Our "new" Tiger...
- Thread starter HMR
- Start date
Extremely true. Both front seats in Boomer rotate around 180 degrees and it significantly adds to the comfort factor. Great for watching movies too...especially with the laptop tied into the surround sound system 
Really nice rig HMR. The size is really nice for easily getting into tight places.
Really nice rig HMR. The size is really nice for easily getting into tight places.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
It's the mount, not the seat that rotates. Any seat that can be attached to the mount (the mount has 4 bolt holes) becomes "rotatable".
Only the passenger seat rotates in our Tiger. You can see the mount in this pic:
It makes a huge difference in the amount of usable space.
FWIW- The seats are really comfortable. Besides the color, the only problem with the seats is they're maybe a little too comfortable (seriously)- after ten minutes in the seats I want to take a nap. Not good for long distance drives.
suntinez
Explorer
That looks so much better, coming together nicely. It is really weird how they did carpet over carpet like that but at least you have "new" carpet up there now.
I swapped out my driver seat with the standard astro seat too - but not cause it was too comfortable, quite the opposite! In spite of being big and puffy and all that, it was by FAR the most uncomfortable seat I've ever had. Rock hard and poor back support. Plus zero room to move around with that wall directly behind it. The astro seat works much better. I kept the passenger seat for the swivel and it is actually pretty ok, although I'm looking at changing that one out too.
I'll be interested to see how the compressor fridge works out for you, are you planing on additional battery or charging options for the coach battery? I'm pretty sick of the 3-way Dometic absorption one mine came with.
I swapped out my driver seat with the standard astro seat too - but not cause it was too comfortable, quite the opposite! In spite of being big and puffy and all that, it was by FAR the most uncomfortable seat I've ever had. Rock hard and poor back support. Plus zero room to move around with that wall directly behind it. The astro seat works much better. I kept the passenger seat for the swivel and it is actually pretty ok, although I'm looking at changing that one out too.
I'll be interested to see how the compressor fridge works out for you, are you planing on additional battery or charging options for the coach battery? I'm pretty sick of the 3-way Dometic absorption one mine came with.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
You did a nice job with that seat swap. It looks great and you gained a good amount of space.
For the price, I'm really impressed with the Edgestar fridge. This afternoon I played with a few ideas for the "drawer" that will hold it. I bought 150lb drawer slides that fit perfectly inside the space where the stock Norcold used to sit. I'm traveling for the next week but will post up pics as soon as I get everything installed.
No plans for a 3rd battery. I have a brand new coach battery and, if my calculations are correct, it should run the fridge and accessories for a few days at a time. I can also run everything and recharge the battery with my little Honda generator if necessary.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Tires...
The previous owner put on a brand new set of 235/75/15 tires right before I bought the Tiger. Unfortunately, they were Load Range C and not a good choice for the relatively heavy weight they had to carry. After searching for a few weeks it became clear that a small (235/75 or smaller), Load Range D, All Terrain tire for a 15" wheel just doesn't exist. I decided to upgrade to a 16" wheel in order to have more choices in Load Range D and E tires.
I chose the Cragar Soft 8 Wheels (16x7) and got a good price and service from Summit Racing:
I thought I wanted an E rated tire since I plan to carry a dirtbike on back but after doing some research it seemed a D rating would provide a better ride while still capable of handling the extra weight. I've been running BFG A/Ts on various vehicles for the past 10 years and decided it was time for something new.
After lots of research I settled on the Yokohama Geolander A/T-S (225/75/16):
I ordered 5 wheels and tires so I'd have a full size spare. The only bummer is, the spare will be too big to fit into the cool little "Tiger XL" carrier on the back:
Maybe I'll make it into a clock and hang it in my garage...
Here's the finished product:
The previous owner put on a brand new set of 235/75/15 tires right before I bought the Tiger. Unfortunately, they were Load Range C and not a good choice for the relatively heavy weight they had to carry. After searching for a few weeks it became clear that a small (235/75 or smaller), Load Range D, All Terrain tire for a 15" wheel just doesn't exist. I decided to upgrade to a 16" wheel in order to have more choices in Load Range D and E tires.
I chose the Cragar Soft 8 Wheels (16x7) and got a good price and service from Summit Racing:
I thought I wanted an E rated tire since I plan to carry a dirtbike on back but after doing some research it seemed a D rating would provide a better ride while still capable of handling the extra weight. I've been running BFG A/Ts on various vehicles for the past 10 years and decided it was time for something new.
After lots of research I settled on the Yokohama Geolander A/T-S (225/75/16):
I ordered 5 wheels and tires so I'd have a full size spare. The only bummer is, the spare will be too big to fit into the cool little "Tiger XL" carrier on the back:
Maybe I'll make it into a clock and hang it in my garage...
Here's the finished product:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Suspension...
