacs thread? :sombrero:

 

[suntinez]

bathroom sink repairs

One other thing needed help right away, and that's the bathroom sink/shower.

Unlike the GT/XL, this Tiger's bathroom has its own sink and is several inches wider – I measured 28” wide at the sink height, plenty big enough to actually move around in. Initially I thought I'd remove the sink - do you really need two? But it's integrated with the showerhead and not in the way so its stays. With only a one-basin sink in the kitchen instead of two-basin kitchen sinks like my other Tigers had, it kind of makes sense. I just have to get used to using it. With a latching medicine cabinet in there for toiletries, shouldn't be too hard.

This Tiger doesn't have a hot water heater, but all the plumbing is in place for it so my guess is the original owners removed it at some point.

The sink needed some help though. It didn't drain well, the faucet had major leaks, and the diverter to the showerhead was broken off. So onto removal … under the decorative/waterproof covers, I found more Provan screws so I don't think the sink had been removed before.

The one screw in the corner near the faucet took as much time to remove as everything else combined. Lucky that I have this little ratcheting angled skewdriver for these problems.

Once the sink was off I could see that someone had siliconed the feed lines, but that's not where the leaks were. They were inside the 4” faucet.

Something else I saw was that there was a thick skin of slime across the head of the trap – and a gagging smell coming from it.

When I poked through the slime, there was a living, swimming marine biology experiment in progress. YUCKO - gloves on! I dumped that mess and pressure cleaned everything I could get to. Undoubtedly the root cause of the slow draining issue. The kitchen sink trap will definitely be getting removed to check out.

So another Walt's RV find for $12 to replace the bad faucet, reattached (minus that corner screw) and everything is working again.

The weak point of the plumbing in these units is on the opposite side of the bathroom wall, in the closet. This is where the city water feed line enters, and the low point drains are for winterizing. It's the closest exposure to cold that the small lines get and there are problems.

This Tiger is no exception, and what I saw in there under the insulation was a little scary. But that's a different story and for a little while longer, cold temps are not a problem. So for now, time to hit the road ...

 

[suntinez]

Smitty, you’re not the first Tiger owner to have seller’s remorse – I think it happens every time actually. Thanks for doing your part though, and enduring the loss - for now!

A couple nights ago I was messing around with night shots and thought I’d see what the differences were between Travis’ LEDs, the LEDs I ordered from LED Trailerlights and my usual single candle. Exposure on all these pics was the same.

Travis’ lights were actually a cool green color

Just one of the 1141-252 BA15s was a bright white.

But the candle is still my favorite for just hanging out in the evenings.

 

[camperman]

The one screw in the corner near the faucet took as much time to remove as everything else combined. Lucky that I have this little ratcheting angled skewdriver for these problems.

That thing is handy! I discovered a lot of problems with that screws.

 

[suntinez]

HAM radio and backup camera

That thing is handy! I discovered a lot of problems with that screws.

That little tool has saved my bacon and sanity more than once, it's one of my favorites.

Couple more small fixes and doodads inside. Also there's no hope for this thing, so out with the rear passenger marker light:

and in with this one:

Except for being a little ladder challenged lately, a straightforward swap. After adding the missing front license plate and this, should be all legal outside now.

After getting some input from those who know far more than me, I went with a very basic 2M ham radio setup.
Kenwood TM-281A, Comet lip mount and 5M cable, Comet SBB-25 antenna, and a small external speaker.

There's a funny angle on the antenna due to using the lip mount on the sloping hood. Understand that there’s a different one with a swivel, but this'll do. It’s not a drill in fixture, will come right off if it starts bugging me - which it might.

After spending time hopping in and out to squeeze into tiny campsites,

and while the dash was apart, it was time for the rear-view camera. I went with the Boyo Vision VTB500 camera, mounted high in the rear.

A bit of a project running the wires for it since I wanted them inside. It’s hooked up to work in reverse, or whenever you turn it on.

That should help with the big blind spot directly behind.

 

[ExpoMike]

Nice upgrades Linda!!! I so need to do a backup camera too.