HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
We were in Southern Alberta but we never went East of Canmore.
I'm always amazed at the variety of high-quality camping rigs passing through that area. :drool:
Our "new" Tiger...
- Thread starter HMR
- Start date
I'm always amazed at the variety of high-quality camping rigs passing through that area. :drool:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Followup...
We made it home from our trip a few days ago. We traveled 4163 miles. I spent 12 consecutive nights in the camper (my wife was with me for 6 nights). I have to admit that we were a bit surprised we didn't have a single problem (other than losing our water door). We figured with a 16 year old vehicle traveling thousands of miles through 100+ degree heat, freezing rain and snow, high elevations, washboard roads, lots of long hill climbs, etc. we should expect a couple hiccups. There were none. Everything worked perfectly the entire time. This was our big "proof of concept" trip for the decision to add a self-contained camper to our camping quiver. It was a success, we're even bigger fans of the Tiger now than before we left.
Some random notes:
Gas mileage- I was scratching my head at first. We were only getting 12mpg on the way up through CA and OR. I was expecting 14mpg and couldn't figure out what the problem was. As soon as we filled the tank with gas in Idaho, we started getting 14mpg and continued with that # for the rest of trip until we got back to "California Gas" where the mileage dropped, again, to 12mpg.
Fantastic Fan- Don't know how we ever lived without one. What a great product! I left it running on HI almost every night and used it to keep the pups cool when parked during the day.
Stove, sink & counter space- We still prefer our little Coleman 2-burner for most situations but the stove in the Tiger works fine when needed. The sink works great and is used mostly for washing hands and brushing teeth. The counter space works fine if you're strategic with where you place items. We ended up using the top of the refrigerator quite a bit for additional space. I'm thinking of adding a removable cutting board to the top of the fridge.
Stove:
Sink:
Fridge/Counter top:
Interior/Exterior Size- I still can't believe this thing is only 16' long. You can park it just about anywhere you'd expect to park a compact car.
Sandpoint, ID:
As I’ve said before, I’m 5’9”, 155lbs and the interior size works perfectly for me. IMHO, if you’re much taller and/or bigger than that, you’re going to have trouble fitting in the shower, upper bunk and driver’s seat. I know there are plenty of folks taller than me driving Tigers but I’m not sure how they make it work. I’d be curious to hear their tips/tricks.
Shower/Bathroom and Water System- The time spent redoing the bathroom was well worth it. We used it everyday and were able to keep all the shower water in the shower. The original design would have left the interior soaked after a few uses. It’s funny, the shower is so convenient, we usually take 2 showers per day- pretty luxurious compared to what we’re used to. The limiting factor in the Tiger is the black water tank capacity (3Gal). We found the need to empty it every 3 days under “normal” use. For an extended back country trip, normal “primitive camping” techniques would extend the useful time by several more days. The grey water (7Gal) and fresh water (22Gal) capacities were never an issue.
Driving comfort- I feel bad for our Tiger’s previous owner. He had the crummy Provan seats, wrong tires, wrong shocks and didn’t install the airbags until right before he sold it to us. As a result, the Tiger wandered all over the road, was a chore to drive and he ended up parking it on the side of his house for a couple years. With the few simple changes we’ve made, the Tiger has turned into a comfortable, stable, fun-to-drive vehicle. We’ve found that 60-65mph is the happy place for the engine and transmission. The Tiger will go 70mph+ if necessary but the drivetrain has to work hard to keep it there. On long hill climbs with 5% or greater grades, we drop it into 2nd gear, slow to 40mph and get in line with the semis. The engine and trans never once got hot using this method even in the triple-digit temps with the A/C blasting. We’ve also discovered that 40mph isn’t too shabby for a loaded camper- I estimate we passed 20 RVs for every 1 that passed us going uphill.
The Tiger is back in the garage getting cleaned up and stocked for the next trip.
We made it home from our trip a few days ago. We traveled 4163 miles. I spent 12 consecutive nights in the camper (my wife was with me for 6 nights). I have to admit that we were a bit surprised we didn't have a single problem (other than losing our water door). We figured with a 16 year old vehicle traveling thousands of miles through 100+ degree heat, freezing rain and snow, high elevations, washboard roads, lots of long hill climbs, etc. we should expect a couple hiccups. There were none. Everything worked perfectly the entire time. This was our big "proof of concept" trip for the decision to add a self-contained camper to our camping quiver. It was a success, we're even bigger fans of the Tiger now than before we left.
Some random notes:
Gas mileage- I was scratching my head at first. We were only getting 12mpg on the way up through CA and OR. I was expecting 14mpg and couldn't figure out what the problem was. As soon as we filled the tank with gas in Idaho, we started getting 14mpg and continued with that # for the rest of trip until we got back to "California Gas" where the mileage dropped, again, to 12mpg.
Fantastic Fan- Don't know how we ever lived without one. What a great product! I left it running on HI almost every night and used it to keep the pups cool when parked during the day.
Stove, sink & counter space- We still prefer our little Coleman 2-burner for most situations but the stove in the Tiger works fine when needed. The sink works great and is used mostly for washing hands and brushing teeth. The counter space works fine if you're strategic with where you place items. We ended up using the top of the refrigerator quite a bit for additional space. I'm thinking of adding a removable cutting board to the top of the fridge.
Stove:
Sink:
Fridge/Counter top:
Interior/Exterior Size- I still can't believe this thing is only 16' long. You can park it just about anywhere you'd expect to park a compact car.