I finally brought the van over to National Spring. The Astros switched from fiberglass(!) to steel leafs in 1995. We have the last year of the fiberglass leafs. Since our Tiger has such low miles, the leafs aren't in "that" bad of condition but we definitely wanted a steel leaf pack and new shocks. The new leaf pack would also require a new leaf mount to be fabricated. I've heard again and again that the National Spring guys are some of the best in the business and could work on "anything". I was really excited to have them build a complete, custom setup for the front and rear. The shop and the guys are cool but after a quick 5 minutes of crawling under the Tiger the answer was "Nope, too complicated, not gonna touch it". I thought I could get them to reconsider but was told, again, "NO". I was bummed.
There are at least two companies making steel leaf replacement kits for the old Astros: Stengel Bros. and Overland Vans. They're both about half the price of a custom leaf pack from National Spring. I'm just trying to decide if they'll meet our needs. It's probably worth a try- they'll likely work well with the airbags and I can probably fine tune them with some additional leafs, if necessary.
Back to the drawing board...
I finally brought the van over to National Spring. The Astros switched from fiberglass(!) to steel leafs in 1995. We have the last year of the fiberglass leafs. Since our Tiger has such low miles, the leafs aren't in "that" bad of condition but we definitely wanted a steel leaf pack and new shocks. The new leaf pack would also require a new leaf mount to be fabricated. I've heard again and again that the National Spring guys are some of the best in the business and could work on "anything". I was really excited to have them build a complete, custom setup for the front and rear. The shop and the guys are cool but after a quick 5 minutes of crawling under the Tiger the answer was "Nope, too complicated, not gonna touch it". I thought I could get them to reconsider but was told, again, "NO". I was bummed.
There are at least two companies making steel leaf replacement kits for the old Astros: Stengel Bros. and Overland Vans. They're both about half the price of a custom leaf pack from National Spring. I'm just trying to decide if they'll meet our needs. It's probably worth a try- they'll likely work well with the airbags and I can probably fine tune them with some additional leafs, if necessary.
Back to the drawing board...
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ihatemybike
Explorer
New wheels are looking good on it. Have you tried the stock lug nuts and center caps with them? I highly reccommend 5 wheel rotations to keep the wear the same and the AWD system happy for when the spare is really needed.
From what I understand they used the stock suspension under these conversions and you previously stated that a PO added air bags. Not seeing what's too complicated. Maybe post some pics.
The steel leafs from newer vans bolt in when the new style axle mounting hardware is used. Most Astros come stock with 3 leafs, but some (like Grumpy) have 4. Grab some at the local JY and install them.
From what I understand they used the stock suspension under these conversions and you previously stated that a PO added air bags. Not seeing what's too complicated. Maybe post some pics.
The steel leafs from newer vans bolt in when the new style axle mounting hardware is used. Most Astros come stock with 3 leafs, but some (like Grumpy) have 4. Grab some at the local JY and install them.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Thanks for all the good input. I think I found some center caps I like better, just waiting for my local tire shop to get them in stock. I agree with the 5 tire rotation (our other vehicles are also either AWD or 4x4). The reason I spent the extra $$$ for 5 tires/wheels was to keep the AWD happy.
It's a completely stock leaf setup with Firestone airbags bolted in the normal place. Nothing unusual.
I'm still scratching my head about what makes it "too complicated".
My new plan is to find another local suspension shop, show them the Overland and Stengel packages and see what they think. The Stengel is rated at 4000lbs which is plenty so it might even work without additional leafs. The ride is acceptable, "as is", we just want it to be as good as possible. Between the motorcycle and the Tacoma we average ~15,000 miles per year just on camping trips (not daily driving). We don't mind spending some time and money to improve the ride.
suntinez
Explorer
I'm interested to hear what you come up with for this, and also wondering what National thought was the problem. I've recently been in touch with Dan at Overland for his 4" lift/rear spring replacement and didn't foresee any problems because of the coach build. I also have firestone airbags in the rear so a similar setup except mine is RWD. Maybe the holding tank? I can't see what the problem would be there, it's not really close to the spring.
The new shoes look great! I'm holding off on tires until I get the lift completed. I hung a trasharoo on my spare, really liking it.
The new shoes look great! I'm holding off on tires until I get the lift completed. I hung a trasharoo on my spare, really liking it.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Keep me posted if you learn anything more about the Overland kit.
I don't think National Spring was concerned about anything other than the fiberglass leaf setup itself. I told them about the aftermarket brackets, etc. but it didn't matter to them. They probably wouldn't have a problem with your Tiger since it has a more traditional leaf setup.
Building your own fridge slide
Your renovation looks great! I want to build a slide for our Engel in a Sprinter we are working on (that is I want my husband to) - the Engel Slide is almost half the cost of the fridge! Can you tell me where you got the 150lb slides you are using?
Thanks so much!
Your renovation looks great! I want to build a slide for our Engel in a Sprinter we are working on (that is I want my husband to) - the Engel Slide is almost half the cost of the fridge! Can you tell me where you got the 150lb slides you are using?
Thanks so much!