Sandpoint, ID:
As I’ve said before, I’m 5’9”, 155lbs and the interior size works perfectly for me. IMHO, if you’re much taller and/or bigger than that, you’re going to have trouble fitting in the shower, upper bunk and driver’s seat. I know there are plenty of folks taller than me driving Tigers but I’m not sure how they make it work. I’d be curious to hear their tips/tricks.
Shower/Bathroom and Water System- The time spent redoing the bathroom was well worth it. We used it everyday and were able to keep all the shower water in the shower. The original design would have left the interior soaked after a few uses. It’s funny, the shower is so convenient, we usually take 2 showers per day- pretty luxurious compared to what we’re used to. The limiting factor in the Tiger is the black water tank capacity (3Gal). We found the need to empty it every 3 days under “normal” use. For an extended back country trip, normal “primitive camping” techniques would extend the useful time by several more days. The grey water (7Gal) and fresh water (22Gal) capacities were never an issue.
Driving comfort- I feel bad for our Tiger’s previous owner. He had the crummy Provan seats, wrong tires, wrong shocks and didn’t install the airbags until right before he sold it to us. As a result, the Tiger wandered all over the road, was a chore to drive and he ended up parking it on the side of his house for a couple years. With the few simple changes we’ve made, the Tiger has turned into a comfortable, stable, fun-to-drive vehicle. We’ve found that 60-65mph is the happy place for the engine and transmission. The Tiger will go 70mph+ if necessary but the drivetrain has to work hard to keep it there. On long hill climbs with 5% or greater grades, we drop it into 2nd gear, slow to 40mph and get in line with the semis. The engine and trans never once got hot using this method even in the triple-digit temps with the A/C blasting. We’ve also discovered that 40mph isn’t too shabby for a loaded camper- I estimate we passed 20 RVs for every 1 that passed us going uphill.
The Tiger is back in the garage getting cleaned up and stocked for the next trip.
wanderer-rrorc
Explorer
:friday::26_7_2:
awsome...I can truely say that Im am very impressed and applaud your intuition and followthru on the Tiger!!...
if it wasnt for the kids..we would look at something similar..:elkgrin::elkgrin:
awsome...I can truely say that Im am very impressed and applaud your intuition and followthru on the Tiger!!...
if it wasnt for the kids..we would look at something similar..:elkgrin::elkgrin:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Don't remind me!
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Thanks, again, Linda for being the inspiration!I love this thread!
Glad your Tiger's working out so well for you. I'm on a long roadtrip in mine right now too ... I have several times wished I had your fridge/slide setup, great idea.
Have a great trip! I hope you'll share some pics.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Fuel Filter
On the first page of this thread, ihatemybike recommended to change the fuel filter every 20K miles. That seemed unusual to me as the only vehicles I've ever owned that needed routine fuel filter changes were my 1960's/70's era Volkswagens. Fuel filters on "modern" vehicles seem to withstand a lot more miles and don't require as much attention. However, the more I learn about Astros, the more I keep hearing about the fuel filters. I'm still not sure what, exactly, causes the issues but I decided I better get under the Tiger and check it out...
WOW! :Wow1:
The fuel filter was filthy:
Replacing the filter took all of five minutes.
I'll replace it, again, in a few thousand miles then every 20K as ihatemybike suggested.
On the first page of this thread, ihatemybike recommended to change the fuel filter every 20K miles. That seemed unusual to me as the only vehicles I've ever owned that needed routine fuel filter changes were my 1960's/70's era Volkswagens. Fuel filters on "modern" vehicles seem to withstand a lot more miles and don't require as much attention. However, the more I learn about Astros, the more I keep hearing about the fuel filters. I'm still not sure what, exactly, causes the issues but I decided I better get under the Tiger and check it out...
WOW! :Wow1:
The fuel filter was filthy:
Replacing the filter took all of five minutes.
I'll replace it, again, in a few thousand miles then every 20K as ihatemybike suggested.
ihatemybike
Explorer
I've been driving/wrenching Astros for 14 years, I still don't know what causes them to dirty up the filter. I'd rather change the filter than the fuel pump though. 20k miles is roughly once a year for me so I don't mind it much.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Fuel Filter II
The amount of dirt in the old filter was really bugging me. I was worried I might have a bigger problem with dirt in the fuel tank. I ran the new filter for a bit and then swapped it, again, today to see if there was any evidence of dirt. Thankfully, the sample was perfectly clean.
Here's a pic showing the new vs. old:
I also wanted a higher quality filter than the Purolator (only thing available at the time).
The new, new filter is a Napa Gold:
The amount of dirt in the old filter was really bugging me. I was worried I might have a bigger problem with dirt in the fuel tank. I ran the new filter for a bit and then swapped it, again, today to see if there was any evidence of dirt. Thankfully, the sample was perfectly clean.
Here's a pic showing the new vs. old:
I also wanted a higher quality filter than the Purolator (only thing available at the time).
The new, new filter is a Napa Gold:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
I agree.
BTW- My fuel pump has gone from loud enough to be heard from 20' away to inaudible with the engine running. I've read many times that "GM pumps are always loud" and been told "they all do that" but now I realize the noise was due to the pump working extra hard to overcome the dirty filter. I haven't noticed any performance change- the van ran perfectly before and after the filter change- but it's gotta be much better for the pump to be carrying a lighter load.
PS- Thanks for sharing your expertise. It's a great resource. :Mechanic: